The Canadian government has officially declared every first day of August as the Day of Emancipation in Canada – The day slavery was abolished and marked the beginning of a new dawn in the lives of the blacks and the African Americans across the border of the North American continent.
The Emancipation bill was being passed and voted unanimously by the Canadian parliament, which had many voters in the cabinet in early March 2021.
The slavery Abolition Act came into effect on the 1st of August, 1834, abolishing slavery throughout the British empire, including Northern America. The Act made slavery illegal in every province and freed the outstanding slaves in Canada.
In early Canada, the enslavement of Africans was a legal involvement that powered colonial economic enterprise (The Canadian encyclopedia). For instance, slaves were being used to work on several agricultural plantations; some also served as servants in the house of their masters, heavy duties were assigned to them, and some of them died along the line. The buying and the enslavement of black people was a routine, and thus, it gave no honor to the Africans and the black.
At this period, all empires were conquered by the British, including France and other American countries along the border close to South America; there was no actual governance in the conquered territories.
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The slave trade caused the deaths of African people and their descendants. It is also estimated that over 2 million African people died during the last transatlantic slave trade. Most of the 12.5 million African captives were transported to Latin and the Caribbean, while 6% were brought to North America. (Canadian.ca).
Dated from history, there are statistics of the higher number of blacks than the whites in most cities in Canada today and all doing great in their respective fields of profession and vocation.
Hence, Emancipation Day has been set aside to reflect, reminisce, educate and engage In the ongoing fight against racism and discrimination.
