Misinformation, Disinformation, and Gun Violence in Canada

Misinformation, Disinformation, and Gun Violence in Canada Jennifer Andrews (bio) Disinformation: The dissemination of deliberately false information, esp. when supplied by a government or its agent to a foreign power or to the media, with the intention of influencing the policies or opinions of those who receive it; false information so supplied. (oed) Misinformation: Wrong or misleading information. (oed) In march of 2022, the Government of Canada published a news release describing its efforts to wage a war against the “growing spread of harmful misinformation and disinformation” (Canadian Heritage 2022). The government focused its efforts on curbing the circulation of both, with the Minister of Canadian Heritage committing $2.5 million to “fund initiatives” aimed specifically at countering propaganda that spreads virtually. The press release emphasized the ways in which the Liberal government’s Digital Citizen Initiative (dci), first launched in 2019, has been designed to build “citizen resilience” and increase “civic literacy.” The document argues that “[t]hese projects are reaching Canadians on a national and local scale, on and offline, in both official languages, and in Indigenous communities.” Most notably, the Minister, Pablo Rodriguez, is quoted in the press [End Page 1] release as insisting that “[t]here is an urgency to act. As Canadians, we can’t tolerate disinformation and propaganda. Democracy didn’t happen by accident. We need to fight for it.” These kinds of blanket assertions about Canadian democracy and inclusivity are particularly troubling to me, having just completed a manuscript called Canada Through American Eyes: Literature and Canadian Exceptionalism. In my book, forthcoming from Palgrave in 2023, I explore what I am calling “the limits of Canadian exceptionalism.” I examine American voices that have challenged the desire of Canadians to see themselves as better than their American neighbours by looking at recent U.S. and Canadian authored novels and films. The monograph includes chapters that explore such topics as: 1) the myth of the Underground Railroad and the propensity to presume that Canada did not have slavery; 2) the belief that Canada treated ethnic and racial others fairly throughout the country’s history as a colony and subsequently a nation in its own right; and 3) the idea that Canada has always been a site of escape and salvation for individuals facing persecution south of the Canada–U.S. border. The final chapter of the book probes the ways in which the existence of gun violence, particularly directed toward Indigenous populations, and the history of racism that underpins this phenomenon have continued to be ignored by Canadians and bolstered by comparisons to the U.S. that frame Canada as a kinder and gentler nation. Chapter 7 offers a reading of American Michael Moore’s 2003 documentary film, Bowling for Columbine, Canadian creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s 2013 musical, Come From Away, and Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard’s 2019 film, Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up. The chapter specifically examines the differing representations of gun violence on both sides of the Canada–U.S. border. While the chapter covers a range of issues and arguments, for the purposes of this roundtable I want to focus on a crucial moment in Hubbard’s 2019 documentary. Hubbard’s text is the final one I explore in the chapter, in order to demonstrate the ways in which Canadian narratives of exceptionality continue to circulate without probing the ongoing reality of gun violence faced by Indigenous and Black populations in Canada, all too often inflicted by white gun owners. Michael Moore’s documentary explicitly depicts the absence of gun violence in Canada as compared to the U.S. by filming Moore’s own efforts in Toronto to knock on the doors of, and walk into the houses of, Canadians unannounced. Not only is Moore greeted with kindness, but he does not encounter the gun-wielding homeowners whom he depicts as [End Page 2] dominating the American landscape, most notably through his interviews with Michigan militia men who argue that protecting one’s property is “an American tradition” and that “[i]f you are not armed, you are not responsible.” The hit Broadway musical Come From Away provides a similarly romanticized view of Canada through the...

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