BLACKNORTH GROWTH
Momentum builds for initiative to end anti-black systemic racism
as Black lives matter protests flared around the world in the wake of the killing of George Floyd last spring, Bay street veteran Wes hall asked himself a question: What would happen if a Black businessman in Canada decided to speak out about racial injustice?
after writing an op-ed sharing his experience as a Black person in Canada, hall, the founder and executive chairman of Kingsdale advisors, a prominent shareholder services and advisory firm, received calls from business leaders asking how to help.
“We’ve been leaving this problem for politicians to solve. But it’s not a government problem to solve because systemic racism exists within all aspects of society,” hall said in an interview. “We know where business goes, government and others will follow. that’s where the jobs are. that’s where ingenuity is.”
he quickly set about to mobilize the business community. in June, he established the Canadian Council of Business leaders against anti-black systemic racism and announced the creation of the Blacknorth initiative to end anti-black systemic racism using a business-first mindset.
now, just over half a year later, more than 400 Canadian business leaders representing companies valued at a combined $1.3 trillion have signed the Blacknorth Ceo pledge, publicly committing to specific actions to combat anti-black systemic racism.
These include setting hiring targets that would see Black leaders hold 3.5 per cent of executive and board roles and Black students make up at least five per cent of student workforces, both by 2025.
Signatories have also pledged to invest at least three per cent of corporate donations and sponsorships to promote investment and create economic opportunities in the Black community within the next five years.
Hall frames the business-first mindset in the context of the Environment, Social, corporate Governance (ESG) movement, which has found success in bringing the power of business to bear in solving societal problems.
“If we (the business community) decide we are going to work collectively to eliminate the barriers Black people face, we can make a significant difference in breaking down systemic racism in less than a generation,” Hall said.
Blacknorth is already having an impact.
In November, for example, Enbridge CEO Al Monaco, a Blacknorth signatory, announced the company was targeting having 20 per cent of its board members and 28 per cent of employees be Black, Indigenous or People of Colour (BIPOC) by 2025. The energy company also plans to link diversity targets to executive compensation and incentive compensation across the company, and to increase procurement from diverse suppliers.
Many of the country’s biggest banks, law firms and pension plans have also signed the pledge, as did the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC). In December, CMHC announced its support of a new $40 million investment to create 200 home ownership opportunities for Black Canadians.
Hall, however, doesn’t take Blacknorth’s quick progress for granted.
“This cannot just be another moment in time. We cannot go back to our comfort zone because we are going to continue to live this Groundhog Day,” he says. “We saw it in 1865 when the U.S. Civil War ended. We saw it in 1965 with the civil rights movement. We saw it in 1992 with the Rodney King verdict. Now we’re in 2020. We cannot say again, ‘It’s not a problem anymore because the moment has passed.’”
Blacknorth’s plan is to achieve quick wins and then to build off that momentum. To that end, it is officially launching a fundraising campaign in March focused on four key projects.
First, it has partnered with the Black community, Black youth and Kids Help Phone and is looking to raise $3 million to fund RISE UP, Canada’s first and only 24/7 mental health support service specifically for Black youth.
Second, it is targeting $25 million to build a Culture Meets Community Centre, a full-service centre to celebrate Black art, culture and the historical contributions of Black people in Canada. The Schulich Foundation has already donated $1 million to that effort.
To support Black entrepreneurs and incubate, accelerate and scale Black businesses, the Blacknorth Initiative has partnered with Dream Legacy Foundation and Ryerson DMZ and is raising $10 million to fund a Black Business Development Hub.
Its biggest project is the creation of a $65-million Homeownership Bridge program, to provide Black and racialized families with affordable housing. The plan is to build 2,000 homes across Canada that help Black people build home equity.
Of the four, the Black Business Development Hub and the Homeownership Bridge program, Hall says, have the potential to unlock the kind of sustainable wealth building that can pay dividends across generations.
“If we start to fund these programs and show the market and the community that good things are happening, the programs will grow,” he says. “In the next 20 years, we will have massive change in society. Meaningful change. We have the roadmap to do it. We just need the will.”