Systemic racism exists in Canada, B.C. residents say
Poll sparked by recent news coverage of discussion between mayor and top cop
It comes as no surprise to community activist Lama Mugabo that most British Columbians agree that systemic racism affects Canadian institutions, including police forces, as highlighted in a recent poll.
Just over two-thirds of British Columbians, 67 per cent, agreed with the statement that systemic racism exists in all Canadian institutions, a margin that increased among younger respondents and those who identified as minorities in a survey conducted by the public research firm Leger, in conjunction with The Vancouver Sun.
“This is a reality we live with in Vancouver, so I’m not surprised,” said Mugabo, a director of the Hogan’s Alley Society.
The question of systemic racism went public based largely on news coverage of a discussion between Vancouver police Chief Adam Palmer and Mayor Kennedy Stewart, who hold diverging opinions, said Heather Owen, a vice-president at Leger. “We took what was a fairly public conversation, two opinions on the same issue, and we asked British Columbians where they would come in on it,” Owen said.
And the response “is a solid indication that this is a dynamic that British Columbians recognize.”
Systemic racism is usually defined as racial bias embedded within how an institution operates, not individual attitudes.
The poll question asked whether respondents agreed with the position stated by Stewart in the news that systemic racism does exist and must be recognized, versus Palmer’s statement to The Sun that, while systemic racism might exist in other institutions, it doesn’t exist within the VPD.
Palmer told Sun columnist Dan Fumano that he and his officers condemn racism and face more scrutiny, screening, training and oversight than their American counterparts, and he doesn’t hear reports from his officers of cops mistreating co-workers or members of the public, from a racist perspective.
“I’m not going to be one of those police leaders saying there’s systemic racism in the VPD because
I don’t buy it,” Palmer said. “And actually, I find it offensive to even suggest that.”
In the Leger survey, however, just 12 per cent of respondents agreed with Palmer’s position. In total, 21 per cent of respondents were undecided, reporting that they “don’t know” which position they were aligned with.
Among younger respondents aged 18-34, some 71 per cent agreed with Stewart’s position. The number reached 75 per cent among respondents who identified themselves as coming from minority communities, compared with 68 per cent for Caucasians.
The debate in Vancouver comes at a time of intense focus on policing, race relations and protests in cities not just in the U.S., but also globally, after Minnesota resident George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.
However, Mugabo doesn’t believe the views of British Columbians are being overly influenced by what they’re seeing in the news, particularly among the young and minority communities.
“Young people have a different interpretation of racism as it unfolds,” which is informed by the experiences of a more diverse set of peers than perhaps their parents have, Mugabo said.
“If you’re older and white, if you don’t have Black friends or visible minority friends who face this on a daily basis and tell you what they experience, you are probably oblivious to it.”
The way this question was raised didn’t delve too deeply into all of the factors that influenced responses, Owen said, but the way it was laid out offered respondents “a discrete choice.”
As for what officials should do with the information, Owen was careful not to imply an opinion.
“As pollsters, we provide data and we provide points of view,” she said. “I hope that when public officials and policy-makers consider how they’re responding to a very important conversation that they’re aware that people in British Columbia are fairly clear about how they feel about this. Public opinion does inform public policy, but it’s not all that goes into it.”