Racism should be key issue for voters
Election ideal for candidates to set out commitments, Fareed Khan says.
Other than the COVID -19 pandemic, only one issue has dominated public discourse in Canada this year: Racism.
The murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer in May, 2020, set off anti-racism protests and calls for racial justice across North America. The resulting discussion about the pervasiveness of racism, and demands that governments do something about it, makes an election the ideal setting for political parties to demonstrate their commitment to anti-racism.
It seemed that racism would become a major issue during the 2019 federal election campaign, following photographic evidence that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had dressed in blackface and brownface in the past. But after a few days of scrutiny, discussions about racism fell by the wayside, and addressing it was completely forgotten after the election. It did not become a major political issue again until national Black Lives Matter protests made it one.
According to a recent survey, one-third of Canadians believe that Canada is a “racist” country. The Angus Reid study was released against the backdrop of a targeted attack against a Muslim family by a white supremacist in London, Ont., resulting in the murder of four people, the public outrage following the discovery of the remains of hundreds of Indigenous children in unmarked and undocumented graves at former residential schools sites, a surge in anti-Asian racism, and a year of anti-racism protests by the Black community. The heightened public focus on racism resulted in 60 per cent of Canadians now seeing racism as a serious problem, an increase of 13 points from the previous year.
In light of these events, one would think that politicians would agree with the assertion that racism in Canada is systemic and needs to be addressed. But some politicians still disagree, despite living in a nation founded on policies of anti-Indigenous racism and white supremacy. When asked whether they believed systemic racism was a reality in Canada, Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole refused to respond, Quebec Premier Francois Legault denied its existence, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford said no it was not, a comment which he walked back in reaction to public outrage.
The lack of national political consensus to fight racism in Canada also became clear after a June 2020, First Ministers meeting when the joint declaration on racism failed to mention systemic racism because not all premiers would agree to include it. At a November 2020 meeting hosted by Canada's Heritage Minister to discuss racism, ministers from Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan refused to attend because systemic racism was an item of discussion, according to political insiders.
Elected officials are quick to issue statements about how hate has no place in Canada, and their commitment to fighting this scourge each time there is a hate crime or racist attack that receives public and media attention. But after the attention fades, there is usually little to show in terms of concrete actions, and these incidents rarely if ever result in policies about fighting racism and hate being near the top of anyone's political agenda.
Reasons why anti-racist strategies and policies should be a political priority can be found in lived experiences of Indigenous, Black, Muslim, and other people of colour. If asked, members of these communities would tell about racism's negative effect on their lives and careers, and why fighting racism should be a priority for all political parties and all governments.
This past year, minority communities and their allies have shown they are no longer willing to be complacent about racism. What better way for Canadians to see how committed federal leaders are to fighting racism than for them to make it a top issue in the upcoming election and let voters cast their ballot for the party they believe is best suited to take on the challenge.