Sudbury non-profits demand action after Black woman alleges racism at Food Basics

Three non-profits in Greater Sudbury are demanding action after they say a woman was subjected to racism at a local Food Basics.

The Afro Women and Youth Foundation, Black Lives Matter Sudbury and the Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre released a joint statement Monday.

On Dec. 19 at about 11 a.m., a woman using the alias "Mary" left the Afro Women and Youth Foundation's community centre carrying food donations in a used grocery bag. She then went to Food Basics, located at 1800 Lasalle Blvd., to buy additional items. There, she was wrongly accused, publicly searched without cause and denied an apology when no stolen items were found, according to the statement.

"They removed her stuff on the floor, and searched through the backs, even though they saw that it was cultural food items that were not stocked on the shelves of food basics. So when they didn't find anything, she asked for an apology, which they said no," said Abena Tachie-Baffour, program co-ordinator for the Afro Women and Youth Foundation.

"We have one of our placement students who was targeted at Walmart. I know another family from Ghana who had a similar incident at Real Canadian Superstore. So with the multiple incidents I'm beginning to think, there's systemic racism going around these whole issues."

According to the statement, the groups believe this is not an isolated incident but part of ongoing systemic anti-Black racism in Sudbury. It states that the treatment Mary endured reflects broader patterns of racial discrimination that Black individuals face daily, including heightened surveillance, suspicion and public humiliation.

The organizations are demanding a public apology from Food Basics acknowledging the harm caused, as well as a municipal-led plan to address barriers to employment and housing for newcomers and combat anti-Black racism in the community.

A spokesperson for Metro, the parent company of Food Basics, said the store manager called Mary once he found out, one day after the incident, to apologize and offer a $50 gift card.

They further stated that they believed the woman was carrying food in a Food Basics reusable bag and felt it necessary to ensure all grocery items were properly scanned. They released a statement that reads, "the usual procedure was followed, and it was never intended to be racist. We want to reiterate our apologies to the customer, and we are sorry for any offence that has been caused."

"There's a growing number of people coming from different regions and countries, including members of the Black community," said Tachie-Baffour. "It's up to institutions to continuously educate their workers and those in direct contact with newcomers to bridge these barriers."

Det. Const. Mark Renford, with the Greater Sudbury Police Service, said he does not believe hate-motivated incidents are on the rise. Instead, he said officers are doing a better job recognizing hate crimes, which has led to more charges.

"One of the main things with hate-motivated incidents is that they're underreported. I think in the last two years,... we've made sure that our officers are educated about what a hate crime looks like [and]  that our officers are educated and aware that we take these types of scenarios, these types of cases based on the victims perspective," said Renford.

Tachie-Baffour said she hopes more people will come forward to confront racism and advocate for themselves.

"It's also an integral part of the whole community to get to know how to deal with newcomers, irrespective of skin colour, irrespective of skin shade. If we are we relate to each other from the point of view of empathy, I think we would go a long way to be a supportive community that can say that yes, we are open to newcomers…. Where people do not feel degraded because of their skin colour."