Racism office called ‘knee-jerk’

TORONTO • The woman who ran Ontario’s since-shuttered anti- racism secretariat two decades ago is unconvinced the province needs to reopen the office under a different name.

Anne- Marie Stewart was the head of the Ontario AntiRacism Secretariat, opened in 1992 under then- premier Bob Rae. She oversaw the office for three years, and helped implement programs to tackle racism and discrimination within the Ontario Public Service and in the community, until it was shuttered by Mike Harris’s government.

But with 23 years of hindsight, Stewart is unconvinced another office is the answer.

“It sounds like they are going to more or less repeat something that was disbanded. I’m not sure that that’s an effective way to go about addressing the situation,” she said by phone from Trinidad. “I think this is a knee- jerk response to the situation. I’m sure the government is well- meaning. I’m sure that the people who are pushing for it are wellmeaning. But it’s not going to work if it’s not done properly and I don’t think they’re doing it the right way.”

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Tuesday that Tourism Minister Michael Coteau would have “antiracism” tacked onto his existing profiles. He would be in charge of the new office, which would aid government in reviewing issues through a “race lens.” The hope is to combat recent issues like violence by police against people of colour or hate crimes targeting Syrian refugees. But the announcement, packaged as part of a response to Black History Month, included no cash or timelines.

“I’m not enamoured of this at all … I’m not even sure that today something so elaborate is needed. What is needed is to enact the policies. Make sure right across the government they do what is required and it will work,” Stewart said. “As with any kind of the thing the government is trying to do, there should be legislation and policies and people should follow them and the government should enforce them.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who started pushing for a secretariat last year, said the government plan, without a mandate and funding attached, seems half-written.

“I don’t know what the government has up its sleeve, I don’t think anybody does,” she said, adding that her party’s proposal was to get something up and running quickly to start seeing action for those who need it.

Work is already underway to find an assistant deputy minister to start running a shell of an office and draft its mandate and budget, Coteau said Thursday. He sees value in the standalone office as a place for ideas to to flow through and policies to be analyzed. He compared it to a “think-tank” for good ideas to increase equity.

“We need to figure out where we are going wrong as a society when it comes to access and equality and opportunity for all,” Coteau said.