Minority groups in city fear racism on the rise
As province prepares a new strategy, ‘we feel we’re not safe,’ council leader says
As the NDP government prepares a new anti-racism strategy for Alberta, some minority groups in Calgary say action is needed as they face increasing worries about safety.
Education Minister David Eggen announced this week he is beginning consultations and will report to Premier Rachel Notley this fall with recommendations for new initiatives to combat racism, which he said is on the rise in Alberta.
Marichu Antonio, executive director of the Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary, said bigotry and discrimination are not new problems but some Albertans — encouraged by events in the United States and elsewhere — are feeling freer to express their racist feelings and actions.
“What we’re also noticing here is an increasing level of fear among (ethnic) community members,” Antonio said in an interview Wednesday. “They don’t feel safe sometimes.”
Antonio said those feelings are especially acute among Muslim women who wear veils and among people of colour, including the African community.
She said violence outside of the city, such as the shooting death of six Muslim men in a Quebec City mosque earlier this year, as well as incidents of vandalism at a Calgary mosque and Sikh temple last fall, contribute to the increased concern.
Abduljalil Elkadri, chair of the Muslim Council of Calgary — which like the Ethno-Cultural Council will meet with Eggen this week — said there has been an increasing number of threats and incidents of harassment aimed at Muslims both in person and online in the city.
“I don’t think the government is doing enough to help us, protecting us. We feel we’re not safe,” he said.
“I have lived here 40 years … and I haven’t had this problem before. I’m a little actually worried what’s next.”
Eggen cited the sharp increase in hate crimes reported to the police in 2015 in Alberta — though they actually dropped in Calgary between 2014 and 2015 — as one factor in the government’s decision to look at new anti-racism initiatives, along with incidents of vandalism and the rise of militia groups.
In her mandate letter to Eggen released Wednesday, Notley said the minister should work with affected groups and examine what works in other jurisdictions to foster community and government initiatives. The minister is also assigned to promote diversity and inclusion within government staff, programs and legislation.
“We have to make sure we are doing everything we can to root out racism and make life better for all Albertans,” wrote Notley.
Antonio said her organization is excited by the government’s plans but the province must work in partnership with community groups and “put teeth” in whatever actions it pursues.
“Make it happen. Implement. We need action and we need to sustain this. When I say bring some teeth to this, bring resources — that includes funds — to support this kind of work,” she said.
The government’s decision to develop a new anti-racism strategy received support from the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative opposition parties, though MLAs from each party said they wanted to see what approach the NDP will take.