CLOSE-UP ON RACISM

As Quebec prepares to hold a watered-down forum on anti-discrimination, three Quebecers tell Catherine Solyom their painful stories of confronting systemic racism

Systemic racism is not always easy to define. Three Quebecers who say they came face to face with it share their stories with Catherine Solyom.

Launched in July 2017, Quebec’s on-again off-again commission on systemic racism and discrimination was a political minefield from the outset.

Too much talk, not enough action, said the Parti Québécois, before accusing the Liberal government of Quebec bashing.

The commission would put Quebecers on trial, echoed the Coalition Avenir Québec.

Quebecers have grown tired of “systemic contempt,” said La Meute — the far-right group that staged a protest in Quebec City last weekend.

The Liberals promptly folded and changed the title, turning the commission into more of a feelgood forum on the value of diversity, with a job fair thrown in for good measure.

Lost in the makeover were the voices that have long clamoured for a microphone to talk about their experiences with systemic discrimination and how to fix the system.

It’s not clear what will happen at the day-long forum Tuesday, hosted by new Immigration Minister David Heurtel at the ferry terminal in Quebec City.

Systemic racism is not always easy to define.

According to the Mayor’s Committee on Community and Race Relations in Toronto, systemic racism “includes the policies and practices entrenched in established institutions (schools, workplaces and government agencies) which result in the exclusion or promotion of designated groups. It differs from overt discrimination in that no individual intent is necessary.”

It’s not difficult to find examples, however.

Here are three people who say they faced systemic racism in their dealings with police, employers and the school system in Montreal. They speak for themselves.

CHRISTINNE MUSCHI Khadija was almost run over intentionally while crossing the street in Old Montreal, she says. But the ordeal did not end there. She was dismayed by what came next when she spoke to Montreal police.