Racist e-mail at Parks Canada

Racist email at Parks Canada causes outrageAboriginal leaders are calling for two Parks Canada employees in Manitoba to be fired after the pair were disciplined for circulating a racist joke by email.

One employee forwarded the vulgarly worded email, which made fun of aboriginal and black people, to a colleague. That person then accidentally sent it to all 180 Parks Canada workers in the field unit at Riding Mountain National Park in western Manitoba.Fire staff for racist email:  chief

Parks Canada deletes 'joke' from system--Immediately disciplines workers involved

By Geoff KirbysonHe said when local First Nations were asked by Parks Canada to cull the elk herds in Riding Mountain over the past year, derogatory comments about "Indians hunting in the park" sprung up quickly in neighbouring communities.

Nahanni Fontaine, SCO's director of justice, said the offensive email reinforces that racism is not on the decline in Manitoba.

"It's not just an email, it's symbolic of the whole colonial history that says it's OK that we're less than (those of other ethnic backgrounds) and to make fun of us... but it's not.Comment:  "But they didn't mean to offend anyone," someone undoubtedly will cry. "It was just a joke. Like that episode of The Dudesons, which also was racist but just a joke."

For every racist e-mail that gets discovered "accidentally," there are probably many more that don't. Not to mention all the "water cooler" comments and so forth. If people feel they can safely e-mail racist "jokes" at work, the whole environment may be tainted.

For more on racist e-mails, see Frago Apologizes for Racist E-Mails and Racist "Jokes" Are No Jokes.