Question Period Note: Black Canadian Communities and International Decade for People of African Descent

• On January 30, 2018, the Government of Canada officially recognized the International Decade (2015-2024) as an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the important contributions people of African descent have made to Canadian society.
• It also acknowledged the continuing need to understand and eliminate barriers to Black Canadians experiencing full and equal participation across Canadian society.
• On September 9, 2020, the Prime Minister announced investments of nearly $221 million to launch Canada’s first-ever Black Entrepreneurship Program which will help thousands of Black business owners recover from the COVID-19 crisis and grow their business.
• Budget 2019 provided $25 million over five years to Employment and Skills Development Canada for projects and capital assistance to build capacity in Black Canadian communities. It also provided $45 million over three years for a new Anti-racism Strategy, including $30 million to empower communities.
• Budget 2018 committed $9 million for Canadian Heritage to enhance community support for Black Canadian youth and $10 million to the Public Health Agency of Canada for culturally focused mental health programs.

• The Black population in Canada surpassed the one-million mark for the first time in 2016, making this community the third-largest visible minority group at 15.6 percent of the total visible minority population.
• Funding allocated to the Department of Canadian Heritage enabled the creation of the Community Support for Black Canadian Youth Initiative (CSBCY). 56 initiatives were funded for a combined value of $7.7 million.
• In May 2019, Urban Rez Solutions Social Enterprise was selected to lead a National Anti-Black Racism Education and Awareness Campaign. They received a two-year contribution agreement for $430,000 split evenly over two years.
• Since the official launch of the Anti-racism Strategy in June 2019, the Federal Anti-racism Secretariat has been engaging directly with Black communities and set-up an inter-departmental Working Group on the International Decade for People of African Descent.
• The Government of Canada announced in the Speech from the Throne that is taking new steps to support the artistic and economic contributions of Black Canadian culture and heritage, and addressing inequalities present within the Justice system that disproportionately impact Black Canadians and Indigenous Peoples.

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