The Conversation – Canada – Page 16

December 8, 2025

Immigrant women PSWs keep Ontario’s home care afloat under exploitative conditions

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Naomi Lightman, Associate Professor of Sociology, Toronto Metropolitan University

Despite recent provincial investments, Ontario’s home-care system is still in crisis. Underfunding, rationed care and ideological preferences for privatization of services undermine dignified aging and care for those in need of support at home.

At the same time, home-care providers, who are disproportionately racialized immigrant women, experience precarious, exploitative and sometimes dangerous working conditions.

My newly released research report, entitled “Caring about Care Workers: Centring Immigrant Women Personal Support Workers in Toronto’s Home Care Sector,” is a collaboration with Social Planning Toronto(SPT), a non-profit, community-based agency. In it, we highlight the concerns and preferences of these undervalued workers.

Our report presents data from interviews with 25 immigrant women working as personal support workers (PSWs) in home care in the City of Toronto. Our conversations, conducted between 2023 and 2025, focused on employment conditions and workplace safety, the critical need for systems change and the possibilities for building PSW collective power.

A vital service held together by precarious labour

Home care provides crucial supports to seniors who want to live in their own homes longer, facilitates the autonomy of people with disabilities and aids in the recovery of individuals following a hospital stay.

Their work both supports widespread client preferences to “age in place” and reduces pressure on hospitals and emergency departments. Yet it is routinely neglected and chronically under-resourced.

PSWs provide the majority of home care services. In 2022, an estimated 28,854 individuals were employed as PSWs in the home-care sector in Ontario. Home-care PSWs collectively provided 36.7 million hours of care to Ontario residents in 2023-24 through the provincially funded system.

Immigrant and racialized women comprise the majority of home care PSWs in the Greater Toronto Area. Home-care PSW labour is characterized by low wages, lack of employment benefits, health and safety risks and unique challenges associated with working alone in private homes.

Among PSWs in Ontario, those working in the home and community care sector have the lowest average wage, making about 21 per cent less on average than PSWs working in hospitals and 17 per cent less than those in long-term care. Inadequate provincial funding and inequitable and restrictive funding arrangements are the primary drivers that create and exacerbate these unacceptable conditions.

PSWs are absorbing the real cost of care

Our research participants explained how the normal costs associated with providing home care are offloaded onto them in several ways.

First, most PSWs in home care provide personal care to multiple clients each day. Travel between client homes is a requirement of their work. Yet participants shared that they either receive low pay or no pay for travel time between client homes.

One of our participants, Kemi, explained how travel time works in her agency:

“The travel time that we are paid is one hour. If I’m working five hours, that’s six hours I’ll be paid. But the thing is that the travel time amount is not the same as your regular wage… travel time is paid some amount less.”

If it takes more than an hour a day to travel between client homes, Kemi does not receive any compensation for that additional time. Yet this is a reality for her on a regular basis.

Joy, another participant, noted that PSWs in her agency personally pay more than half of their transit costs:

“They give us $1.60 per travel, but the payment we give the TTC is $3.50. I requested the company to make it the same, or at least a free TTC pass for the month. But the employer said it wasn’t appropriate.”

At the same time, many PSWs have long gaps of unpaid time between client visits during their workday. These gaps in their workday result in a full-time shift but only part-time compensation, with many getting paid for only a few hours each day. The result is full time work for a part-time wage.

In addition, participants noted that PSWs can have their work hours and income reduced if their caseload is reduced. This occurs when a client dies, moves, enters hospital or long-term care, switches home care providers or no longer requires services.

Ann-Marie described the precariousness of working in home care:

“You know why the hours are not guaranteed? For instance, I have eight clients, and out of eight clients, I have three clients that passed away. That’s all my hours reduced until they able to find another client to fit into my schedule.”

Reform must start with fair working conditions

Our report provides detailed policy recommendations targeted to both levels of government, home-care service provider organizations, unions and the community sector.

In particular, we advocate for the creation of a comprehensive public non-profit home-care system where home care workers, Ontario residents receiving care and their families play a central role. Rather than continuing with a fee-for-service model, we recommend adopting a grant-based funding model to better support the full cost of care provision.

We also advocate for developing employment standards for home care PSWs and improvement of public transparency and accountability in home care through data collection and analysis, along with regular public reporting and independent research. And, finally, rather than continuing to allow large home-care companies to extract millions in profit, we want every public dollar to support high-quality care and good working conditions for home care workers.

For the good of everyone in Ontario, it’s essential that the provincial government take bold action to reform the home-care system. The very least we can do for these essential and valuable workers is to ensure fair compensation, guaranteed work hours and good working conditions.

Naomi Lightman receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Counsel of Canada (Insight Grant number 435-2021-0486).

– ref. Immigrant women PSWs keep Ontario’s home care afloat under exploitative conditions – https://theconversation.com/immigrant-women-psws-keep-ontarios-home-care-afloat-under-exploitative-conditions-270007

December 7, 2025

Possible ancient artifacts are found in a B.C. thrift shop — and archeology scholars are on the case

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Cara Tremain, Assistant Professor, Archaeology, Simon Fraser University

An unusual email arrived in the inbox of a faculty member at the department of archeology at Simon Fraser University in the spring of 2024.

This email was from a thrift shop, Thrifty Boutique in Chilliwack, B.C. — unlike the many queries archeologists receive every year to authenticate objects that people have in their possession.

The shop wanted to determine whether items donated to the store (and initially put up for sale) were, in fact, ancient artifacts with historical significance. Shop employees relayed that a customer, who did not leave their name, stated the 11 rings and two medallions (though one may be a belt buckle) in the display case with a price tag of $30 were potentially ancient.

Thrifty Boutique wasn’t looking for a valuation of the objects, but rather guidance on their authenticity.

Eclectic collection

As archeology faculty, we analyzed these objects with Babara Hilden, director of Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Simon Fraser University, after the store arranged to bring the items to the museum.

Our initial visual analysis of the objects led us to suspect that, based on their shapes, designs and construction, they were ancient artifacts most likely from somewhere within the boundaries of what was once the Roman Empire. They may date to late antiquity (roughly the third to sixth or seventh century) and/or the medieval period.

The initial dating was based largely on the decorative motifs that adorn these objects. The smaller medallion appears to bear a Chi Rho (Christogram), which was popular in the late antiquity period. The larger medallion (or belt buckle) resembles comparable items from the Byzantine Period.

The disparities between the two objects, suggesting different time periods, make it unlikely they’re from the same hoard. We expect they were assembled into an eclectic collection by the unknown person (as of yet) who acquired them prior to their donation to Thrifty Boutique.

With the exciting revelation that the objects may be authentic ancient artifacts, the thrift store offered to donate them to SFU’s archeology museum. The museum had to carefully consider whether it had the capacity and expertise to care for these objects in perpetuity, and ultimately decided to commit to their care and stewardship because of the potential for student learning.

Officially accepting and officially transferring these objects to the museum took more than a year. We grappled with the ethical implications of acquiring a collection without known provenance (history of ownership) and balanced this against the learning opportunities that it might offer our students.

Ethical and legal questions

Learning to investigate the journey of the donated objects is akin to the process of provenance research in museums.

In accepting items without known provenance, museums must consider the ethical implications of doing so. The Canadian Museums Association Ethics Guidelines state that “museums must guard against any direct or indirect participation in the illicit traffic in cultural and natural objects.”

When archeological artifacts have no clear provenance, it is difficult — if not impossible — to determine where they originally came from. It is possible such artifacts were illegally acquired through looting, even though the Canadian Property Import and Export Act exists to restrict the importation and exportation of such objects.

We are keenly aware of the responsibility museums have to not entertain donations of illicitly acquired materials. However, in this situation, there is no clear information — as yet — about where these items came from and whether they are ancient artifacts or modern forgeries. Without knowing this, we cannot notify authorities nor facilitate returning them to their original source.

With a long history of ethical engagement with communities, including repatriation, the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is committed to continuing such work. This donation would be no different if we’re able to confirm our suspicions about their authenticity.

Archeological forgeries

Archeological forgeries, while not widely publicized, are perhaps more common than most realize — and they plague museum collections around the world.

Well-known examples of the archeological record being affected by inauthentic artifacts are the 1920s Glozel hoax in France and the fossil forgery known as Piltdown Man.

Other examples of the falsification of ancient remains include the Cardiff Giant and crystal skulls, popularized in one of the Indiana Jones movies.

Various scientific techniques can help determine authenticity, but it can sometimes prove impossible to be 100 per cent certain because of the level of skill involved in creating convincing forgeries.

Copies of ancient artefacts

Other copies of ancient artifacts exist for honest purposes, such as those created for the tourist market or even for artistic purposes. Museums full of replicas still attract visitors, because they are another means of engaging with the past, and we are confident that the donation therefore has a place within the museum whether the objects are authentic or not.

By working closely with the objects, students will learn how to become archeological detectives and engage with the process of museum research from start to finish. The information gathered from this process will help to determine where the objects may have been originally uncovered or manufactured, how old they might be and what their original significance may have been.

Object-based learning using museum collections demonstrates the value of hands-on engagement in an age of increasing concern about the impact of artificial intelligence on education.

New course designed to examine items

The new archeology course we have designed, which will run at SFU in September 2026, will also focus heavily on questions of ethics and provenance, including what the process would look like if the objects — if determined to be authentic — could one day be returned to their country of origin.

The students will also benefit from the wide-ranging expertise of our colleagues in the department of archeology at SFU, including access to various technologies and avenues of archeological science that might help us learn more about the objects.

This will involve techniques such as X-ray fluorescence, which can be used to investigate elemental compositions of materials and using 3D scanners and printers to create resources for further study and outreach.

Mentoring with museum professionals

Local museum professionals have also agreed to help mentor the students in exhibition development and public engagement, a bonus for many of our students who aspire to have careers in museums or cultural heritage.

Overall, the course will afford our students a rare opportunity to work with objects from a regional context not currently represented in the museum while simultaneously piecing together the story of these items far from their probable original home across the Atlantic.

We are excited to be part of their new emerging story at Simon Fraser, and can’t wait to learn more about their mysterious past.

Cara Tremain receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Sabrina C. Higgins receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. Possible ancient artifacts are found in a B.C. thrift shop — and archeology scholars are on the case – https://theconversation.com/possible-ancient-artifacts-are-found-in-a-b-c-thrift-shop-and-archeology-scholars-are-on-the-case-267064

December 7, 2025

Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace deal would leave the country vulnerable to future Russian attacks

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University

United States President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and a key adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, recently agreed to a 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.

Such an agreement, on the surface, would be cause for good news. The human toll of the conflict, although shrouded in secrecy by both Russia and Ukraine, is high.

Just one problem: the U.S. and Russia did not include Ukraine in the deliberations. Not only is that patronizing, no matter how the Trump administration has sought to spin it, but it means the agreement reflects Russian demands and goals for the war.

As such, not only is the deal a non-starter, but it also puts Ukraine in the unenviable position of saying no to a mercurial American president.

The search for peace

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there have been several initiatives seeking peace.

One of the earliest efforts took place in Turkey soon after the invasion. Despite Russia’s efforts to portray Ukraine’s withdrawal from the talks as being American-led, what ultimately scuttled the peace process were revelations of Russian atrocities in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

In the aftermath of this failure, both Russia and Ukraine reverted to pursuing their own goals for the conflict. For Ukraine, this meant the complete restoration of its territory from Russian occupation. Ukraine’s failed summer 2023 counter-offensive, however, dashed hopes for a quick victory.

Since this failure, both Ukraine and Russia have accepted that a war of out-manoeuvring one another for a rapid victory is unlikely. Instead, the war in Ukraine is now a protracted, attrition-based conflict.

In such a scenario, the role of outside support is critical. Ukraine has advocated for American participation in peace negotiations, but the talks leading to the 28-point peace plan signalled the Americans were siding with Russia and acceding to Russian demands.

Ukrainian officials have since met with both European and American officials to chart another path forward.

The peace plan’s many problems

Ukraine’s supporters have rightfully argued that the 28-point peace plan heavily favours Russia. The plan’s bias was so evident that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told senators it represented a Russian “wish list,” although he later denied saying that.

There are multiple provisions that make the deal unworkable from a Ukrainian perspective.

The first is that under the plan, Ukraine must cede all of Donetsk and Luhansk in the eastern reaches of the country to Russia. While Russia has seized Luhansk in its entirety, key portions of Donetsk remain under Ukrainian control.

Ukraine’s control of these parts of Donetsk goes beyond symbolic value. These areas consist of terrain and fortifications that are ideal for defensive operations. If Ukraine surrendered this territory to Russia, central Ukraine would be left vulnerable to rapid Russian assaults in the future.

Accepting a bad deal?

Ukrainian officials have struck a delicate balance since Trump announced his peace plan. If Ukrainian officials outright reject it, Trump will probably abandon Ukraine at a moment of need. If Ukraine fully acquiesces, it will be left vulnerable to future aggression. It’s also doubtful any officials who sign the Russia-friendly agreement will survive politically.

Ukrainian officials have consequently cultivated their ties with European officials while playing for time on the more contentious issues in the plan. Specifically, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the territorial aspects of the proposed agreement are the most troublesome.

Realistically, Ukraine isn’t likely to recover areas like Crimea. But Trump asking Ukrainian officials to surrender territory they have not yet lost in Donetsk is a bridge too far.

Unfortunately, Trump appears desperate to reach an agreement, regardless of the cost, judging by the people he has placed in charge of negotiating with Russia — Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.

Witkoff and Kushner are most notably involved when Trump wants results, regardless of the consequence.

Since entering politics in Trump’s first term, Witkoff has been an apologist for Russia and its actions. This stance has not changed in Trump’s second term. In fact, it appears Witkoff coached Russia on how to ingratiate itself to Trump, seemingly placing Russian interests above American.

Kushner’s past diplomacy efforts appear to have enriched him personally, something that does not bode well for the required neutral stance in Russia-Ukraine talks.

A lost moment

Unfortunately for Ukraine, these peace plan complications could not come at a worse time for their war efforts. While Russia pummels Ukrainian cities and is claiming it’s seized the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainians are simultaneously making sustained attacks on the Russian energy industry.

Direct disruption of Russian energy is perhaps the one area where Ukrainian pressure could affect Putin’s war efforts.

Trump’s attempts to achieve a peace deal at any cost, however, could scuttle any Ukrainian breakthroughs.

James Horncastle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace deal would leave the country vulnerable to future Russian attacks – https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-ukraine-peace-deal-would-leave-the-country-vulnerable-to-future-russian-attacks-270556

December 7, 2025

Ontario’s Bill 5 erodes good governance in the province

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kristen Lowitt, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, Queen’s University, Ontario

Ontario passed Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, in June 2025. The omnibus bill amended environmental laws and proposes “special economic zones” where the government can decide what laws will or won’t apply.

The bill eliminates key environmental protections and grants the provincial government sweeping powers to fast-track development with little to no oversight. This risks undermining the rights of Indigenous communities, the public and nature.

As stated by Michel Koostachin, founder of the Indigenous grassroots group the Friends of the Attawapiskat River: “The government is using the ‘tariff war’ as an excuse for greed, to advance personal and private gain.”

Bill 5 is an affront to Indigenous rights and natural law because it authorizes the government to potentially cause irreparable harm to lands and waters without the free, prior and informed consent of affected First Nations and community members.

Despite widespread opposition from First Nations, the public, municipalities, environmental organizations and labour groups across the province, the government continues to advance the policies, amendments and regulations that could further entrench the regressive legal reforms ushered in by Bill 5.

3 concerning proposals

A series of proposed regulations, amendments and policies were posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario for public comment for 45 days, with the comment periods closing in mid-November. The government now has to consider these comments before deciding whether to approve the proposals.

We highlight three proposals of particular concern:

Special Economic Zones criteria

This proposed regulation sets out criteria to designate special economic zones. No objective or measurable criteria are provided. Rather, the regulation grants the government discretionary power to decide where, and to whom, legal safeguards that are key to protecting Indigenous rights, nature and the public interest will or won’t apply.

Archeological assessment exemption

This proposed regulation will exempt sites that the government deems economically significant from undergoing archeological assessment. Allowing projects to go ahead without considering the archeological value of a site threatens the protection of cultural heritage and jeopardizes Indigenous cultural sovereignty. It allows government to evade their constitutional duty to consult, as it is often these assessments that trigger that duty when a sacred site or artifact is found.

Species Conservation Act

Proposed regulations, amendments and policies under this new legislation would further weaken the protection of species at risk and their habitats. It would remove the public’s right under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights to have a say in decisions that could have serious ecological impacts.

Undermining good governance

Processes like environmental assessments and opportunities for the public to participate in decision-making are in place for a reason. They are essential safeguards for public health, safety and the environment. Allowing governments to disregard them sets a dangerous precedent for decisions to be made without transparency and accountability.

With allied individuals and organizations, Legal Advocates for Nature’s Defence (LAND), a non-profit environmental law organization, has been calling on elected officials to uphold Indigenous rights, treaty promises and environmental justice in the wake of Bill 5. LAND represents and works directly with Indigenous land protectors from Treaty 9 — the very lands where the Ring of Fire mining project is proposed and where the government wants to establish the first special economic zone.

The Ring of Fire is the name given by mining companies to a mineral-rich area in the Hudson-James Bay lowlands. The proposed Ring of Fire project has implications for all of us.

The Hudson-James Bay lowlands in Treaty 9 territory is a region of profound cultural and ecological significance that has been declared protected by Indigenous organizers under their laws.

This region is a refuge for wildlife, an immense carbon sink and the homeland for thousands of Omushkego people who have relied on it since time immemorial. Its protection is needed if Indigenous communities are to continue practising their inherent and treaty rights to live, hunt, fish and protect their lands and waters — and for the government to do their part in combating climate change and biodiversity loss.

Significantly, the impacts of Bill 5 and special economic zones aren’t limited to the North. There is no assurance that the Ontario government won’t set up more special economic zones in the future if it decides it’s “strategically important to Ontario’s economy.”

Overriding human rights and environmental health to advance economic interests is unacceptable. We must continue to urge our elected officials to repeal Bill 5.

Kanisha Acharya-Patel, a staff lawyer with Legal Advocates for Nature’s Defence (LAND), co-authored this article.

Kristen Lowitt receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. Ontario’s Bill 5 erodes good governance in the province – https://theconversation.com/ontarios-bill-5-erodes-good-governance-in-the-province-270424

December 7, 2025

AI is perpetuating unrealistic body ideals, objectification and a lack of diversity — especially for athletes

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Delaney Thibodeau, Post-doctoral researcher, Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education, University of Toronto

What does it look like to have an “athletic body?” What does artificial intelligence think it looks like to have one?

A recent study we conducted at the University of Toronto analyzed appearance-related traits of AI-generated images of male and female athletes and non-athletes. We found that we’re being fed exaggerated — and likely impossible — body standards.

Even before AI, athletes have been pressured to look a certain way: thin, muscular and attractive. Coaches, opponents, spectators and the media shape how athletes think about their bodies.

But these pressures and body ideals have little to do with performance; they’re associated with the objectification of the body. And this phenomenon, unfortunately, is related to a negative body image, poor mental health and reduced sport-related performance.

Given the growing use of AI on social media, understanding just how AI depicts athlete and non-athlete bodies has become critical. What it shows, or doesn’t, as “normal” is widely viewed and may soon be normalized.

Lean, young, muscular — and mostly male

As researchers with expertise in body image, sport psychology and social media, we grounded our study in objectification and social media theories. We generated 300 images using different AI platforms to explore how male and female athlete and non-athlete bodies are depicted.

We documented demographics, levels of body fat and muscularity. We assessed clothing fit and type, facial attractiveness like having neat and shiny hair, symmetrical features or clear skin and body exposure in each image. Indicators of visible disabilities, like mobility devices, were also noted. We compared the characteristics of male versus female images as well as the characteristics of athlete and non-athlete images.

The AI-generated male images were frequently young (93.3 per cent), lean (68.4 per cent) and muscular (54.2 per cent). The images of females depicted youth (100 per cent), thinness (87.5 per cent) and revealing clothing (87.5 per cent).

The AI-generated images of athletes were lean (98.4 per cent), muscular (93.4 per cent) and dressed in tight (92.5 per cent) and revealing (100 per cent) exercise gear.

Non-athletes were shown wearing looser clothing and displaying more diversity of body sizes. Even when we asked for an image of just “an athlete,” 90 per cent of the generated images were male. No images showed visible disabilities, larger bodies, wrinkles or baldness.

These results reveal that generative AI perpetuates stereotypes of athletes, depicting them as only fitting into a narrow set of traits — lacking impairment, attractive, thin, muscular, exposed.

The findings of this research illustrate the ways in which three commonly used generative AI platforms — DALL-E, MidJourney and Stable Diffusion — reinforce problematic appearance ideals for all genders, athletes and non-athletes alike.

The real costs of distorted body ideals

Why is this a problem?

More than 4.6 billion people use social media and 71 per cent of social media images are generated by AI. That’s a lot of people repeatedly viewing images that foster self-objectification and the internalization of unrealistic body ideals.

They may then feel compelled to diet and over-exercise because they feel bad about themselves — their body does not look like AI-fabricated images. Alternatively, they may also do less physical activity or drop out of sports altogether.

Negative body image not only affects academic performance for young people but also sport-related performance. While staying active can promote a better body image, negative body image does the exact opposite. It exacerbates dropout and avoidance.

Given that approximately 27 per cent of Canadians over the age of 15 have at least one disability, the fact that none of the generated images included someone with a visible disability is also striking. In addition to not showing disabilities when it generates images, AI has also been reported to erase disabilities on images of real people.

People with body fat, wrinkles or baldness were also largely absent.

Addressing bias in the next generation of AI

These patterns reveal that AI isn’t realistic or creative in its representations. Instead, it pulls from the massive database of media available online, where the same harmful appearance ideals dominate. It’s recycling our prejudices and forms of discrimination and offering them back to us.

AI learns body ideals from the same biased society that has long fuelled body image pressure. This leads to a lack of diversity and a vortex of unreachable standards. AI-generated images present exaggerated, idealized bodies that ultimately limit the diversity of humans and the lowered body image satisfaction that ensues is related greater loneliness.

And so, as original creators of the visual content that trains AI systems, society has a responsibility to ensure these technologies do not perpetuate ableism, racism, fatphobia and ageism. Users of generative AI must be intentional in how image prompts are written, and critical in how they are interpreted.

We need to limit the sort of body standards we internalize through AI. As AI-generated images continue to populate our media landscape, we must be conscious of our exposure to it. Because at the end of the day, if we want AI to reflect reality rather than distort it, we have to insist on seeing, and valuing, every kind of body.

Catherine Sabiston receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs program

Delaney Thibodeau and Sasha Gollish do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. AI is perpetuating unrealistic body ideals, objectification and a lack of diversity — especially for athletes – https://theconversation.com/ai-is-perpetuating-unrealistic-body-ideals-objectification-and-a-lack-of-diversity-especially-for-athletes-268735

December 7, 2025

Apparent ancient artifacts are found in a B.C. thrift shop — and archeology faculty are on the case

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Cara Tremain, Assistant Professor, Archaeology, Simon Fraser University

An unusual email arrived in the inbox of a faculty member at the department of archeology at Simon Fraser University in the spring of 2024.

This email was from a thrift shop, Thrifty Boutique in Chilliwack, B.C. — unlike the many queries archeologists receive every year to authenticate objects that people have in their possession.

Thrifty Boutique wasn’t looking for a valuation of the objects, but rather guidance on their authenticity.

Eclectic collection

Ethical and legal questions

Learning to investigate the journey of the donated objects is akin to the process of provenance research in museums.

Archeological forgeries

Archeological forgeries, while not widely publicized, are perhaps more common than most realize — and they plague museum collections around the world.

Well-known examples of the archeological record being affected by inauthentic artifacts are the 1920s Glozel hoax in France and the fossil forgery known as Piltdown Man.

Other examples of the falsification of ancient remains include the Cardiff Giant and crystal skulls, popularized in one of the Indiana Jones movies.

Copies of ancient artefacts

Object-based learning using museum collections demonstrates the value of hands-on engagement in an age of increasing concern about the impact of artificial intelligence on education.

New course designed to examine items

Mentoring with museum professionals

We are excited to be part of their new emerging story at Simon Fraser, and can’t wait to learn more about their mysterious past.

Cara Tremain receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Sabrina C. Higgins receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. Apparent ancient artifacts are found in a B.C. thrift shop — and archeology faculty are on the case – https://theconversation.com/apparent-ancient-artifacts-are-found-in-a-b-c-thrift-shop-and-archeology-faculty-are-on-the-case-267064

December 5, 2025

Fairness for whom? The impact of Alberta’s trans-exclusionary sports law

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Gio Dolcecore, Assistant Professor, Social Work, Mount Royal University

Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act promises protection. We believe that it discriminates and decides who gets to belong in sport.

The act, which received royal assent in December 2024 and came into effect on Sept. 1, 2025, requires organizations like school divisions, post-secondary institutions and provincial sport bodies to create and implement policies for athlete eligibility, including limiting eligibility for female-only divisions to people assigned female at birth.

While framed by the province’s United Conservative Party government as a measure to protect competition and ensure athletes “are able to participate in the sports they love fairly, safely, and meaningfully,” the act bans transgender girls aged 12 years and older from participating in competitive sports for women.

As there is no consistent or conclusive scientific evidence to show that transgender athletes have an inherent advantage, the act appears to be part of an organized anti-trans backlash occurring across the country, and a broader targeting of transgender and gender-nonconforming athletes internationally.

Far from just a local or niche issue, the implementation of this act exposes inconsistencies in sport policy and raises urgent questions about how anti-trans politics are shaping access to sport.

The impact on youth

The Fairness and Safety in Sport Act empowers just about anyone to file a complaint related to an organizations’ eligibility determinations. Incidents like one in British Columbia in 2023 —
a man attending a girls’ track and field meet demanded that a nine-year-old cisgender girl with a pixie cut prove she was not a boy through documentation — demonstrate the impact of this type of gender policing.

The consequences fall on transgender and gender non-conforming youth. For them, being banned from participation brings not only the loss of athletic opportunities, but also heightened experiences of exclusion and stigma.

Teammates and coaches must also navigate fractured team dynamics and a school-based athletic culture that risks becoming less about belonging and more about surveillance. The policy undermines the very developmental and educational values that sport is meant to cultivate.

It also places heavy and often invisible demands on the people who support these children. Parents and caregivers are left to shoulder the emotional work of helping their children process the psychological repercussions of exclusion in ways that surpass the normal responsibilities of parenting.

Research consistently shows that parents of transgender and gender-diverse children face significantly elevated levels of stress compared to parents of non-transgender children. This is largely due to the chronic strain of stigma, discrimination and navigating hostile environments along with the emotional labour of advocating within schools, health care and peer groups.

The impact on society

The act also has implications for varsity athletics and broader sporting cultures at post-secondary institutions.

Universities across the province have been forced to create new internal policies and procedures to align with the act, which place incoming and existing athletes participating in women’s varsity sport under increased scrutiny.

An inconsistency emerges when Alberta athletes step onto fields, rinks and courts outside the province.

Since the national institution for post-secondary sport in Canada (U Sport) still allows transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity, Alberta now risks excluding its own youth while requiring them to compete under different eligibility standards when facing athletes from other provinces.

In addition, implementing this act will eventually create financial strain for organizations. Administering exclusionary rules requires new systems of eligibility verification, monitoring and appeals — an administrative burden that smaller leagues in particular are ill-equipped to manage.

A 2024 statement by the Alberta 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce even urged the government to reject this trans-exclusionary legislation on the basis that it would also reduce Alberta’s market share of tourism and 2SLGBTQI+ travel revenue.

Resistance is necessary

Public response so far to the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act has been mixed.

Since it’s provincial law, school districts and universities have complied, creating internal policies and processes to fulfil the requirements of the act even while its trans-exclusionary nature runs counter to many of their values and commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Some, however, have taken action. One University of Lethbridge faculty member, for example, resigned from the Board of Governors after it was forced to accept the new act.

Egale Canada, a national 2SLGBTQI organization — which, along with Calgary-based non-profit support organization Skipping Stone — has launched legal action against the Alberta government, challenging the constitutionality of the province’s anti-trans laws, and released a statement condemning the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act.

On Nov. 17, the Alberta government tabled legislation that seeks to invoke the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to insulate its laws from legal challenges. Using the clause would prevent courts from striking down laws for being unconstitutional, and in this context specifically, overrides the Charter rights of gender-diverse people.

This action has spurred widespread condemnation, including from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Alberta Medical Association. Albertans are also making their views heard through MLA recall petitions and public protests.

The human toll of the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act must be recognized and challenged. When people refuse to accept exclusion and the overriding of basic human rights in sport, it can become a space for play, belonging and personal growth.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Fairness for whom? The impact of Alberta’s trans-exclusionary sports law – https://theconversation.com/fairness-for-whom-the-impact-of-albertas-trans-exclusionary-sports-law-265565

December 4, 2025

Managing food allergies and dietary restrictions during the holidays

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jennifer LP Protudjer, Associate Professor and Endowed Research Chair in Allergy, Asthma and the Environment, University of Manitoba

A plate of freshly baked cookies, a glass of perfectly garnished eggnog. For many, these images may conjure up warm memories and the anticipation of the forthcoming holiday season.

But for those with dietary restrictions, these goodies — and other holiday treats — can contribute to other emotions as well. During a season filled with parties and food, navigating the holidays while avoiding certain foods can be harrowing.

Well-intentioned hosts may prepare a selection of treats in a kitchen that includes flavours of the season. But without clear communication, detailed food labels and assurance of good practices to prevent cross-contact of foods, navigating a holiday tray or buffet line involves risk.

As an allergy researcher, my focus is on understanding the impacts of a food allergy diagnosis on people, families and communities, and what types of food allergy supports are most meaningful.

Many Canadians are increasingly aware of the foods they are eating, for reasons including but not limited to food costs, health and medical dietary restrictions. This latter reason can include efforts to reduce sodium or refined sugars, or avoid certain carbohydrates such as lactose or gluten for those with lactose intolerance or celiac disease, respectively.

But for the seven to nine per cent of Canadians with food allergies, the need to avoid is critical because of the risk of an acute allergic reaction. The most severe presentation of allergic reaction is anaphylaxis, which is potentially life-threatening.

Allergies and diet restrictions during holidays

Canadian research shows that, unlike holidays like Halloween and Easter during which children “hunt” for candy, rates of emergency department visits due to anaphylaxis during the winter holiday season are similar to the rates seen throughout the year. But that doesn’t mean food allergy restrictions don’t have an impact during these holidays.

Dietary restrictions can involve the need to avoid a range of foods. Health Canada has identified 11 priority allergens that are commonly associated with food allergies and allergic reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, crustaceans and molluscs, fish, mustard, sesame seeds, soy, sulphites, and wheat and triticale. Notably, many of these foods commonly appear as ingredients in a holiday recipe, or as a single food item.

In a series of interviews with 21 families, colleagues and I identified that families dealing with food allergy learn quickly how to “decline something politely” stressing that they cannot eat the food, rather than being a picky eater. Nonetheless, they note feelings of grief, depression and anxiety as they strive to navigate events with their extended family and social circles. In some cases, families who manage multiple food allergies feel isolated, while some note that they are not invited to events because of their food allergy.

There are many ways that both those with dietary restrictions, and hosts, can lessen these impacts.

Practical actions

For anyone with a dietary restriction, there are certain actions that make holiday visiting more enjoyable and safer.

First, be certain to clearly communicate, in writing, any dietary restrictions to the host, at the time of accepting the invitation. Detailing which food options work within your dietary restrictions provides opportunity for the host to consider the menu, and to ask any questions at a calmer time than with a room full of guests.

You may also wish to bring a holiday treat that meets your restrictions. Eating a small snack ahead of any festivities can keep hunger at bay in case there are limited safe food options available. When in doubt about a food, do not consume it. Even if you have previously consumed the food, ingredient lists change occasionally.

Specific to those with food allergies, additional steps are warranted. Before leaving home, ensure that you have at least one epinephrine autoinjector that a trusted person can easily locate and use if anaphylaxis is suspected.

Food Allergy Canada offers some other practical tips for dining out. Awareness of the potential for co-factors to worsen the severity of a reaction is also needed. In addition to co-existing medical conditions, such as heart disease or asthma, research supports that alcohol, exercise, medication/drugs and possibly emotional stress may influence reaction severity.

Hosting this holiday season?

Welcoming guests can be joyful. But as the Canadian Psychological Association notes, there may be expectations of perfection, which — when not achieved — can contribute to stress. When inviting guests, ask about any dietary restrictions and bear these in mind while planning menus. Single food items or simple dishes may help your guests navigate food choices. Having a list of ingredients on hand, and adding labels and dedicated serving utensils to each dish, are similarly helpful.

The holiday season often involves sharing festive treats. By emphasizing joy and togetherness, memories can be made to cherish for a lifetime. With greater awareness of the needs of those with dietary restrictions, we can collectively work to ensure that everyone can safely indulge.

Jennifer LP Protudjer receives funding from from Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation; Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Research Manitoba; Health Sciences Centre Foundation (Manitoba); Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba; University of Manitoba; and, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

JLP Protudjer is Section Head, Allied Health; and Co-Lead, Research Pillar for the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and is on the steering committee for Canada’s National Food Allergy Action Plan. She reports speaker fees from Ajinomoto Cambrooke, Novartis, Nutricia, ALK Abelló, and FOODiversity, and Texas Children’s Food Allergy Symposium . She is an associate editor for Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology; and, and editorial board member, Pediatric Allergy & Immunology; and, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

– ref. Managing food allergies and dietary restrictions during the holidays – https://theconversation.com/managing-food-allergies-and-dietary-restrictions-during-the-holidays-270265

December 4, 2025

Preventing gender-based violence in trades is both a labour issue and an education one

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Shannon Welbourn, Assistant Professor and Technological Education Program Coordinator, Brock University

The recent killing of a 20-year-old tradeswoman in Minnesota has struck a nerve across Canada’s skilled trades community. Amber Czech, a welder, was slain by a male colleague while on a work site.

Statements from labour unions and personal stories from tradeswomen shared recurring themes of harassment, exclusion, unsafe conditions and retaliation for reporting.

This tragedy is not isolated to the United States, and exposes a larger pattern of hostile and unsafe work sites for women and gender-diverse workers.

The timing of Czech’s death has fuelled calls to action. In Canada, Dec. 6 marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, honouring 14 women students murdered in 1989 at École Polytechnique. Preventing gender-based violence is not only a labour issue, but also an education issue.

A long-standing pattern

As a researcher and educator in technological education, I see an opportunity. I help experienced tradespeople become high school teachers. They become certified to teach in one of the 10 broad-based technology subject areas — communications, computers, construction, green industries, hairstyling and esthetics, health care, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, technological design or transportation.

The culture of industry has an impact on the adults who enter teacher education, and those teachers in turn shape the culture of tomorrow’s shops and labs. For safer workplaces, the work of prevention must start long before anyone steps onto a job site.

Czech’s death reflects painful familiarity that research has documented for decades. Studies across construction, transportation and manufacturing show that women and gender-diverse workers continue to face barriers.

These extend beyond individual incidents, including exclusion from key tasks, minimal mentorship and ineffective or risky reporting systems.

Canadian reports from the Canadian Labour Congress, the B.C. Centre for Women in the Trades and the Canadian Association of Women in Construction highlight recurring issues. These problems are rooted in workplace culture and everyday norms that determine who gets opportunities, whose concerns are taken seriously and how co-workers respond when something goes wrong. These shape whether workers feel safe.

These patterns are not new. Interviews with tradeswomen from the 1970s and ‘80s described similar conditions. The fact that the same issues are still being raised decades later reveals a deep systemic culture that has been slow to transform.

Efforts at progress

There are initiatives happening aimed at bringing about change. Fostering women in trades, the federal Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy announced several projects in March 2024. These were funded under the Women in the Skilled Trades Initiative.

The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, a non-profit organization that connects the country’s apprenticeship community, has an initiative entitled Supporting Equity in Trades (SET).

In Ontario, the province says its recently announced Skills Development Fund is investing more than $8.6 million to support women in the skilled trades. The province’s College Trades organization highlights young women’s initiatives and pathways to the trades.

Shared responsibility is also highlighted in the federal government’s National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence:

“Preventing and addressing GBV (gender-based-violence) in Canada requires a co-ordinated national approach, with federal, provincial and territorial governments working in close partnership with survivors, Indigenous partners, direct service providers, experts, advocates, municipalities, the private sector and researchers … Joint efforts in support of this National Action Plan will align with and complement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice.”

A broader context of violence

Global statistics are reinforcing the urgency. The United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women report 50,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members in 2024, or one every 10 minutes.

While home is unsafe, so too are workplaces. Violence reflects broader societal norms that shape all institutions, including education. Yet many trades and apprenticeship systems lack the structures to protect women.

At first glance, the slaying of a U.S. welder may seem distant from Canadian high school classrooms. But in technological education, the connection is direct.

In Ontario, the pathway to becoming a technological education teacher begins with years of related industry experience. Those, who are transitioning from the trades in favour of a second career as a high school teacher, come from spaces where these cultural issues persist.

They bring valuable practical expertise but also the norms, assumptions and coping strategies formed in their prior workplace environments.

Some have spent years navigating exclusion or witnessing harassment. Others come from supportive workplaces and are surprised to learn how widespread these issues are. This means teacher education programs cannot assume shared understanding of safety, inclusion or harassment.

Instead, programs must deliberately prepare future teachers to recognize and challenge the norms that reproduce inequity.

This dynamic creates both a responsibility and an opportunity. Technological Education teachers shape learning spaces where young people first encounter trades culture. They influence whether girls, gender-diverse students and other underrepresented learners feel welcome or pushed out, long before they reach apprenticeships.

4 ways to help aspiring teachers tackle GBV

Teacher education programs can help shift ingrained attitudes in trades-related fields. Research on adult learning, workplace culture and gender-equity education points to several effective strategies:

1. Explicitly teach about gender-based violence in trades contexts

Gender-based violence is often taught as a general social issue, not as a trades-specific concern. Programs should address how harassment and exclusion appear in shops, labs, apprenticeships, co-operative placements and how school reporting structures differ from those in industry.

2. Use experiential, reflective learning

Experiential learning emphasizes structured reflection. Case studies, workplace scenarios and opportunities to practice inclusive responses in realistic contexts deepen learning more effectively than policy readings alone. For second-career learners, connecting personal experience with broader patterns is especially meaningful.

3. Teach candidates to identify early warning signs

High school technological education environments can subtly reproduce workplace hierarchies, for example with task assignments, uneven access to tools or normalizing jokes about who is naturally mechanical. Teacher candidates need practice spotting and interrupting these patterns early.

4. Position tech ed teachers to lead and advocate workplace culture

Technological education teachers often maintain close ties to industry, apprenticeship and co-ops. They can advocate for safe placement sites, challenge stereotypes about who belongs in the trades and create spaces where all students feel welcome. Preparing candidates for these responsibilities means inspiring them to be culture shapers.

Cultural change begins before the job site

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women reminds Canadians to confront the roots of gender-based violence and commit to dismantling them.

Czech’s killing is a painful reminder that the trades remain a vocation where cultural transformation initiatives are urgently needed.

But responsibility cannot rest solely with employers and unions. It must extend into teacher education programs and the high school classrooms where young people first experience skilled trades instruction.

By equipping future technological education teachers to recognize, prevent and challenge gender-based violence, we take meaningful steps toward safe workplaces and a skilled trades sector where everyone truly belongs.

Shannon Welbourn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Preventing gender-based violence in trades is both a labour issue and an education one – https://theconversation.com/preventing-gender-based-violence-in-trades-is-both-a-labour-issue-and-an-education-one-270932

December 4, 2025

Fairness for whom? The human toll of Alberta’s trans-exclusionary sports law

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Gio Dolcecore, Assistant Professor, Social Work, Mount Royal University

Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act promises protection. The reality is that it discriminates and decides who gets to belong in sport.

As there is no consistent evidence to show that transgender athletes have an inherent advantage, the act appears to be part of an organized anti-trans backlash occurring across the country, and a broader targeting of transgender and gender-nonconforming athletes internationally.

Far from just a local or niche issue, the implementation of this act exposes inconsistencies in sport policy and raises urgent questions about how anti-trans politics are shaping access to sport.

The impact on youth

The impact on society

The act also has implications for varsity athletics and broader sporting cultures at post-secondary institutions.

An inconsistency emerges when Alberta athletes step onto fields, rinks and courts outside the province.

Resistance is necessary

Public response so far to the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act has been mixed.

Some, however, have taken action. One University of Lethbridge faculty member, for example, resigned from the Board of Governors after it was forced to accept the new act.

– ref. Fairness for whom? The human toll of Alberta’s trans-exclusionary sports law – https://theconversation.com/fairness-for-whom-the-human-toll-of-albertas-trans-exclusionary-sports-law-265565