New racism policy falls short
July 19, 2005
by Avvy Go and Michael Kerr
Remember all the media hype leading up to the release of the latest Star Wars film, which turned out to be a disappointment for die-hard fans? The same feeling of letdown is now being expressed by some human rights advocates following the recent announcement of the Policy and Guidelines on Racism and Racial Discrimination by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
Unlike mediocre Hollywood movies about intergalactic conflict, however, a human rights policy can have real and significant consequences for real people.
The commission has been around for 44 years, yet successive chief commissioners have failed to develop a policy on racism. After nine years on the job, current chief commissioner Keith Norton finally took up the challenge to produce such a policy, just in time for his retirement.
The importance of having a policy on racism is highlighted by the fact that, at 30 to 40 per cent, race-based complaints consistently comprise the highest percentage of all complaints received each year by the commission. Yet a dismally small number of these complaints are referred to the Human Rights Tribunal for resolution, in part due to the lack of a clear set of guidelines on how they should be handled.
Though not legally binding, commission policy guidelines "contain the commission's interpretation of the provisions" under the Human Rights Code. Commission policies and guidelines "set standards for how individuals, employers, service providers and policy-makers should act to ensure compliance with the code."
Human rights policies, therefore, play a crucial role not only in determining how complaints are addressed by the commission but, more important, they also provide a moral yardstick against which social and institutional behaviour can be measured. To be effective, a human rights policy on racial discrimination must send a strong, clear and unequivocal message to the public that racism in any form is unacceptable and must be eliminated.
The newly released policy on racism attempts to achieve this laudable goal. Though headed in the right direction, it is not quite there yet.
The policy begins with an analysis of the historical legacy of racism in Canada and a review of key international human rights instruments with regard to racial equality. It has some glaring omissions, however, when it comes to specific communities. For instance, the brief section on the Chinese Canadian experience highlights the $500 head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants beginning in 1903, yet forgets to mention the even more racist Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned all Chinese immigrants from 1923 to 1947.
Leaving these minor details aside, perhaps the most disquieting aspect of the report lies in its inconsistent tone and approach towards racism. On one hand, the report repeatedly emphasizes the importance of acknowledging racism as a "pervasive and continuing reality"; on the other, it prefers to describe "actions" rather than "individuals" as racist.
At the launch of the policy, commissioner Norton explained that the fight against racism could be better advanced by making people aware that discrimination is wrong, rather than by targeting individuals who are prejudiced. This is so because, in his view, "individuals who are ideologically racist are few and far between."
With all due respect, the chief commissioner is perhaps missing a key point here. The biggest obstacle in the fight against racism, as the commission's own report points out, is the continuing denial by individuals and institutions alike that racism exists, and consequently the continuing refusal on their part to take responsibility for actions and practices that breed and perpetuate racial discrimination.
Yet the policy seems to carry this myth even further by creating a new classification of racism called "subtle racial discrimination," as opposed to racism that is overtly displayed. This is a peculiar addition given that racism in contemporary Canadian society is almost always subtle in nature.
Moreover, the examples given in this category — the streamlining of racialized students into technical fields, differential disciplinary actions towards racialized students, etc. — are, in fact, indicators of systemic, structural and institutional discrimination. By labelling these practices as "subtle" as opposed to "systemic" racism, the policy leaves the burden to prove racism on the individual victims who claim it exists without obligating institutions to demonstrate that it does not.
Given these shortcomings, the new policy on racism is best regarded as a work in progress. Come October, the first assignment for the new human rights commissioner should be to strengthen these guidelines in order to fulfill more effectively the commission's mandate to promote a racism-free society.
Avvy Go is director of the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. Michael Kerr is co-ordinator of the National Anti-Racism Council of Canada.
Published in Toronto Star on July 7, 2005.