Category: The Conversation – Canada

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Anne E. Kleffner, Professor, Risk Management and Insurance, University of Calgary

Every year, extreme weather events wreak havoc across Canada, disrupting the lives of tens of thousands. Financial losses from these events have surged, surpassing $7 billion in 2024, due in part to climate change, asset accumulation and more people living in high-risk areas.

Evidence from Canada, the United States and Europe shows that weather-related disasters aren’t experienced equally. The people hardest hit are often those with the fewest resources to cope.

Lower-income and marginalized populations face greater exposure, have fewer resources to prepare or recover and incur a higher proportion of losses not covered by insurance.

Even if they are insured, many people have difficulty covering the deductible because they lack emergency savings. This means damage is not repaired, people live in unsafe or unhealthy conditions and the financial and personal risk of future events is increased.

Insurance helps households recover and can prevent them from falling — or falling deeper — into poverty after a disaster. But across Canada, insurance is becoming costlier and, in some places, harder to get. Between 2019 and 2023, average home insurance premiums rose by 21 per cent overall. For lower-income Canadians, that increase was 40 per cent.

A widening protection gap

Canada’s growing insurance protection gap is a serious concern, and it’s widening at a time when weather-related disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe.

When households are uninsured, losses can strain household budgets and leave people unable to meet their basic needs. As extreme weather escalates, so does the likelihood that more families will find themselves unable to recover.

Affordability is the primary driver of the protection gap, but it is not the only one. Many Canadians do not understand the benefits of insurance, or underestimate the probability and cost of suffering a loss.

Accessibility to insurance is also a challenge, especially in remote areas where it is usually purchased in person. While the growth of digital purchasing channels helps, it is not a solution for those without reliable internet or sufficient digital skills.

Finally, the market itself does not always meet the needs of low-income or otherwise marginalized groups. There is a lack of insurance products designed for these groups, leaving many without the protection they need.

Strengthening community resilience

Better insurance options, stronger investments in mitigation and better support for consumers can help reduce inequities and strengthen resilience.

Community-level mitigation is a good starting point. Land-use planning that steers development away from high-risk areas can prevent future losses. Programs like FireSmart, which reduces wildfire losses, and infrastructure designed for a changing climate also help limit damage as severe weather becomes more frequent.

---

Read more:
Too little, too late? The devastating consequences of natural disasters must inform building codes

---

National assessments show that making housing more resilient reduces exposure for lower-income and marginalized households that are more likely to live in older or poorly maintained homes, putting them at greater risk.

While major retrofits can be costly, even small upgrades such as improving drainage, installing backwater valves or fire-resistant materials can help prevent damage. Many municipalities provide targeted subsidies and incentive programs that support these upgrades, particularly for households facing greater financial constraints.

Making hazard information easier to find and understand can also help ensure no one is left behind when disasters strike. Many Canadians lack clear information about the hazards they face and how to prepare for them. Some residents, including newcomers and seniors, may face barriers in accessing or acting upon available information.

Finally, community supports can further strengthen resilience. People with strong social ties and access to community organizations recover more quickly after disasters. Programs that build local networks and support neighbourhood groups can help accomplish this at a relatively low cost.

Closing the protection gap

A critical step in reducing the unequal impacts of weather-related hazards is closing Canada’s insurance protection gap. Microinsurance is one promising solution, and these simplified, low-cost policies can provide basic protection at a fraction of the cost for households that cannot afford traditional coverage.

Embedded tenant insurance — automatically included when renters sign a lease — is another approach that ensures basic coverage.

Digital tools, such as mobile-friendly sign-up platforms and plain-language policy explanations, can reduce barriers for those who struggle with technology.

Public support for income-tested premium subsidies or credits can bring essential coverage within reach for low-income households, while community-based catastrophe insurance — where local governments or community groups arrange coverage on behalf of residents — offers another option.

While Canadians can’t stop extreme weather, we can work together to prevent it from worsening inequality. Increasing awareness, reducing losses, closing insurance gaps and building resilience are key to protecting those at greatest risk.

Derek Cook is the Director of the Canadian Poverty Institute that receives funding from The Co-operators Insurance Company. The Canadian Poverty Institute is also a partner with The Resilience Institute on a collaborative project that is funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Company (CMHC).

Mary Kelly has received funding from Finance Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is also on the board of directors of Heartland Mutual Insurance Company.

Anne E. Kleffner 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. The climate insurance gap is widening, and it’s leaving marginalized Canadians behind – https://theconversation.com/the-climate-insurance-gap-is-widening-and-its-leaving-marginalized-canadians-behind-270417

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Deaville, Professor of Music, Carleton University

Hailed by many critics and movie lovers as a “timeless classic” — and ranking first on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 most inspiring films of all time — It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) has found a secure place in the hearts of audiences.

The story revolves around George Bailey, who sacrifices his personal dreams to support the small community of Bedford Falls. When a financial crisis pushes him to the brink of despair, an angel intervenes and reveals what the town’s life would look like had George never been born.

George is confronted with an alternative reality in what the film frames as a foil city, Pottersville. There, he rediscovers the value of his contributions and returns to Bedford Falls renewed, to what some viewers regard as an outpouring of communal generosity and small-town virtue.

Yet part of the film’s appeal can be attributed to its existential themes about the meaning of life.

The movie’s soundtrack — including contributions by Hollywood composer Dimitri Tiomkin — plays a central role in It’s a Wonderful Life, underscoring problems and tensions beneath the surface. Some depictions of music and sound beg analysis around how these reflect racist ideas about “proper” musical, social and community norms.

Film origins

The film began its life as a short story called The Greatest Gift (1939). Film studio RKO bought the story in 1944 and sold it to director Frank Capra’s new company, Liberty Films, in 1945.

A team of writers — including Capra himself — rewrote the script and set to work on getting Jimmy Stewart, earlier cast in two of Capra’s pre-war films, to star.

Just back from serving in the Second World War, Stewart was reluctant, not least because of what was then known as shellshock and is now called post-traumatic stress disorder from his wartime experiences. Capra successfully coaxed Stewart into taking the role.

It’s a Wonderful Life was intended for release in January 1947, but the studio moved up the premiere to Dec. 20 in order to qualify for the 1946 Academy Awards.

The film’s success came after early scrutiny. An FBI agent attended an early screening and found the film undermined the institution of banking and advanced notions of a demoralized public, but the bureau decided not to pursue prosecution.

The fact that the film was neither a financial nor a critical success upon release is well known.

Less often acknowledged is that, owing to a clerical failure to file the necessary copyright renewal, the film slipped into the public domain, ensuring decades of holiday broadcasts that ultimately recast it as a Christmas icon.

Musical score

Tiomkin had already worked with Capra on several film projects, including Lost Horizon (1937) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), as well as providing music for the director’s Why We Fight series (1942-1945).

Capra’s selection of Tiomkin for It’s a Wonderful Life is not surprising, yet little of his score remains in the final film.

Tiomkin had composed a full set of cues, which the movie condenses to about 25-30 minutes in a 130-minute run time. Tiomkin’s original cues bear such titles as “Death Telegram” and “George Is Unborn,” and are available on a 2014 recording consisting of 28 tracks.

Memorable musical moments

However, the most memorable musical moments in the film aren’t Tiomkin’s. Instead, they involve citations of well-known traditional and holiday favourites including Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Auld Lang Syne, Silent Night, Adeste Fidelis as well as the folk song Buffalo Gals,“ arranged by Tiomkin, and the popular jazz composition, The Charleston by James P. Johnson.

The film score emerges as choppy and highly varied, not only because of Capra’s cuts, but also by his tracking in cues from other movies. Alfred Newman’s Hallelujah from the Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) is heard as George jubilantly runs down the main street of Bedford Falls.

The Gregorian chant “Dies Irae” from the 13th century Mass for the Dead is heard when George — on the bridge — changes his mind about dying.

Tiomkin never worked with Capra again.

Race, music and community

A key concerning aspect to the music heard in It’s a Wonderful Life revolves around the portrayal of Black musical forms and practitioners.

Capra’s known racism against Blacks, consistent with racist discourses and practices of the era, is reflected in how jazz and other Black musical forms appear and are framed.

In the iconic Bedford falls dance, the band plays three songs, including
African American pianist and composer Johnson’s “Charleston,” which is performed by a white band.

As American journalism professor Sam Freedman notes in a podcast on whiteness and racism in America, the town features predominantly white citizens apart from a stereotypical depiction of a Black housekeeper in the Bailey family.

---

Read more:
I am not your nice ‘Mammy’: How racist stereotypes still impact women

---

The sounds of Pottersville

Music is essential to how the dystopian town, Pottersville, is imagined during George’s manic episode.

There, Black jazz reigns supreme, symbolized by the onscreen performance of unrecognizable music by Meade Lux Lewis, a pioneering and acclaimed composer and boogie woogie pianist.

In the uncredited performance, Lewis is at the keyboard wearing a derby and smoking a stogie. He appears in Nick’s Bar, which the screenwriters describe as “a hard-drinking joint, a honky-tonk … People are lower down and tougher.”

Outside the bar, we hear the fragmented strains of jazz from the dive bar pouring into the town’s main street.

Outside the bar, George bumps into Bedford Falls characters who are, in this alternate setting, destitute and desperate. The quaint main street is overrun by nightclubs and full of bright lights. Through Pottersville, the film projects a sense of moral degradation.

While negatively portraying jazz practised by Black artists, the film simultaneously draws upon and appropriates Black musical forms as necessary and key to popular American life but in a white-controlled version.

Not-so-idyllic Bedford Falls

Despite Capra’s attempt at a happy ending, in the not-so-idyllic Bedford Falls, George is not fully aware of the malicious meddling of a rich, white citizen of Bedford — Henry F. Potter — which catalyzed his financial problems.

---

Read more:
The dystopian Pottersville in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is starting to feel less like fiction

---

George awakens from his Pottersville reverie to re-commit to small-town life. While some viewers see the ending as affirming community, the film also keeps George partly ignorant of how the forces of inequity are actually operating in his largely white community.

Maybe we can appreciate the film on a deeper level, when we consider its varied and competing narratives around music, race, class and belonging.

James Deaville receives funding from SSHRC.

– ref. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Christmas classic that reflects bigoted ideas about ‘proper’ music in the 1940s – https://theconversation.com/its-a-wonderful-life-a-christmas-classic-that-reflects-bigoted-ideas-about-proper-music-in-the-1940s-270740

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Joanna Pozzulo, Chancellor’s Professor, Psychology, Carleton University

The holidays can be filled with joy and positive emotion, but they can also be a time when stress is in overdrive. To-do lists can be long, with little time for personal well-being.

Approximately 50 per cent of Canadians report December as being the most stressful month of the year, with women 40 per cent more likely to experience holiday stress due to pressure to manage holiday preparations. Over the holiday season, women report changes in sleep quality, dietary choices and mental health.

Although financial concerns are common over the holiday season, this year a significant number of Canadians are feeling an even greater strain with rising costs and job insecurity. Two-thirds of Canadian parents are concerned about managing costs over the holidays.

People may also experience family strain and conflict over the holidays, giving rise to feelings of loneliness and sadness. Past family dynamics may be triggering and open up old wounds. Changes in family composition may be felt more during the holidays. Grief over loss can also be intensified.

Identifying evidence-based strategies and using them to support your well-being is critical to experiencing the holiday season at its best. For example, writing a to-do list before bed can reduce worry and increase the speed of falling asleep.

Learning to regulate emotional stress

Holidays can increase the intensity of emotions, both positive and negative. Learning about emotional regulation, which involves being able to respond to experiences in adaptive ways, is important.

Cognitive reframing, where you consider the alternative perspectives of a situation, can be a helpful method for reducing the impact of negative emotions.

It requires considering whether there are alternative explanations for a seemingly negative or ambiguous situation. Less offensive interpretations can help regulate negative emotions. In this way, cognitive reframing can reduce stress, improve emotional resilience and help manage anxiety by shifting negative thought patterns into more positive ones.

Sleep matters more during holidays

Approximately 25 per cent of Canadian workers engage in some form of shift work, making healthy sleep habits particularly difficult. With ever-growing to-do lists during the holidays, cutting back on sleep to fit everything in can seem like a good idea.

However, getting sufficient, quality sleep can promote heart health and help with memory and cognitive functioning. It can also lower cortisol levels (a key stress hormone).

Practise good sleep hygiene, defined as a set of habits that promote sound sleep, such as maintaining a consistent sleep schedule and an environment free of distractions.

It can be challenging, but it’s essential to reducing irritability and helping you remember the items on your to-do list.

Eating mindfully amid indulgence

Decadent desserts and specialty treats are usually found in abundance during family gatherings and holiday work parties. Although it may be difficult to always make healthier choices during the holidays, try engaging in mindful eating.

Mindful eating can decrease stress hormones as well as promote self-compassion by reducing the negative judgment around food choices.

Be aware of what you are consuming (and how much) to help you make decisions that are consistent with your longer-term goals.

Disrupted routines and staying active

Physical activity can improve mood, decrease stress and increase energy levels. Engaging in some activity most days can support mental health.

Exercise can have a significant impact on your well-being by increasing serotonin and dopamine, two neurotransmitters that are important for a positive mood. Physical exercise can also improve self-esteem, helping you tackle stressful situations as well as lowering your anxiety levels.

The holidays can disrupt exercise routines, with fewer opportunities for longer workouts. Opt for brief (10-minute) and more frequent workouts (twice a day) to maintain the benefits that physical activity can have on your well-being.

The restorative effect of solitude

Burnout from childcare and eldercare is reported by almost 50 per cent of working mothers.

Finding some time for yourself can seem impossible, even though research demonstrates that spending some time on your own can help recharge your emotional and cognitive batteries. When preparing for busy holiday gatherings, spend some time away from everyone to feel calmer, refreshed and revitalized.

This can help calm your nervous system and recharge your mental capacity for challenges ahead.

Although the optimal amount of alone time each person needs will vary, 15 minutes a day can be restorative. During this “me time,” choose activities that you look forward to, find meaning in and find satisfying (such as reading, knitting or going on a walk.)

Strengthening family and social ties

Approximately two million Canadian seniors aged 65 and older live alone, with almost 20 per cent experiencing loneliness. Good relationships can increase our happiness, health and longevity, which makes the holidays a great opportunity to reconnect with loved ones.

Spending time with others can foster belonging and purpose, which in turn can reduce the body’s inflammation and illness risk.

Family dynamics, however, can be complex. Approximately 34 per cent of Canadians report some sort of family dispute. If relationships are strained, consider keeping the interactions brief.

If connecting with others isn’t possible, short conversations with strangers also can improve well-being. Striking up a conversation while waiting for your coffee order can be help decrease loneliness and improve mood.

Be flexible and manage expectations

Holiday traditions and rituals can be important for our happiness and well-being. They provide a sense of belonging, comfort and joy.

Rituals can also provide a sense of control through predictable actions and behaviour which in turn can help strengthen social bonds.

Consider creating new traditions that are consistent with your current situation to increase wellness. Be sure to manage your expectations for the holidays, however, as others may have different priorities.

By having a flexible mindset — the ability to adapt thinking and behaviour to new information or circumstances — you can reduce stress and decrease disappointment, allowing you to maintain a positive outlook for the holidays.

For more evidence-based books and strategies for the new year, join my Reading for Well-Being Community Book Club. Have a happy and healthy holiday!

Joanna Pozzulo receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

– ref. How to protect your well-being, survive the stress of the holiday season and still keep your cheer – https://theconversation.com/how-to-protect-your-well-being-survive-the-stress-of-the-holiday-season-and-still-keep-your-cheer-270765

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Sadaf Mehrabi, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University

When a crisis strikes, rumours and conspiracy theories often spread faster than emergency officials can respond and issue corrections.

In Canada, social media posts have falsely claimed wildfires were intentionally set, that evacuation orders were government overreach or that smoke maps were being manipulated. In several communities, people delayed leaving because they were unsure which information to trust.

This wasn’t just online noise. It directly shaped how Canadians responded to real danger. When misinformation delays evacuations, fragments compliance or undermines confidence in official warnings, it reduces the state’s ability to protect lives and critical infrastructure.

At that point, misinformation is no longer merely a communications problem, but a national security risk. Emergency response systems depend on public trust to function. When that trust erodes, response capacity weakens and preventable harm increases.

Canada is entering an era where climate misinformation is becoming a public-safety threat. As wildfires, floods and droughts grow more frequent, emergency systems rely on one fragile assumption: that people believe the information they receive. When that assumption fails, the entire chain of crisis communication begins to break down. We are already seeing early signs of that failure.

This dynamic extends far beyond acute disasters. It also affects long-running climate policy and adaptation efforts. When trust in institutions erodes and misinformation becomes easier to absorb than scientific evidence, public support for proactive climate action collapses.

Recent research by colleagues and me on how people perceive droughts shows that members of the public often rely on lived experiences, memories, identity and social and institutional cues — such as environmental concerns, perceived familiarity and trust — to decide whether they are experiencing a drought, even when official information suggests otherwise.

These complex cognitive dynamics create predictable vulnerabilities. Evidence from Canada and abroad documents how false narratives during climate emergencies reduce protective behaviour, amplify confusion and weaken institutional authority.

Tackling misinformation

Canada has invested billions of dollars in physical resiliency, firefighting capacity, flood resiliency and energy reliability. In addition, the Canadian government also recently joined the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change to investigate false narratives and strengthen response capacity.

These are much needed steps in the right direction. But Canada still approaches misinformation as secondary rather than a key component of climate-risk management.

That leaves responsibility for effective messaging fragmented across public safety, environment, emergency management and digital policy, with no single entity accountable for monitoring, anticipating or responding to information threats during crises. The cost of this fragmentation is slower response, weaker co-ordination and greater risk to public safety.

Canada also continues to rely heavily on outdated communication mediums like radio, TV and static government websites, while climate misinformation is optimized for the social-media environment. False content often circulates quickly online digitally, with emotional resonance and repetition giving it an advantage over verified information.

Research on misinformation dynamics shows how platforms systematically amplify sensational claims and how false claims travel farther and faster than verified updates.

Governments typically attempt to correct misinformation during emergencies when emotions are high, timelines are compressed and false narratives are already circulating. By then, correction is reactive and often ineffective.

Trust cannot be built in the middle of a crisis. It is long-term public infrastructure that must be maintained through transparency, consistency and modern communication systems before disasters occur.

Proactive preparedness

Canada needs to shift from reactive correction to proactive preparedness. With wildfire season only months ahead, this is the window when preparation matters most. Waiting for the next crisis to expose the same weaknesses is not resilience, but repetition.

We cannot afford another round of reacting under pressure and then reflecting afterwards on steps that should have been taken earlier. That shift requires systemic planning:

• Proactive public preparedness: Federal and provincial emergency agencies should treat public understanding of alerts, evacuation systems and climate risks as a standing responsibility, not an emergency add-on. This information must be communicated well before disaster strikes, through the platforms people actually use, with clear expectations about where authoritative information will come from.

• Institutional co-ordination: Responsiblity for tackling climate misinformation currently falls between departments. A federal-provincial co-ordination mechanism, linked to emergency management rather than political communications, would allow early detection of misinformation patterns and faster response, just as meteorological or hydrological risks are monitored today.

• Partnerships with trusted messengers: Community leaders, educators, health professionals and local organizations often have more credibility than institutions during crises. These relationships should be formalized in emergency planning, not improvised under pressure. During recent wildfires, community-run pages and volunteers were among the most effective at countering false claims.

We cannot eliminate every rumour or every bit of misinformation. But without strengthening public trust and information integrity as core components of climate infrastructure, emergencies will become harder to manage and more dangerous.

Climate resilience is not only about physical systems. It is also about whether people believe the warnings meant to protect them. Canada’s long-term security depends on taking that reality seriously.

Sadaf Mehrabi 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. Climate misinformation is becoming a national security threat. Canada isn’t ready for it. – https://theconversation.com/climate-misinformation-is-becoming-a-national-security-threat-canada-isnt-ready-for-it-271588

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Frank Deer, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba

In recent years, members of the Canadian public have witnessed the misrepresentation of Indigenous identities.

Recently, we learned that University of Guelph professor emeritus Thomas King is not Indigenous. The highly regarded author of literary works such as The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America and The Back of the Turtle captured the imagination of readers interested in Indigenous experiences.

Both non-Indigenous readers, either less or more familiar with Indigenous lives, and Indigenous readers trusted and respected King. Many of us revered him.

In King, we had a source of literary representation that informed knowledge of the Indigenous experience, and inspired curiosity about who Indigenous people are — and how we might understand “their” or “our” knowledge, histories and experiences.

King’s situation is yet another in a queue of high-profile individuals such as Buffy Sainte-Marie, Carrie Bourassa and Vianne Timmons who have made dubious claims about Indigenous identities.

---

Read more:
Thomas King: As we learn another ‘hero’ is non-Indigenous, let’s not ignore a broader cultural problem

---

Some Canadian universities have begun to develop policies to address erroneous claims to indigeneity. Some have already been affected by the fallout of such cases, while others wish to mitigate potential problems of misrepresentation.

Our respective research interests are in Indigenous education related to Indigenous identity and languages and interdisciplinary research related to intersectional justice, decolonization and equity.

We are both “Status Indian,” who consider ourselves to have connections to our respective communities, in Kanienkeha’ka (Frank) and Wendat (Annie) territories. In our own cases, and many others, these connections are also made complicated by migration, work/life changes and relationships.

Universities address Indigenous identity

Many universities are attempting to develop appropriate policies for Indigenous identity verification that will address and possibly prevent false claims to Indigenous identity.

For example, community consultations at the University of Manitoba and working groups at the University of Winnipeg have provided some valuable input into the problem of false claims of Indigenous identity and potential approaches to address them.

The University of Montréal is also in the process of developing a policy on Indigenous self-declaration, although it has not yet been formally adopted.

While there are many aspects to take into consideration, policies may vary from one institution or community to another. Yet across contexts, policy development about Indigenous identity will often lead to difficult conversations.

Indentity is personal and complex

As such policies emerge, it ought to be acknowledged that Indigenous identity is profoundly personal and complex. For instance, some Indigenous people may lack connections due to the Sixties Scoop phenomenon.

---

Read more:
How journalists tell Buffy Sainte-Marie’s story matters — explained by a ’60s Scoop survivor

---

Viewing the complexities that may exist when considering an individual’s Indigenous identity as “challenges” might adversely affect our orientations toward the exercise.

Fundamentally, the constituent elements of one’s Indigenous identity ought to be treated charitably. This approach should not be understood as a dismissal of the problems experienced when one misrepresents their identity as being Indigenous. The concern here is the impact that such dialogue has upon Indigenous people and Peoples at large.

Rights of individuals, nations

We acknowledge the prevailing notion that claims of Indigenous identity ought to be consistent with the rights of nations: this has become an important concern for how Indigenous Peoples understand membership in their communities.

The current prevailing view among many is that some sort of national affiliation is central to any personal declaration to Indigenous identity.

Many academics have expressed confidence in the notion that Indigenous communities are in the best positions to determine how Indigenous identity may be understood in their respective communal or national contexts.

It is also important to include the rights of individuals in the conversation on Indigenous identity. This reflects what is contained in Article 33 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which affirms Indigenous peoples’ right to define their own identity and membership based on their customs and traditions.

Although connections to Indigenous communities are regarded as essential to claims of Indigenous identity, many Indigenous people may not be connected to their community.

Thus, claims to indigeneity made by those without such apparent connections must be considered carefully.

Non-material harms of false claims

While prospective policies around Indigenous identity are developed to regulate situations that would lead a person to make a false claim for material benefits — like access to funding or Indigenous-specific hiring — we believe that non-material impacts, such as community well-being and trust, should also be considered.

False declarations unquestionably impact the person and, sometimes, the reputation of the institution. These also also harm other groups like Indigenous academics, and wider research communities, through division and the erosion of confidence.

Impacts of misrepresentation

Although the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds highlighted the dubiousness of King’s claims to indigeneity, King has owned up publicly to his misrepresentation.

In an essay in The Globe and Mail, King shared what he had learned of his non-Cherokee ancestry, family stories shared about his darker skin, as well as the impacts that his misrepresentation has had on others.

Perhaps we can be charitable to a man who has learned about himself, set the record straight and contributed to a difficult conversation.

Frank Deer receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Annie Pullen Sansfaçon receives funding from the Canada Research Chair Program. She is member of the National Indigenous University Senior Leaders’ Association (NIUSLA)

– ref. Universities’ work towards Indigenous identity policies signals difficult conversations – https://theconversation.com/universities-work-towards-indigenous-identity-policies-signals-difficult-conversations-271074

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Michael J. Armstrong, Associate Professor, Operations Research, Brock University

When Canada legalized cannabis in October 2018, there were many concerns about its potential impacts. One of them involved cannabis-impaired driving.

Before legalization, police were already catching more drug-impaired drivers each year. So, people naturally worried that more stoned drivers would appear on the road after legalization.

To lower that risk, the federal government updated its driving laws. Impairment by alcohol or drugs separately was already illegal. In December 2018, Canada also banned impairment by combinations of alcohol and drugs, or by unspecified substances.

---

Read more:
Cannabis-impaired driving: Here’s what we know about the risks of weed behind the wheel

---

The government likewise helped police to better enforce those laws. For example, it gave them more power to obtain breath and blood samples from drivers. And it funded more training to help them recognize symptoms of drug impairment.

However, it was unclear how much impaired driving would really increase due to legalizing cannabis.

For example, drivers injured in collisions often test positive for cannabis, but also for other drugs. Cannabis consumers claim they are driving less often after use. And police say that drivers’ symptoms more often imply impairment by stimulants or narcotics than by cannabis.

Given this uncertainty, I decided to dig into the police data.

Police-reported impairment

My research analyzed the annual rates of impaired driving cases that police investigated between 2009 and 2023. The reporting covered four substance categories: alcohol, drugs, drugs-and-alcohol combined and unknown substances.

Note that “drugs” includes cannabis but also other chemicals like opioids and amphetamines. Publicly available data unfortunately don’t name the drugs involved.

I first estimated the trends in alcohol and drug impairment up until 2018. I then calculated how much rates changed from 2019 onward.

I also checked several potential explanations for those changes. Those included the level of legalized cannabis sales and the share of adults consuming cannabis in each province. I also considered each province’s number of police trained in drug recognition and their degree of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The data showed that during the 15-year study period, alcohol remained the most common impairment category. But its share of all cases dropped from 98 per cent in 2009 to 95 per cent in 2017 and to just 80 per cent in 2023.

Up until 2018, the total impairment rate also fell each year.

More drinks and drugs

But in 2019, rates jumped substantially. As a result, police reported 31 per cent more impairment cases during 2019-23 than the 2009-18 trend had projected.

The impairment increases varied between provinces. For example, there was no significant change in Québec and Saskatchewan. But rates doubled in British Columbia and Newfoundland.

Percentage-wise, the drugs category saw the most growth. It averaged 42 per cent higher during 2019-23 than had been projected.

But alcohol impairment rose too. It averaged 17 per cent above its previous trend.

And when counting drivers, alcohol’s growth was larger. The increase in drinking drivers caught by police was four times the increase in drugged drivers.

The new offenses for impairment by drugs and alcohol combined, or by unspecified substances, also contributed to the higher rate.

So, police clearly found more impaired drivers after 2018. But was that because more impaired drivers were on the road? Because police got better at catching them? Or both?

Constables, COVID and cannabis

My analysis showed the impairment changes were correlated most strongly with the number of police trained in drug recognition. Not surprisingly, when provinces gave police more training, they caught more impaired drivers.

The restrictions that provinces imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic showed the second biggest correlations with impairment. But interestingly, alcohol and drugs diverged: when provinces tightened restrictions, they got less impairment from alcohol but more from drugs.

Presumably, lockdowns meant fewer bars open, and so fewer people driving home drunk. But perhaps lockdowns also meant more laid-off workers using drugs at home before going grocery shopping.

---

Read more:
Alcohol sales changed subtly after Canada legalized cannabis

---

Alcohol impairment showed no relationship with the numbers of Canadians consuming cannabis or the amount of cannabis legally sold. That’s not surprising. Canadians didn’t suddenly replace their cabernet with cannabis after legalization.

But it was surprising that drug impairment likewise showed no relationship with cannabis consumer numbers. And it was only weakly correlated with legal sales.

This might imply that most drug impairment came from chemicals other than cannabis. Or perhaps most legal cannabis purchases simply replaced existing illegal ones, rather than adding to total usage.

Consuming responsibly

Overall, Canadian police reported noticeably more drug-impaired and alcohol-impaired driving after 2018. But the growth seemed related mostly to enhanced enforcement and pandemic disruptions, rather than to legalized cannabis. And fortunately, the long-term decline in impaired driving resumed in 2020.

All road users benefit from that continuing decline. And we each play a role in maintaining it. Whether your preferred intoxicant is booze, weed or something else, please consume responsibly. And use designated drivers or public transit to get home.

After all, flashing coloured lights look much nicer on a tree standing in your home than on a police car pulling you over.

Michael J. Armstrong 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. After Canada legalized cannabis, police caught more drunk drivers – https://theconversation.com/after-canada-legalized-cannabis-police-caught-more-drunk-drivers-272244

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Matthieu Caron, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History, Simon Fraser University

The history of Montréal’s night-time regulation reveals how managing nightlife expanded police power and budgets — and how burdensome effects of these changes fell disproportionately on sex workers, the queer community and hospitality industry workers.

For much of the first half of the 20th century, Montréal built a reputation as a North American nightlife capital. Tourists sought out cabarets, jazz clubs and after-hours bars, and moved through the red-light district where sex, gambling and liquor were openly available.

This permissiveness relied on a well-understood but illicit arrangement: police officers, politicians, madams, taxi drivers, performing artists and business owners all participated in a protected nighttime economy.

By the mid-1950s, however, this tolerance became the starting point for one of the largest expansions of police authority in Canadian urban history.

As I examine in my book Montreal After Dark: Nighttime Regulation and the Pursuit of a Global City, Montréal’s political leadership came to see nightlife control not as a marginal issue but as a central measure of civic order and modernity. And that shift transformed the police force.

When night became a policing problem

In the 1940s, the Montréal Police Department was already stretched thin. Officers enforced wartime blackouts, guarded industrial sites and cracked down on sexually transmitted infections among soldiers and civilians.

The Morality Squad (“Escouade de la moralité”) — enlarged during wartime fears over delinquency — patrolled theatres, bars, parks and known queer or youth meeting places.

Young women were frequently arrested for “immoral” behaviour, while queer men faced entrapment and harassment. In this, Montréal’s squad resembled its North American counterparts, variously labelled vice squads — or, in Toronto’s case, the Morality Department, disbanded in the 1930s.

Pursuing a new urban order

Pacifique “Pax” Plante, a city prosecutor, took over the Morality Squad at this time.

He insisted that officers apply laws long ignored, raiding brothels, gambling houses and nightclubs that had operated under longstanding police protection. His crusade threatened the partnerships that sustained Montréal’s nighttime economy, and this led to his dismissal in 1948.

---

Read more:
Defunding the police requires understanding what role policing plays in our society

---

But the damage had been done; his campaign pushed the city into the 1950–53 Caron Inquiry, which laid bare a police force deeply entangled in the very nightlife it was meant to regulate.

Cleaning up the city required more than moral zeal. Reformers pursued a new urban order which led to hiring, retraining, centralizing authority and expanding the budget. Nightlife policing became one of the clearest justifications for growth.

Building a modern police force

After the inquiry, Jean Drapeau’s Civic Action League won the 1954 municipal election on a promise to restore honesty and order. But doing so required rebuilding the police. At mid-century, the force was large but demoralized, discredited by scandal and mistrusted by residents.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the city invested heavily in police professionalization. European consultants from London and Paris reorganized the department, streamlined command structures and introduced new standards of training and discipline — reforms similar to those underway in Chicago and Los Angeles. Hundreds of new officers were hired and night patrols increased. Raids on cabarets, clubs and small bars became routine.

By the late 1960s, the police budget had risen sharply. Montréal’s political atmosphere — defined by protests, marches, labour disputes, dissent and fears of radical activity — gave elected officials strong incentives to keep expanding the force.

The 1969 police and firefighter strike plunged the city into chaos: looting, fires and riots. The municipal administration used the event to argue for further investment in policing, reinforcing an upward spiral in budget growth and authority.

---

Read more:
Canadian cities continue to over-invest in policing

---

Growing police budget

Moments of unrest were not daily occurrences, but they created a climate in which constant budget increases appeared necessary.

Tellingly, between the mid-1950s and 1970, Montréal’s police budget grew from $9.6 million to $49.7 million — an increase of more than 400 per cent and far outpacing overall municipal spending.

Yet, the everyday, not the exceptional, absorbed the department’s time. Officers spent their nights patrolling streets, parks, clubs and cabarets, enforcing morality laws and municipal bylaws.

They targeted sex workers, queer men and women and performing artists working after dark. Street checks, like arrests for prostitution charges, shaped the routine work of policing, linking the department’s growth directly to the governance of nighttime public space.

Nighttime surveillance — from enforcing bar hours to policing street sex work — became part of a broader municipal project that linked order, cleanliness and safety to global ambitions.

Expo 67, 1976 Olympics

As Montréal formalized its place on the global stage, first during Expo 67 and later during the 1976 Olympics, the policing of nightlife intensified.

For example, fearing that Expo would attract sex workers and petty crime, the city adopted a controversial “anti-mingling” bylaw.

This forbade employees in licensed establishments from sitting, drinking or even talking with customers. Because this bylaw was designed to curb sex workers from soliciting in drinking establishments, police enforced the regulation most aggressively against women.

Dancers, singers, barmaids and hostesses were arrested for ordinary workplace interactions. The bylaw blurred the line between hospitality work and sex work, effectively criminalizing women’s participation in the nighttime economy.

Anti-prostitution bylaws

By the early 1980s, the city — along with other Canadian urban centres — introduced “anti-prostitution” bylaws to expand police powers despite limits imposed by the Supreme Court of Canada. This led to a pan-Canadian review of sex work in society.

These local tools disproportionately targeted women, transgender people and racialized sex workers, who were increasingly arrested simply for being in public spaces at night.

Whose night?

By the ‘80s, Montréal presented itself as a global cultural hub — home to major festivals, theatres and a thriving, “respectable” nightlife. That transformation, however, rested on the continued policing of many of the people who had historically sustained the nighttime economy.

The police department had become one of the city’s largest expenses, and nighttime enforcement one of its most visible activities.

The legacy is visible today. Independent venues face noise complaints, rising regulatory costs and the threat of closure.

The city’s recent support fund for small venues offers some relief, but it doesn’t answer the central question: who is allowed to shape Montréal and its nights, and who is pushed out in the name of order?

Seen from a nocturnal angle, Montréal’s history — like the history of many cities — shows that “safety” is never neutral. From the 1940s onward, expanding police budgets rested on the idea that the night was inherently unruly and needed constant control.

Debates about rights

Rather than allocating resources toward the concerns raised by the feminist Take Back the Night movement or by emerging queer organizations, the city focused on moral regulation — a pattern that consistently targeted those living and working after dark.

As cities debate how to sustain their nighttime economies while keeping residents safe, Montréal’s past reminds us that the way we govern the night determines who gets to belong in it.

For policymakers and residents today, the lesson is simple: debates about nightlife are also debates about rights, inclusion and the fair use of public space. Safer nights are built not only through policing, but through investment, participation and recognition of the communities that bring the city to life after dark.

Matthieu Caron 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. Sex, jazz, liquor and gambling: How Montréal’s nightlife shifted in the mid-20th century – https://theconversation.com/sex-jazz-liquor-and-gambling-how-montreals-nightlife-shifted-in-the-mid-20th-century-268733

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Frank Deer, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba

In recent years, members of the Canadian public have witnessed the misrepresentation of Indigenous identities.

Recently, we learned that University of Guelph professor emeritus Thomas King is not Indigenous. The highly regarded author of literary works such as The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America and The Back of the Turtle captured the imagination of readers interested in Indigenous experiences.

Both non-Indigenous readers, either less or more familiar with Indigenous lives, and Indigenous readers trusted and respected King. Many of us revered him.

In King, we had a source of literary representation that informed knowledge of the Indigenous experience, and inspired curiosity about who Indigenous people are — and how we might understand “their” or “our” knowledge, histories and experiences.

King’s situation is yet another in a queue of high-profile individuals such as Buffy Sainte-Marie, Carrie Bourassa and Vianne Timmons who have made dubious claims about Indigenous identities.

---

Read more:
Thomas King: As we learn another ‘hero’ is non-Indigenous, let’s not ignore a broader cultural problem

---

Some Canadian universities have begun to develop policies to address erroneous claims to indigeneity. Some have already been affected by the fallout of such cases, while others wish to mitigate potential problems of misrepresentation.

Our respective research interests are in Indigenous education related to Indigenous identity and languages and interdisciplinary research related to intersectional justice, decolonization and equity.

We are both “Status Indian,” who consider ourselves to have connections to our respective communities, in Kanienkeha’ka (Frank) and Wendat (Annie) territories. In our own cases, and many others, these connections are also made complicated by migration, work/life changes and relationships.

Universities address Indigenous identity

Many universities are attempting to develop appropriate policies for Indigenous identity verification that will address and possibly prevent false claims to Indigenous identity.

For example, community consultations at the University of Manitoba and working groups at the University of Winnipeg have provided some valuable input into the problem of false claims of Indigenous identity and potential approaches to address them.

The University of Montréal is also in the process of developing a policy on Indigenous self-declaration, although it has not yet been formally adopted.

While there are many aspects to take into consideration, policies may vary from one institution or community to another. Yet across contexts, policy development about Indigenous identity will often lead to difficult conversations.

Indentity is personal and complex

As such policies emerge, it ought to be acknowledged that Indigenous identity is profoundly personal and complex. For instance, some Indigenous people may lack connections due to the Sixties Scoop phenomenon.

---

Read more:
How journalists tell Buffy Sainte-Marie’s story matters — explained by a ’60s Scoop survivor

---

Viewing the complexities that may exist when considering an individual’s Indigenous identity as “challenges” might adversely affect our orientations toward the exercise.

Fundamentally, the constituent elements of one’s Indigenous identity ought to be treated charitably. This approach should not be understood as a dismissal of the problems experienced when one misrepresents their identity as being Indigenous. The concern here is the impact that such dialogue has upon Indigenous people and Peoples at large.

Rights of individuals, nations

We acknowledge the prevailing notion that claims of Indigenous identity ought to be consistent with the rights of nations: this has become an important concern for how Indigenous Peoples understand membership in their communities.

The current prevailing view among many is that some sort of national affiliation is central to any personal declaration to Indigenous identity.

Many academics have expressed confidence in the notion that Indigenous communities are in the best positions to determine how Indigenous identity may be understood in their respective communal or national contexts.

It is also important to include the rights of individuals in the conversation on Indigenous identity. This reflects what is contained in Article 33 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which affirms Indigenous peoples’ right to define their own identity and membership based on their customs and traditions.

Although connections to Indigenous communities are regarded as essential to claims of Indigenous identity, many Indigenous people may not be connected to their community.

Thus, claims to indigeneity made by those without such apparent connections must be considered carefully.

Non-material harms of false claims

While prospective policies around Indigenous identity are developed to regulate situations that would lead a person to make a false claim for material benefits — like access to funding or Indigenous-specific hiring — we believe that non-material impacts, such as community well-being and trust, should also be considered.

False declarations unquestionably impact the person and, sometimes, the reputation of the institution. These also also harm other groups like Indigenous academics, and wider research communities, through division and the erosion of confidence.

Impacts of misrepresentation

Although the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds highlighted the dubiousness of King’s claims to indigeneity, King has owned up publicly to his misrepresentation.

In an essay in The Globe and Mail, King shared what he had learned of his non-Cherokee ancestry, family stories shared about his darker skin, as well as the impacts that his misrepresentation has had on others.

Perhaps we can be charitable to a man who has learned about himself, set the record straight and contributed to a difficult conversation.

Frank Deer receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Annie Pullen Sansfaçon receives funding from the Canada Research Chair Program. She is member of the National Indigenous University Senior Leaders’ Association (NIUSLA)

– ref. Universities’ work towards Indigenous identity policies signal difficult conversations – https://theconversation.com/universities-work-towards-indigenous-identity-policies-signal-difficult-conversations-271074

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Holly Noelle Schaafsma, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Guelph

The holiday season is a time of exciting activities, family get-togethers and a time away from the normal work and school routine. As a result, your family, like many others, may feel like your usual routines are lost in the holiday hustle. Possible disruptions that can affect well-being and cause household stress include irregular meals, more snacking and screen time and later bedtimes.

The good news is, integrating simple, healthy household habits over the holidays can help your family maintain healthy eating, sleep and activity behaviours to feel your best during this busy holiday season.

As registered dietitians and family health researchers, we have conducted studies on family health and learned a number of effective strategies that can help your family create healthy habits. Here are our three top tips to help your family maintain healthy eating, physical activity and sleep habits while still enjoying everything this special season has to offer.

1. Make meals a family affair

Hectic schedules during the holidays can make it feel almost impossible to find time to cook and sit down for a family meal. However, during the holiday season, when there are many chances to snack on cookies and candies, making time to sit down for at least one family meal a day is key. This simple habit helps your family maintain healthier eating patterns and gives everyone a valuable chance to connect.

Remember, the family meal doesn’t have to happen at dinner time. Work around your holiday schedule; if breakfast together works best, that’s great.

Involve the whole family, including young children, in food preparation. This can include holiday baking, cooking a family meal or making a dish for a holiday get-together. Involving children in meal preparation, such as stirring food, measuring ingredients or even helping with grocery shopping, can improve their likelihood of trying the food they create and may reduce picky eating.

For ideas on simple, family-friendly recipes with tips for involving kids, check out the series of free cookbooks developed by researchers at the Guelph Family Health Study.

2. Find moments to move, play and unplug

Get outside! Children who spend more time outside are more physically active. Spending time in nature also supports brain development and helps kids relax.

Plan a family hike, go skating and sledding; walk to nearby events and through your neighbourhood to enjoy holiday lights. These brief opportunities for movement add up!

When it’s time to come inside to warm up, have a plan for screen time. Children spend less time in front of screens when their parents set screen time limits. While this may sound like a tough feat during the school break, setting specific screen-time limits for the holiday season can help kids know what to expect, which may reduce day-to-day arguments about screens.

Keep meals screen-free. Turn off the TV and put phones and tablets in a designated place away from where you eat.

Setting screen limits doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your favourite holiday movies. Purposeful, time-limited screen use has its benefits. In fact, co-viewing movies or TV together has been associated with many cognitive benefits for kids. Asking content-related “what if” and “why” questions can help develop vocabulary and critical thinking.

3. Balance festivities with family sleep routines

A good night’s sleep can help everyone, parents included, make the most of the holiday season. Children with sufficient sleep report less stress and hyperactivity, and better physical and mental health. Depending on their age, children and adolescents need between eight and 17 hours of sleep per day, while adults need seven to nine hours of sleep. Research shows that one in four children are not getting enough sleep.

Between festivities, keeping a consistent bedtime routine can help your children get enough sleep. Make time to unwind from a busy day with calm, screen-free activities such as reading a book before going to bed.

Maintaining a consistent bedtime routine can also help children fall asleep when sleeping away from home. Giving children a “few-minutes warning” can help them navigate their emotions when it’s time to stop a fun activity to get ready for bed. Children who are more sensitive to change may need extra closeness with their parents to feel safe and fall asleep in a new environment.

We hope these simple routines can help your family connect, slow down and find joy even during the busiest days of the holidays.

Jess Haines receives funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Institutes of Health, Danone Institute International, Protein Industries Canada, Health Canada, and Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research.

Kathryn Walton receives funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the New Frontiers in Research Fund and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Raphaëlle Jacob received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Holly Noelle Schaafsma 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. Healthy habits and the holiday season: Tips for families to navigate eating, physical activity and sleep – https://theconversation.com/healthy-habits-and-the-holiday-season-tips-for-families-to-navigate-eating-physical-activity-and-sleep-271723

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Christine C. Hwang, Postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Management, Lang School of Business and Economics, University of Guelph, University of Guelph

Most people recognize that we shouldn’t actively harm others at work. Yet people tend to assume that failing to act is relatively benign or inconsequential.

Imagine witnessing an employee being belittled by a coworker. As a manager, should you step in or could staying on the sidelines give employees room to resolve conflict themselves?

Our new research demonstrates that “perceived managerial inaction” — the belief that a manager has failed to act in response to a negative experience — can have devastating consequences in the workplace. We examined how employees react when they believe their manager has failed to respond to a harmful or disrespectful incident.

Across an experiment and surveys involving hundreds of employees, we measured whether people felt their manager had a duty to intervene, whether they believed that duty was violated and how this shaped their trust, well-being and behaviour.

What is perceived managerial inaction?

Because of their formal position of authority, managers have the obligation to protect their employees from harm and maintain a safe and ethical work environment.

We use the term perceived employee-directed managerial inaction to describe situations in which employees believe their managers have not acted to prevent or address potential harm to them. Three conditions need to be present for employees to perceive managerial inaction:

1. There was a potential for harm to the employee;

2. The manager was aware of this potential for harm, and

3. The manager violated perceived managerial responsibilities or obligations by failing to act in response to this potential for harm.

When these conditions are met, employees interpret the absence of a response as a meaningful choice.

Why it matters for individuals and organizations

Perceived managerial inaction has real, measurable effects on employees’ well-being and their relationship with the manager.

Our research reveals that even a single instance of perceived managerial inaction can result in profound consequences. Employees can lose trust in their manager, even if there was a pre-existing positive relationship and their manager had demonstrated positive leadership behaviours.

Perceived managerial inaction can also undermine managers’ effectiveness. Our studies indicated that it can motivate employees to protect themselves from the manager by withdrawing support, engaging in negative gossiping and resisting work-related requests.

Organizations also face risks, as there is increasing momentum to hold them accountable for managers’ inaction. As high-profile cases show — such as the California lawsuit alleging that Activision Blizzard managers failed to “take reasonable steps” to protect employees from discrimination — inaction can escalate from an interpersonal issue to a legal and reputational one.

Addressing common misconceptions

Many managers underestimate the impact of doing nothing. Our research highlights four misconceptions that often keep leaders from acting and the reality behind them.

Misconception #1: Inaction is benign, and employees won’t notice or negatively react to managerial inaction.

Reality: Employees can be highly attuned to inaction because it has significant implications for how they perceive their manager and navigate their work environment.

Misconception #2: Inaction can empower employees or help them grow.

Reality: Even if managers withheld action with positive intentions, employees experience inaction as a violation of managerial responsibilities.

Misconception #3: The negative effect of managerial inaction is short-lived.

Reality: Managerial inaction can cause short- and long-term damage to employees’ well-being, managerial effectiveness and organizations at large.

Misconception #4: The negative effect is limited to the employee who perceived that the manager failed to act.

Reality: By failing to address harmful experiences, managers may inadvertently signal that mistreatment will be tolerated, which can normalize mistreatment within the workplace and increase its frequency.

Practical recommendations for managers

Managers are not only responsible for their actions, but also for failing to act to protect employees from harm. If inaction occurs or is perceived to have occurred, managers can take steps to repair trust and prevent harm:

1. Talk to the affected employee about inaction and address the source of the harm.

Listen to and support employees, including acknowledging their experience and any harm that occurred. Provide a clear explanation for why you did not act, without being defensive. Be honest if you were not sure what was happening at the time or if you did not know how to act. Take appropriate steps to remedy the situation: apologize, acknowledge responsibility and clearly communicate the steps you will take to repair harm and prevent future occurrences.

2. Recognize that the impact of the situation may include coworkers and the team.

Those who witnessed or heard about the incident may need support or benefit from debriefing the incident. If the negative experience involved employee mistreatment, reinforce that any mistreatment is against organizational norms will not be tolerated and consistently apply negative consequences.

3. Set an appropriate tone for the team to mitigate the negative impact of inaction.

Set clear expectations for appropriate organizational conduct and encourage employees to voice unpleasant work experiences while also addressing employees’ concerns.

Managers must recognize that “with great power comes great responsibility.” Fulfilling managerial obligations is critical to support employees as well as avoid negative implications for managers and organizations. Action, even if it is not perfect, can enable managers to fulfil their responsibilities and help create workplaces where people feel safe and valued.

Christine C. Hwang receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Laurie J. Barclay receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Daniel L. Brady and Robert J. Bies 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. What happens when managers don’t act? New research reveals the consequences can be severe – https://theconversation.com/what-happens-when-managers-dont-act-new-research-reveals-the-consequences-can-be-severe-271477