Thornton Blackburn, an enslaved man, escaped to Canada and built Toronto's first taxi company. Now transgender people face criminalization in U.S. states, but Canada's Safe Third Country Agreement prevents them from seeking asylum. The narrator calls on Canadians to demand the agreement be repealed and restore Canada's sanctuary tradition.
Chapters
Toronto's first taxi company was started by a man who used to be someone's property. In 1837, in Toronto, Thornton Blackburn built a yellow horse-drawn cab. It could carry 4 passengers and a driver. But the real journey that Thornton offered wasn't about getting from King Street to Queen. It was about getting from bondage to freedom. See, he was born into slavery in America, sold at the age of 3. As a young adult, he escaped from Kentucky but was captured in Detroit, thrown into jail, but the People of Detroit, free Black citizens, rose up. They stormed the jail. Thornton made it out across the river into Canada. And when the Michigan governor asked Canada to send him back, our answer was, "No, we do not return people to chains." That decision made Canada the last stop on the Underground Railroad. That's our history. At least that's who we've always said we were. The people who gave safe harbor when the world looked away. So what happens then when the people fleeing persecution are not running from 19th century slave catchers, but from 21st century lawmakers? Right now, across the border, there are states where trans people cannot access healthcare, can't play sports, can't safely exist in public. Teachers can't say the word gender. Doctors threatened. Parents criminalized for supporting their own kids. Back then they called them fugitive slave laws. Today they call it Family Protection Acts. Nicer stationery, same cruelty. We in Canada, we once took a stand and said we will not return a person to a place where their very being is a crime. That principle wasn't supposed to expire. It wasn't meant for one type of person or one type of oppression. It was meant for anyone who needs sanctuary. We brag about being the terminus of the Underground Railroad, but are we? Are we still a terminus? Or just a museum exhibit? You'd think, given our history, we'd be opening our doors again. But we can't. Or won't, because of something called a Safe Third Country Agreement. That law says that if someone comes to Canada from the United States, they cannot claim refugee status here because on paper, the US is considered safe. Or at least was when the paper was drawn up. Right now our border is a wall, not a refuge. That agreement has to change. Or be broken. Mm-hmm. Right? Look, if the US is going to break trade agreements with us and ignore environmental deals and shred defense contracts whenever it suits them, then we sure as hell can break one treaty in the name of human rights. It's easy to tell stories about the brave things we used to do. But courage means nothing if it stops at memory. We do not return human beings to chains. Say something. To your MP. To the immigration minister. To your neighbours. Say something. Before history writes this chapter without us.
