John Robson: The Hypocrisy and Dishonesty of ‘Land Acknowledgements’

Commentary Let me begin by acknowledging that this column was plagiarized on a stolen computer by a notorious brute. Now let’s all build a better, brighter world by following my example. Eh? You wouldn’t take advice from a lying thug and think I should return the laptop to its rightful owner? Then you’d best avoid Canada. You see, here, every high-tone or public-sector event begins by piously confessing we’re on stolen land. Sometimes just “traditional,” or perhaps “unceded.” But often “unsurrendered.” Which is false, hypocritical, and destructive. The hypocrisy sticks in my craw. The people smugly asserting they’re on someone’s pilfered territory have no plan for returning it because they have no intention of doing so. So they either don’t believe it’s stolen, or don’t think stealing is bad....