Provincial government anti-racism directorate comes to Sudbury
Sudbury and Thunder Bay are two northern Ontario stops on ten city tour
A provincial government task force hoping to tackle racism made its first northern Ontario stop this weekend.
The Anti-Racism Directorate is travelling to ten different cities to study systemic racism—discrimination that exists within the justice system, government, health care, education, and more.
For example, the Indigenous and black population are more likely to end up in child welfare or justice systems than the rest of the population.
"If you've never experienced racism, you're not going to believe it's a problem," said Taryn Michel, the aboriginal family court worker at N'Swakomok Native Friendship Centre in Sudbury.
Michel told the directorate that many non-Indigenous employees she works with in the court system don't believe racism is an issue.
"We as Indigenous people— and different cultures— know what racism is. Because we experience it."
Sudbury, Thunder Bay only northern stops
The directorate is visiting a total of 10 cities, with the only other northern Ontario stop in Thunder Bay.
"See what's happening in Kenora. In Timmins. Those other northern communities," Teala Nadjiwon, a cultural resource coordinator with the friendship centre, told the directorate.
"Issues of racism in the north are going to be significantly different than what's happening in Toronto."
Nadjiwon said she hopes a policy for Ontario addresses regional needs— and Indigenous populations living on and off reserve.
A major concern for Nadjiwon is the collection of information— in part because data that could be used to track systemic racism is sparse or so incomplete it can't be used.
"Historically, we've been left out of any data collection that happens. If we look at Statistics Canada, a lot of our communities [didn't] participate in the census," she said.