Chantal Braganza

4 weeks ago | broadview.org | Chantal Braganza

The idea of an origin had a romance to it before you were born. When I was your age, it was the easiest language I had with both of your grandparents. Stories about where they came from, and therefore stories about where I came from; a series of steps originating from two points on nearly opposite sides of the globe and landing in a little three-bedroom house at the edge of a brand-new suburban development west of Toronto. An explanation for our presence there, an unquestioned talisman.

1 month ago | thewalrus.ca | Chantal Braganza

For some Canadian parents of young children, there’s only one issue that matters this election: the future of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) plan, a policy that reduces daycare fees in some provinces to as little as $10 a day. In one of his last executive moves, former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced a five-year extension of the program, which was first launched in 2021 with the support of Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party.

1 month ago | thewalrus.ca | Chantal Braganza

I went to see a movie alone at the Carlton Cinema in the last few weeks before you were born. Though I haven’t in years, I love to go to the theatre on my own, and the Carlton is one of my favourites. Each room is so tiny; the theatres are too small for aisles. The maroon carpets, compact screens, sticky floors, the illicit rustle of bagged candy from the bulk shop next door: it’s the feeling of watching a movie in someone’s rec room with a dozen strangers.

1 month ago | chatelaine.com | Chantal Braganza

During a brief time in food service at a national chain restaurant, I learned early on to identify the type of diner especially flattered by any acknowledgement of expertise, regardless of whether such expertise wasn’t so much knowledge as opinion, or even accurate.

2 months ago | penguinrandomhouse.ca | Chantal Braganza