Maclean’s: One year later

President David Barnard submitted his thoughts to Maclean’s magazine, one year after the national magazine declared Winnipeg Canada’s most racist city.

This marks the second time the president responded to Maclean’s on this issue.

As Maclean’s writes:

…The morning it hit newsstands, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman quickly gathered some of the city’s top leaders for a press conference. In an emotional address, he vowed to tackle the problem head-on. He also said he would report back, one year later, on progress made. In advance of that press conference, scheduled for this Friday, Maclean’s Associate Editor Aaron Hutchins spoke to Bowman, and those who stood with him….

David Barnard president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manitoba

Within the last year, I’ve been through two sweat ceremonies. At one, I received a spirit name from the Ojibwe elder: Kaniibowit Wapshki Muckwa, or Standing White Bear. I introduce myself with that name out of respect for the people of the territory and the practices here.

Within the past year, we’ve revised our strategic plan for the university. We’ve opened the home of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, providing an archival home for the material that was collected by the commission. It has an educational mission. But in the long run, we see for the university that this becomes a centre of research activity, of embedding these things in the culture of the university.