Under the Mat: A Dark History Podcast

Host Aubrianna Snow speaks with Francine Pelletier about the legacy of the École Polytechnique massacre and the progress of feminism and with Makenna Kuzyk about the Order of the White Rose Scholarship and building brighter futures for women in engineering. Francine Pelletier has had a long career as a journalist, both in print and for electronic media, in French as well as in English. Her career includes co-founding and acting as editor-in-chief of the women’s monthly magazine (La Vie en rose, 1980-87), social and political commentary in Montreal’s La Presse (1988-92) as well as Le Devoir (2013-2022) newspapers. She worked as a Quebec National Assembly correspondent for Radio-Canada’s Le Point (1993-1995). Then, as a reporter for CBC’s The National and, shortly after, as co-host of CBC’s flagship current affairs program, the fifth estate (1995-2000). In 2001, Francine Pelletier began writing, directing and producing independent documentary films. She has a dozen films to her name, including Public Enemy Number One (2003), on former Premier Jacques Parizeau, Sex, Truth and Videotape (2004), a 6-part series on women and sex and Battle for Quebec’s Soul (2022), on how Quebec nationalism has become more and more conservative. In 2015, she joined Concordia University’s Journalism Department as a lecturer. Francine Pelletier has won many awards, including the B’nai Brith Human Rights Award, the Judith-Jasmin award and three Gemini awards. She is the author of four other books: Second début: Cendres et renaissance du féminisme, Atelier 10 (2015), on her involvement in Quebec’s women’s movement; L’Art de se mouiller : Chroniques pour nourrir le débat. Écosociété (2022), a selection of her columns in Le Devoir; Au Québec, c’est comme ça qu’on vit : La montée du nationalisme identitaire, Lux Éditeur (2023), on the rise of conservative nationalism in Quebec; Dream Interrupted : The Rise and Fall of Quebec Nationalism, Sutherland House Books, (2025), an updated English version of the preceding book.Makenna Kuzyk is currently completing her Master's Degree in Flight Test Engineering at the International Test Pilot School in London, Ontario, and is a recipient of the Order of the White Rose scholarship. She earned her undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta, where she founded Mission SpaceWalker— the first all-female team to participate in the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Challenge, which continues to conduct space-related research. She has been involved in Students for the Exploration of Space (SEDs) Canada, participating in their stratospheric balloon and analog research projects. Her internships included working at Rocketlab as part of the inaugural class of the Zenith Fellowship, the Canadian Space Agency, National Research Council Flight Laboratory, and Zipline as a 2024 Brooke Owens Fellow. She enjoys writing music under the Spotify artist name Mak <3, flying planes as a private pilot, and playing a variety of sports from snowboarding to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

If you're in need of support, dial 988 or text WELLNESS to 741741.Blais, M. & Dupuis-Déri, F. (2019). The Montréal Massacre is finally recognized as an anti-feminist attack. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-montreal-massacre-is-finally-recognized-as-an-anti-feminist-attack-128450DiBranco, A. (2019). The First Anti-Feminist Massacre. Political Research Associates. https://politicalresearch.org/2019/12/06/first-anti-feminist-massacreDiebel, L. Two women on Marc Lépine’s death list speak out. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/two-women-on-marc-l-pine-s-death-list-speak-out/article_5a2f6b99-e8f7-5506-8e56-765704555700.htmlGerster, J. (2019). Feminism met gunfire at École Polytechnique. It’s taken 30 years to call it what it was. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/6242996/ecole-polytechnique-violence/Global News. (2019). Remembering the women killed in the École Polytechnique massacre. https://globalnews.ca/news/6187845/montreal-massacre-victims/Lindeman, T. (2019). ‘Hate is infectious’: how the 1989 mass shooting of 14 women echoes today. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/04/mass-shooting-1989-montreal-14-women-killedMonin, G. (2025). Monique Lépine lived a mother’s worst nightmare. The Sault Star. https://www.saultstar.com/opinion/gene-monin-monique-lepine-lived-a-mothers-worst-nightmareScott, M. (2014). Polytechnique massacre: Lives forever changed. The Gazette. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/polytechnique-massacre-lives-forever-changedThe Canadian Press. (2024). A timeline of the legacy of the Montreal massacre. CTV News. https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/a-timeline-of-the-legacy-of-the-montreal-massacre/Wilson-Smith, A. (1999). Lépine Massacre Ten Years After. Maclean’s. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/lepine-massacre-ten-years-after-en-anglais-seulementWoloshyn, R. (2024). Polytechnique murderer Marc Lépine had her on his kill list. She never forgot the moment she found out. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/fifthestate/francine-pelletier-montreal-massacre-1.7401282

Host Aubrianna Snow speaks with Wayne Garnons-Williams about his experience as a Sixties Scoop survivor, the work of the National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada, and what's required to protect the rights of Indigenous children in Canada and globally. Wayne Garnons-Williams, BA (Windsor), LLB (Queen’s), MPA (Dalhousie), LLM (Oklahoma) is the CEO of the not-for-profit registered charity, the National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada. Wayne is a lecturer at the University of Waterloo, United College, bachelor of Indigenous entrepreneurialism program. He is also the Senior Lawyer and Principal Director of the law firm Garwill Law Professional Corporation. Further, he leads an international business entitled Indigenous Sovereign Trade Consultancy Ltd. and is the founding President of the International Inter-tribal Trade and Investment Organization (IITIO) a 501 (c)(3) educational charity incorporated in Oklahoma with international representation from Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Canada. He is past board secretary of the Council of the Great Lakes Region, past Chair of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Appeal Tribunal, past Chair of the National Council of Federal Aboriginal Employees and is currently on the board of directors of the International Law Association and is one of the founding members of the Working Group on Indigenous International Trade. Wayne was instrumental in advising on the development of Indigenous trade policy for Canada as well as being appointed lead Canadian Indigenous negotiator for the Indigenous Peoples Economic Trade and Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA). Wayne is also a Research Fellow specializing in International Comparative Indigenous law at the University of Oklahoma, College of Law as well as a Senior Legal Fellow for the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law. He was appointed by Order in Council as a member to the NAFTA Chapter 19 Trade Remedies roster and then appointed in 2020 as a CUSMA Advisory Committee Member on Private Commercial Disputes, Article 31.22. He is the Council for Aboriginal Business 2019 award winner for Excellence in Aboriginal Relations, the 2020 Queen’s University Alumni Award winner, the recipient of the 2020 International Legal Specialist in Peace, Justice and Governance Award from the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law, the 2024 United States-Canada Law Institute recipient of the Sidney J. Picker Award for contributing to the development of US-Canada relations, the 2024 H.R.S. Ryan Law Alumni Award of Distinction in recognition for outstanding contributions to the faculty, university, and legal profession, Queen’s University, Faculty of Law and the 2024 Oklahoma Supreme Court Sovereignty Symposium medallion for outstanding contributions in furthering Indigenous legal issues. Wayne is from the Moosomin First Nation, Treaty 6.

Bradburn, J. (2021). ‘A turning point in our history’: Remembering Canada’s first major gay-rights protest. TVO Today. https://www.tvo.org/article/a-turning-point-in-our-history-remembering-canadas-first-major-gay-rights-protestBenchetrit, J. (2023). How the parental rights movement resurged in response to trans inclusivity in classrooms. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/parental-rights-movement-us-canada-1.6796070Bronskill, J. (2023). A new study lays out the 'horrendous' treatment of Canadian queer WWI soldiers. The Canadian Press. https://globalnews.ca/news/9578536/first-world-war-soldiers-lgbtq-study/Bronskill, J. (2019). 718 victims of Canadian government’s gay purge compensated in settlement. The Canadian Press. https://globalnews.ca/news/5491739/gay-purge-victims-canada/Canadian Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity. (2019). Our History: Study Guide. https://www.cbu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CCGSD_OurHistoryStudyGuide_April2019.pdfKing’s Printer for Ontario. (2024). Discussion paper: Toward a commission policy on gender identity. Ontario Human Rights Commission. https://www3.ohrc.on.ca/en/discussion-paper-toward-commission-policy-gender-identity/backgroundPinsonnault, A. (2023). Canada and LGBT purge of the Cold War. Je me souviens. https://jemesouviens.org/en/lgbt-purge/Stratchan, T. (2022). Under the Rainbow: Canada’s History of LGBTQ Discrimination and Older Adults. Simon Fraser University. https://www.sfu.ca/airp/news-events/blog/under-the-rainbow--canada-s-history-of-lgbtq-discrimination-and-.htmlThe Canadian Encyclopedia. Timeline: 2SLGBTQ+ History. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/lgbtq2 Wells, V.S. (2024). Transgender. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/transgender

CORRECTION: 2025 marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, not the fourth. Host Aubrianna Snow speaks with Benjamin Kucher about unmarked burials, residential school denialism, balancing academic and community responsibilities, and the future of reconciliation.Benjamin Kucher is a Métis archaeologist, writer, and activist from the Métis Nation of Alberta and a descendant of the Michel First Nation. He is the former Chair of the National Indigenous Advocacy Committee and currently a researcher at the University of Alberta where his research focuses on Métis identity, material culture, and the role of trade beads in shaping cultural practices. Beyond his academic work, Benjamin has been deeply involved in national conversations about truth and memory. He has attended all seven National Gatherings on Unmarked Burials organized by the Office of the Independent Special Interlocutor, where he served as Chair of the Youth Advisory Committee, helping to facilitate dialogue, hold space for Survivors and families, and ensure that youth perspectives are carried into national reports and recommendations. Benjamin is also the Chair of the Canadian Archaeological Association’s Indigenous Issues Committee, where he works alongside the CAA’s Working Group on Unmarked Graves to advance Indigenous leadership, data sovereignty, and the protection of traditional knowledge within the discipline. His writing and advocacy often center on confronting residential school denialism, pushing institutions to move beyond silence, and protecting truth against erasure and distortion. He is the author of We Were Never Theirs, a powerful work that blends scholarship and testimony to confront colonial silencing and to reclaim Indigenous memory. His voice has been featured in outlets such as CBC Indigenous and Windspeaker News, and he has presented his work at national and international conferences. At the heart of his work is a commitment to community, truth, and accountability. Benjamin brings to his research and advocacy not only academic training, but also the lived experience of carrying Indigenous identity into spaces that have long resisted it. His work is as much about healing and protection as it is about history.Read Benjamin's most recent work with Sean Carleton in The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/confronting-residential-schools-denialism-is-an-ethical-and-shared-canadian-responsibility-265127

CORRECTION: 2025 marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, not the fourth. If you need support, please contact the National Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 or dial 988 if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm.Baskatawang, L. (2023). A Brief History of Reconciliation in Canada. Peace Review, 35(1), pp. 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402659.2022.2164183Blackstock, C. (2007). Residential Schools: Did They Really Close or Just Morph Into Child Welfare? Indigenous Law Journal, 6(1), pp. 71-78. https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ilj/article/view/27665/20396Kestler-D’Amours, J. (2025). Denying our truth: The fight against residential school denialism in Canada. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2025/2/7/denying-our-truth-fighting-residential-school-denialism-in-canadaSterritt, A. (2023). Reconciliation in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reconciliation-in-canada

CORRECTION: 2025 marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, not the fourth. If you need support, please contact the National Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 or dial 988 if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm.CBC News. (2016). A history of residential schools in Canada. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-schools-in-canada-1.702280Hill, R. (2021). Survivor. Toronto Life. https://torontolife.com/life/how-i-survived-canadas-residential-school-system/Homeless Hub. (2025). Indigenous Peoples. https://homelesshub.ca/collection/population-groups/indigenous-peoples/Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). History of Residential Schools. https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/history-of-residential-schools/ Kumar, M. B. & Tjepkema, M. (2019). Suicide among First Nations people, Métis and Inuit (2011-2016): Findings from the 2011 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC). Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/99-011-x/99-011-x2019001-eng.htmLing, J. (2021). ‘He was just a child’: dead of Indigenous residential schools haunt Canada. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/05/canada-indigenous-residential-schools-first-nations-childrenMorin, B. (2024). ‘Nobody hugged me.’ Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2024/11/3/how-one-survivor-of-canadas-residential-schools-reclaimed-her-identityNational Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. (2025). Residential School History. https://nctr.ca/education/teaching-resources/residential-school-history/The Canadian Press. (2025). Forty-one more graves found by penetrating radar at B.C. residential school site, First Nation says. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-forty-one-more-graves-found-by-penetrating-radar-at-bc-residential/Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Executive_Summary_English_Web.pdf

Anderson, A. (2023). Prison Abolition is Needed Now. Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/mcrp-journal/blog/prison-abolition-is-needed-now-prisons-and-jails-do-not-keep-anyone-safe/Bauer, S. (2018). The True History of America’s Private Prison Industry. Time. https://time.com/5405158/the-true-history-of-americas-private-prison-industry/BBC. (n.d.). Crime and punishment in 18th- and 19th-century Britain. Bitesize. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zn9sn9q/revision/7Correctional Service Canada. (2025). Pre-1920: From punishment to penance. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/correctional-service/corporate/history-csc/timeline/pre-1920.htmlDepartment of Justice Canada. (2023). Overrepresentation of Indigenous People in the Canadian Criminal Justice System. Government of Canada. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/oip-cjs/p3.htmlLaw, V. (2022). Rethinking Incarceration. Harvard Radcliffe Institute. https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ideas/rethinking-incarcerationMoore, J. M. (n.d.). Penal Reform: A History of Failure. Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/publications/cjm/article/penal-reform-history-failurePotier, B. (2003). Abolish prisons, says Angela Davis. The Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2003/03/abolish-prisons-says-angela-davis/Reid, J. N. (2023). The idea that imprisonment ‘corrects’ prisoners stretches back to some of the earliest texts in history. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-idea-that-imprisonment-corrects-prisoners-stretches-back-to-some-of-the-earliest-texts-in-history-210361Stevenson, B. (2019). Slavery gave America a fear of black people and a taste for violent punishment. Both still define our criminal-justice system. The New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/prison-industrial-complex-slavery-racism.htmlWills, M. (2020). How Mass Incarceration Has Shaped History. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/how-mass-incarceration-has-shaped-history/