This article first appeared in BarTalk, August 2021 here and is republished with permission. I have always been a proud Canadian. When I backpacked internationally, I was certain to display my embroidered Canadian flag. I was taught that Canada’s social fabric is a mosaic, not a melting pot. Brightly coloured pieces of ethnicity, culture, language, racial identity, sexual orientation, and gender identity inlayed side-by-side, creating harmonious beauty. That everyone is equal before and under the law, and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination. Recently, however, my utopian vision of Canada has been shattered. In…