Question Period Note: Anti-Black Racism

Anti-Black Racism

• The Government recognizes that systemic anti-Black racism is an unacceptable reality in Canadian society.
• Since 2018, our Government has committed almost
half a billion dollars to supporting Black communities and addressing systemic discrimination, in the areas of business, justice, health, and in the not-for-profit community sector.
• We will continue this work until all Canadians, including Canadians of African descent, can equitably and fully participate in the economic, social and political institutions of this country.

• Black Canadians remain one of the groups most affected by systemic racism and unconscious bias. Black Canadians are far more likely than non-racialized Canadians to be unemployed (12.5 % compared to 7.3 % in 2016); have a significantly lower median income than non-racialized Canadians across all generations ($35 580 compared to $48 966 in 2016); are more likely to be targeted by hate crimes than any other racial or ethnic group (38 % of all hate crimes targeting race or ethnicity in 2019); and, despite being 3.5 % of the Canadian population, represent 8 % of federal offenders.
• Budget 2018 provided $9 million over three years to enhance local and community support for Black Canadian youth. Canadian Heritage funded 56 proposals for a total of $7.75 million, with an additional $1.57 million allocated for outreach, engagement, research projects, and performance measurement.
• Since 2018, our Government has committed almost half a billion dollars specifically to support Black communities in the struggle against systemic anti-Black racism, whether in the financial sector, the justice system, in the health system, or in the not-for-profit sector.
• Budget 2019 committed $25 million for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, to build capacity within Black communities.
• Through the 2020 Fall Economic Statement the federal government committed $93 million for the Black Entrepreneurship Program, as a partnership between Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Black-led business organizations, and financial institutions. With a public-private investment of up to $221 million over four years, it will help Black Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs grow their businesses and succeed now and into the future.
• In Budget 2021, the federal government committed $200 million to establishing a Black-led philanthropic endowment fund, and a $100 million top-up to the Supporting Black Communities Initiative.
• 2021 marks the 25th anniversary since the federal declaration of Black History Month took effect. In December 1995, the Honourable Jean Augustine, the first African Canadian woman elected to Parliament, introduced a motion which the House of Commons carried unanimously.
• 2021 also marks the sixth year of the United Nations 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 society.

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