Anti-racism meetings by invitation only

OTTAWA — The federal government is consulting experts and community leaders ahead of a new national anti-racism strategy, but in a series of secretive meetings to avoid them turning into public shouting matches.

Four meetings have already been held — all in southern Ontario — and another 19 are to take place nationwide before the end of the year.

However, the government is not publicizing who attended, who will be at future meetings or even where those meetings are taking place. Participation is by invitation only.

There are still Canadian communities where people face systemic racism, oppression and discrimination, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Friday. The minister has not, however, explained why he told the Globe and Mail this week that systemic racism was not “part of his vocabulary” and that Canada was not, in fact, a racist society.

New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan asked Rodriguez this week several times in the House of Commons to explain and apologize for his comment, to which Rodriguez only said racism does exist in Canada.

The racism consultations follow a Commons committee study of systemic racism in Canada, which last winter recommended a national plan be developed with measurable goals.

The government quietly posted online information about the start of the consultations on Oct. 15, along with a survey members of the public can take. The questions touch on personal experiences with racism and whether the phenomenon exists in the justice system, with jury selection or even in how workplaces schedule holidays. But there is no information about the consultations beyond that they will occur with “community members, leaders, experts, academics and stakeholders across Canada.”