Advocates are calling for Black representation and a more inclusive mandate for the federal government's new Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, following its announcement on June 1 without any Black members.
Council omission sparks outrage
The council's mandate also failed to explicitly address anti-Black racism, drawing sharp criticism from community leaders. Nicholas Marcus Thompson, co-chair of the National Employment Equity Council, expressed dismay during a June 4 news conference on Parliament Hill.
"Anti-Black racism was not explicitly identified. At some point, omission becomes difficult to distinguish from indifference," Thompson said, joined by Bishop Ransford Jones of the Canadian Black Clergies and Allies.
Thompson noted that Canada has spent years studying and acknowledging anti-Black racism, making the exclusion "difficult to reconcile."
Mixed reactions from advocates
Amnesty International Canada and the Canadian Black Clergies and Allies also urged the government to revise the council's composition and mandate. Jean Augustine, the first Black woman elected to the House of Commons, called for Black Canadians to be "respected and recognized in all spaces."
"Black Canadians are tired. We're tired of being an afterthought, tired of having to raise our voices to be heard and seen fully, tired of having to remind people that we exist and that we matter, too," Augustine told reporters.
She added that ignoring anti-Black racism in the mandate "frankly ignores the one and a half million Black Canadians who proudly call Canada home and who are working to make this country an inclusive environment."
Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, accused the federal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney of backsliding on racial discrimination. "Anti-Black racism does not appear to be a priority," she said.
Employment Equity Act update stalled
Thompson also confirmed that legislation to update the Employment Equity Act remains absent, nearly three years after a task force report recommended changes. The proposed updates would create distinct equity groups for Black and 2SLGBTQ+ workers under the 1984 act, which covers federally regulated employees in sectors like public service, banking, and telecommunications.
"It's just another example of failing to take action when we know what the problem is," Thompson said. "It does send a bad message to Black Canadians, and Canada has an opportunity right now to make that right by bringing this legislation that we continue to call for, for years now."
