Charlie Angus

Author Charlie Angus is a long-time Member of Parliament whose riding includes the northern Ontario town of Cobalt. Today, the world desperately needs the mineral cobalt for digital and green technologies. So, Mr. Angus takes us on a historic look at the troubled history of resource extraction in Canada, notably the theft and destruction of Aboriginal lands. He looks at the role of government in allowing mining companies operating freedom and low taxation rates, leading to Canada's rise as a show more mining superpower. He looks at the role of women, of immigrant workers and the early union movement. In these ways, he provides a more well-rounded picture of history.

In the last part of the book, he looks at how the world of mining would have to change in order to make a comeback that supports environmental and human interests in addition to economic ones.

The book is highly readable and thought provoking. show less

Charlie Angus writes about the "radical" idea that all children deserve equal opportunities in regards to education and healthcare. This sounds like an obvious statement, but unfortunately it is not the reality for First Nations children in Canada. This book describes the ways that the federal government continues to fail First Nations children, but also explores an exciting grassroots civil rights movement led by some courageous young people from Attawapiskat. Shannen Koostachin is such an show more inspiration, so if you haven't heard of her GET READING! show less

The attention that Attawapiskat and Kashechewan have received since I borrowed this book from the library gives me hope that we may have reached a turning point from the nigh infinite series of ignominious betrayals that the government of Canada (i.e., every non-Native Canadian) has been committing against the James Bay First Nations.

Lovers in Dangerous Times
A review of the House of Anansi paperback (October 29, 2024) released simultaneously with the eBook.

Do not leave the task
of remembering
to the historians
they will do it, it is their job
they will sit in the archives
they will write the books
they will give the lectures
but remembering
is not a task that can be left
to the historians
for you are obligated
to remember as well.
—@plaguepoems, January 27, 2022. Used as the epigraph for "Dangerous Memory."

Canadian NDP show more politician Charlie Angus (1962-) has been the elected member for the Northern Ontario riding of Timmins-James Bay for the past 20 years while living in Cobalt, Ontario. In his youth though he was a member of the punk rock band L'Étranger in Toronto while also working as a dishwasher in restaurants. Inspired by the activism of bands such as England's The Clash, Angus became more socially active and eventually took on projects such as starting his own homeless shelter, newsletters and other campaigns. These were in partnership with his then girlfriend / later & present day wife Brit Griffin.

Dangerous Memory is a memoir that looks back on those formative years in the 1980s. It toggles between episodes of Angus & Griffin's lives in parallel with the world events of those years. There is a great deal of youthful hope and determination expressed in these pages despite the accumulative depressing historical record.

It is likely forgotten now that much of today's ongoing crises such as homelessness, migration, joblessness, globalization, big pharma, big corp / military industrial / corporate greed and manipulation made huge strides in those years. These were the years of Reagan, Thatcher & Mulroney who busted unions and sold out working people for greed via globalization get-rich schemes such as so-called "Free Trade", sending well paying jobs to slave factories overseas. The years of interference in South American politics. The years of the AIDS epidemic. The final years of the Cold War, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Empire in the late 1980s. It all makes for sobering reading.

Although I'm somewhat older than Angus, much of this does resonate with my own youth growing up in Toronto. So this is admittedly a biased 5 rating.

Soundtrack
As much of this book also tells the story of Charlie Angus and Brit Griffin's early relationship, I couldn't help but think of the Bruce Cockburn song Lovers in a Dangerous Time.

Charlie Angus assembled a Spotify playlist for this book, comprised of songs from the 1980's which you can listen to here.

Trivia and Links
You can read an excerpt from the beginning of the book via the publisher House of Anansi website here show less