Community Groups call for national consultation process on Canada's Action Plan Against Racism
July 19, 2005
July 15, 2005 - We, the undersigned anti-racism community groups and organizations, call on the federal government to engage in a timely national consultation process that is inclusive, open and transparent and equitably accessible.
On July 12, 2005, we and a few other anti-racism organizations from across Canada met with senior officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage as well as representatives of the other three federal government departments presently identified in the governments Canadian Action Plan Against Racism. (Action Plan) The purpose of the meeting was to receive information on the government's current implementation design and framework for the Action Plan and to advise on the creation of an inclusive consultation process.
The Action Plan was launched this Spring by the federal government to mark the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
While we welcomed the opportunity to receive some fuller information with respect to the Action Plan and the thinking behind it, we are also clear that the meeting does not constitute a consultation with stakeholder communities present. A broader consultation with community stakeholders is necessary to provide feedback on the Action Plan and to contribute to the development and implementation of a broad based national plan against racism that would concretely move the anti-racism agenda forward.
We expect the federal government to engage in a timely national consultation process that is inclusive, open and transparent and equitably accessible. Such a comprehensive consultation process is important to achieve the stated vision of a racism free Canada and is a process into which stakeholder communities look forward to contributing.
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- African Canadian Legal Clinic
- Alberta Association for Multicultural Education
- BC Society of Human Rights Defenders
- Buddhist Council of Canada
- Canadian Arab Federation
- Chinese Canadian National Council
- Council of Agencies Serving South Asians
- Idee Inyangudor – New Brunswick
- National Action Committee on the Status of Women
- National Anti-Racism Council of Canada
- National Youth Anti-Racism Network,
- Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
For further information please contact the following:
- Mohamed Boudjenane, Canadian Arab Federation Tel. 416-493-8635: (French Language media)
- Estella Muyinda, National Anti-Racism Council of Canada. Tel. 416-979-3909 ext. 2;
- Uzma Shakir, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, Tel. 416-322-4950 ext.
- Nahanni Fontaine, Southern Chiefs' Organization Tel: (204) 946-1869