YorkSpace

YorkSpace is York University's Institutional Repository. It supports York University's Senate Policy on Open Access by providing York community members with a place to preserve their research online in an institutional context.

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    The manipulation of Long and Short Temporalities in Bamewawagezhikaquay’s “The Contrast”
    (2025-03-28) Nisi, Amanda; O’Briain, Katarina
    Typically, time is linear and can be recollected through memory. While this understanding of time privileges forward human progression, Paul Huebener proposes that long/slow and short temporalities occur simultaneously in nature. Long time is a natural process which takes many years to progress and short time is a natural process that is quickly completed. Huebener’s concept of Critical Time Studies enforces a critical understanding of time that operates socially as a form of power in the Western world (327). To support this concept, Huebener explains two incidents under the Harper Government in 2012 where deadlines shifted for political and economic gain. The first concerned the oil industry and the compression of time. The maximum period to review major environmental resource projects was reduced from six to two years (329). Speeding up the timeline of this review did not allow the necessary tests and requirements to be completed, and consequently, oil and gas were transported quicker than before. The second example concerned a delay of a carbon-pricing scheme which could cost the petroleum producers additional money (330). Huebener notes that when it comes to the “imposition of actual environmental regulations, the above emphasis on speed and acceleration disappears, giving way to plead for slowness and precaution” (330). Huebener demonstrates that time is manipulated for political purposes as deadlines shift for capitalistic gain. Huebener highlights the political manipulation of time; however, this concept is not specific to the political domain. This essay applies these concepts within the realm of literature, specifically the poem “The Contrast” by Bamewawagezhikaquay or Jane Johnston Schoolcraft. In this poem, Bamewawagezhikaquay’s speaker compares her happy childhood with her community before the European colonial settlement in America to the pain she and her community feel after the extractive action by the colonial settlers in power. Throughout the poem, the settler and the speaker each use Huebener’s idea of long and short time and the concept of physical and psychological pain measures these temporalities. While the settler’s long and short time represents destructive actions, the speaker’s time represents a kind and forgiving alternative bringing together personal and collective action.
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    Personnel is Policy: Exploring Social Markers of Career Advancement for Current Ontario Public Service Senior Executives
    (2025-04-21) Man, Jeffrey; Spotton Visano, Brenda
    This study explores the unwritten factors that influence career trajectories of senior executives in the Ontario Public Service (OPS). Applying social capital and portfolio theory, it analyzes educational attainment, tenure, and professional diversity variables as potential social markers of career advancement. Findings show graduate-level education is nearly universal, strategic policy experience is effectively mandatory, and diversity in past cross-ministry assignments is common. Oftentimes, however, these advantages are not explicitly identified as a job requirement. Opportunities exist for both career public servants and externally recruited leaders. These insights highlight how merit may be inferred through proxies that may reinforce systemic barriers. The study contributes new empirical evidence to the literature on representative bureaucracy and raises practical questions about how the OPS can design more inclusive, transparent, and meritocratic leadership pipelines to meet the needs of a diverse and complex province.
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    Education Behind Bars: Understanding Educational Access in Ontario’s Juvenile Detention Centres
    (2025-04-27) Chaput, Chelsea; Klassen, Thomas
    This research paper examines the accessibility of secondary school education for youth incarcerated in Ontario’s juvenile detention centres, focusing on why access remains inconsistent despite education being recognized as a legal right and a vital part of rehabilitation. It highlights how educational disparities are shaped not by legislative gaps, but by fragmented and inconsistent implementation across the province. Drawing on original field research, including a comprehensive literature review and in-depth interviews with eight participants from school boards, the Ontario public service, and detention facilities, the study reveals systemic inequities in areas such as French-language instruction, vocational training, online learning, and timely access to student records. The findings indicate that the quality and scope of education provided to incarcerated youth are largely dependent on regional factors, institutional partnerships, and resource allocation. This thesis contends that these disparities undermine the rehabilitative purpose of detention and threaten youths’ rights and chances for reintegration. To address these service gaps, it offers evidence-based policy recommendations aimed at provincial and school board decision-makers, including the implementation of a centralized student record system, expansion of culturally and linguistically relevant programmes, enhancement of vocational and digital learning opportunities, and equipping educators with trauma-informed training. Ultimately, the research calls for a coordinated, province-wide strategy that moves beyond the current patchwork approach and affirms education in custody as a rehabilitative right owed equally to all youth.
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    Fair Share or Free Ride? A thematic and critical analysis of the political discourse of Canada’s equalization program under the Harper and Trudeau government
    (2025-04-17) Ramaj, Mirusha; Roberge, Ian
    Canada’s constitutionally entrenched equalization program is intended to ensure that every province can deliver comparable public services at comparable tax rates, yet it has become one of the federation’s most polarizing symbols. This study asks how political discourse around equalization evolved in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario between 2006 and 2024, and what that discourse reveals about contemporary Canadian federalism. Drawing on 1,339 Hansard references, the paper first conducts a thematic analysis to map recurrent narratives inside each legislature. It then applies critical discourse analysis to the rhetoric of leading provincial actors, such as Jason Kenney, Dwight Ball, and Dalton McGuinty, to uncover the ideological work equalization performs. The findings show that while themes of fairness, federal tension, and political accountability recur everywhere, their expression diverges sharply. Alberta frames equalization as evidence of systemic exploitation and Western alienation; Newfoundland and Labrador oscillates between pride in brief “have-province” status and betrayal over unmet federal promises; Ontario turns the program into a mirror of provincial decline and partisan blame. Across all three cases, limited federal transparency allows provincial leaders to recast equalization as a discursive battleground for identity, grievance, and legitimacy. Reform must begin with communication: without clear, accessible explanations of how equalization works, attempts to depoliticize or restructure the program will founder on a widening gap between fiscal reality and political narrative.
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    Equity Without Evidence? Analysis of the City of Toronto’s Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism
    (2025-05-15) Francis, Zincia; Spotton Visano, Brenda
    This study examines the extent to which the “Job Opportunities & Income Supports” section of the City of Toronto’s Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism defines and measures progress in improving employment and economic opportunities outcomes for Black Torontonians. Using 38 City reports and documents from 2017 to 2024, the study uses an evaluative, qualitative analysis supported by NVivo coding to evaluate clarity, transparency, and empirical verifiability. The study finds that while Toronto’s Action Plan reflects institutional commitment and public accountability, it lacks standardized evaluation frameworks and measurable outcome indicators necessary for verifying long-term impact. Although this reflects broader gaps in municipal DEI practices, it does not suggest a lack of progress. Instead, it highlights the evolving nature of equity work and the need for stronger tools to track and sustain change. Recommendations include developing standardized outcome indicators, enhancing data transparency, and utilizing standardized evaluation approaches to more effectively measure the impacts of equity over time.