Hundreds vie for 24 spots on anti-racism council

EDMONTON The opportunity to be part of an advisory council tasked with tackling racism has proven to be a popular drawing card.

Close to 300 Albertans applied to be on the government’s first antiracism advisory council, being formed at the behest of Education Minister David Eggen.

The council is part of a strategy to quash racism in the province in the face of a growing number of hate crimes being reported to Alberta police.

Premier Rachel Notley last year asked Eggen to consult with community groups and look at what has worked in other parts of the world, then come back with a set of recommendations.

Over the summer, Eggen announced the creation of a provincial hate-crimes police unit and $2 million in grants for small organizations to fight racism.

Around 25 representatives of various community cultural groups gathered at Government House in Edmonton Monday for one of a series of anti-racism roundtables.

The diverse crowd in Edmonton included representatives of the Canadian Islamic Centre, the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, the Multicultural Family Resource Society, the Jamaican Association of Northern Alberta and Edmonton’s Immigrant Services Association.

“We’re looking for practical steps by which we can foster inclusion and promote inclusivity in the province, and fight racism too,” Eggen told reporters during a short break in the meeting.

“I’m really excited about the positive energy that people are bringing and the practical ideas they’re putting forward as well.”

He said the members of the council will be announced soon.