#thecascade

“The legalization of marijuana within Canada is in full effect as of Oct. 17, but in the wake of this change there’s another hurdle for politicians to overcome. Should those convicted of marijuana-related crimes under outdated drug laws receive amnesty? Recently the NDP has put forward a bill to expunge records of minor non-violent marijuana possession charges, suggesting that Canadians shouldn’t continue to be punished for something no longer illegal. Not only do I agree with this step forward, but I am reminded of the demographics that would be most affected by this bill.

Black and Indigenous people are overrepresented in our country’s weed arrests, and it isn’t because they committed the most crimes. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, different races use the substance at roughly the same rate, yet Edmonton police, for example, have been criticized in the past for performing racialized street checks targeting people of colour. When we over-police our minorities, we overrepresent them in our prisons, and this heavily applies to convictions of marijuana possession.”

Sound familiar?

“From my first semester at UFV, I’ve taken online courses due to their convenience. There have been some courses that I absolutely adored. On the other hand, I’ve had some horrible experiences. Unfortunately, I did not receive any instructor evaluation forms to talk about my experiences. I would’ve appreciated being able to provide feedback to professors/departments in an anonymous manner like the in-class instructor evaluations.

On June 16, 2015, Donald Trump, one of the richest businessmen in the world, announced his presidential campaign. After all the controversial and offensive remarks he made regarding immigration and women, the majority of us thought he was a joke.

We thought this man was so full of hate that there was no way he could become the president of the United States. Yet the 2016 presidential result struck most of us. Two years later, after the midterm elections earlier this month, Republicans beat three Democratic senators — in North Dakota, Missouri, and Indiana — and at the time of writing had leads in Florida and Montana.

Republicans also won the governor’s mansions in Florida and Ohio, two massive victories in states with big roles to play in the 2020 presidential race and the 2021 nationwide redistricting process. Republicans managed to keep the Senate, while Democrats won the House. Despite losing the House to the Democrats, Trump declared the midterm a “tremendous success” for Republicans.

Recently, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right congressman noted for multiple extreme remarks garnered 55.1 per cent of the vote, making him Brazil’s next president. This result marked a dramatic shift in the country’s politics, given that Brazil “enjoyed” two consecutive Democratic Movement presidencies. Despite Bolsonaro’s controversial and deeply offensive rhetoric, such as saying Afro-Brazilians get nothing done, he has managed to draw huge crowds to his rallies and skyrocket to the top of the poll.