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“NUPGE is committed to being an anti-racist union. Our research brings together academic research and anecdotal evidence of widespread anti-Black racism in Canada.” — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
Ottawa (03 Mar. 2022) — The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has published the next paper in the Diversity and Inclusion in Our Unions series. The topic of this paper is Anti-Black Racism.
Anti-Black racism exists in Canada
Though anti-Black racism is less discussed here than in the United States, it is present in Canada. The paper looks at different ways anti-Black racism occurs in Canada and what unions can do to combat it. Topics include
- Microaggressions and unconscious anti-Black racism
- Police checks and carding
- Overrepresentation in arrests and prisons
- Anti-Black racism in health care
- Biases about Black pain
- Anti-Black racism and mental health
- Code-switching
- Anti-Black racism in employment
- Multigenerational impact of low wages
- COVID-19 and anti-Black racism
- Environmental racism
Statistics Canada’s newest report on police-reported hate crime in Canada states that, in 2020, the number of police-reported crimes motivated by a hatred of a race or ethnicity increased 80%, from 884 to 1,594. Hate crimes targeting Black people saw the biggest increase, at 663 incidents (up from 345 in 2019), and they remain the most common kind of police-reported hate crime, at 26% of all hate crimes.
A recent study conducted by the Institute for Social Research, York University, in partnership with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, found that 70% of Black Canadians face racism regularly or from time to time.
NUPGE committed to the fight against racism
“NUPGE is committed to being an anti-racist union,” said NUPGE’s President, Larry Brown. “Our research brings together academic research and anecdotal evidence of widespread anti-Black racism in Canada.”
“This research will help further NUPGE’s and its Components’ work on anti-racism,” said NUPGE’s Secretary-Treasurer, Bert Blundon. “It’s one step of many NUPGE is taking to make our unions a safe and welcoming space for Black workers.”