Question Period Note: BLACK CANADIAN COMMUNITIES

Budget 2021 provided $100M for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, and $200M to establish a new Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund.

• Events over the last year have shone a light on the complex and unique lived realities of Black Canadians. Canada's Black populations are disproportionately affected by systemic inequities.

• COVID-19 has only exacerbated these inequities linked to anti-Black racism, and many Black Canadian communities, and the organizations that support them, are increasingly vulnerable to economic hardship.

• Budget 2021 provided $300 million to Employment and Social Development Canada in 2021-22 to support and address the needs of Black Canadians’ communities:

• $100 million in additional funding to the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative for community capacity building and capital assistance projects within Black Canadian communities.

• $200 million to establish a new Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund that would create a sustainable source of funding, including for Black youth and social purpose organizations, and help combat anti-Black racism and improve social and economic outcomes in Black communities.

• The implementation of these initiatives is consistent with this Government’s United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent commitment and investment of $25 million over five years announced in Budget 2019 to diversity and inclusion. This will help toaddress the harms of systemic racism, and promoting a Canada where every person is able to fully and equally participate in our country’s economic, cultural, social and political life.

In recognition of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent, Budget 2019 provided $25 million over five years to create the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative (SBCCI) to support community capacity building and capital assistance projects to celebrate, share knowledge and invest in our vibrant Black Canadian communities.

Since then, the initiative has delivered projects in support of these outcomes through its launch of a national network of Black-led Intermediaries and capital assistance project streams.

Budget 2021 provided an additional investment of $100 million in 2021-2022, which will serves to strengthen foundational capacity in Black-led not-for-profit organizations and charities around a range of needs, including health and well-being services, educational programming, research, skill development workshops, employment services, and other initiatives addressing gaps and barriers due to discrimination and unfair treatment in Canadian institutions.

Following the Budget 2021 announcement, an investment of $7.25 million over 3 years (2021-2024) has been allocated to support the creation of a National Institute for People of African Descent. The institute will serve to inform and influence policy and program development at all orders of government, from a Black-centric perspective.

Black Communities have voiced the need to have their voices represented and integrated into government policy decisions. In response, ESDC is developing an External Reference Group, which will advise the Department on SBCCI Program measures, and provide knowledge, expertise and advisory support on issues and opportunities related to Black Canadian communities.

Budget 2021 also provided $200 million to create a Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund, a grants and contributions program intended to endow one or more Black-led foundations.

Most foundations have endowments, which is money that is designated for investment. The income earned from these investments covers grants to community organizations – in this case, Black-led and Black-serving organizations – and the foundation’s own operating costs.

• In 2016, visible minorities accounted for over 7 million or 22.3% of Canada’s total population. Since 1996, Canada’s Black population has doubled to almost 1.2 million representing 3.5% of Canada's total population.

• Data shows that Canada's Black populations are disproportionately affected by systemic inequities, with a higher prevalence of low-income households, lower employment rates compared to the Canadian average, as well as a much higher likelihood of discriminatory treatment at work.
• Black-led and Black-serving organizations are often small organizations that depend on short-term grants and other unreliable sources of money.

• Research published by the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities and Carleton University in December 2020 found that Black-led and Black-serving charities receive significantly less grant funding than other charities in Canada