Last Steps to Freedom: The Evolution of Canadian Racism

Shelley Butler teaches anthropology at York University.

Last Steps to Freedom is a highly readable and engaging historical
account of racism in Canada. Boyko documents many forms of racism
(including racial stereotypes, prejudice, unspoken discrimination,
officially sanctioned discrimination, segregation, exclusion, and
cultural genocide) and uses a variety of case studies to emphasize the
ingrained and self-perpetuating nature of racism throughout Canada. He
also discusses such issues as Chinese indentured labor at the turn of
the century, Ukrainian detention camps during World War I, anti-Semitic
immigration policies, the internment of Japanese Canadians during World
War II, economic segregation and marginalization of black Canadians in
Halifax’s Africville, and the long history of dispossessing Native
Canadians—a process that Boyko calls “death by bureaucracy.”

Inspired by political activist Rosemary Brown (who once said that if
she were to write a book on Canada, it would be called “Let’s Deny,
Let’s Pretend”), Boyko makes clear that his central concern is to
counter the denial of racism in Canada. While recognizing that there
have been many positive developments in Canadian society in recent years
(such as the establishment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the
beginning of land-claim negotiations), Boyko reminds us of the slowness
of the anti-racism process. He is especially interested in reaching
young readers, and this book will surely be a useful addition to
high-school curriculums.

Last Steps to Freedom is unusual for the way in which it continually
situates well-known racist incidents in historical, intellectual, and
political global contexts. For example, Canadian anti-Semitism is
discussed in the context of its long-established European counterpart.
This strategy of contextualizing events helps readers to understand the
depth and continuity of racist ideas, discourse, and actions. Never dry,
Boyko’s writing also transports readers into the lives of little-known
victims of racism. These details provide important contributions to the
canon of Canadian history.