In honour of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Here is an email I sent to Jason Kenney in response to comments he made on a radio show. I'll post more of his comments (not included here) in a subsequent post so you can get the full picture of just how ludicrous his statements were. This government never ceases to astound me with how right-wing, reactionary, and backward they can be.

An email to Jason Kenney: Kenney.J@parl.gc.ca, Minister@cic.gc.ca

Hon. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Jason Kenney,

As I am sure you are aware, today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. An essential part of eliminating racism involves recognizing the ways in which "racial discrimination can arise on a systemic or institutional level from everyday rules and structures that are not consciously intended or designed to discriminate." [1]

Many Canadians like to believe that we live in a country where racism is a thing of the past, but this is simply not the case. Systemic racial discrimination exists in Canada and our government has a responsibility to support organizations that develop, maintain, and promote anti-racism and anti-oppression policies, principles and practices. As a Canadian tax payer, I fully support funding such organizations.

With this in mind, I wanted to express my concern about comments that you made on The Roy Green Show on March 19th, 2011. Mr. Green read to you the Anti-Oppression Principles and Practice of an organization called Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services. In response, you stated (regarding funding of Access Alliance by Citizenship and Immigration Canada): "I wasn't aware of it and had I been aware it is not the kind of organization that I think tax payers should be supporting" and "I think it's offensive to finance that kind of thing." Sir, I am a tax payer and I willingly and gladly support any organization, like Access Alliance, that is committed to eliminating racism and all other forms of oppression and I ask that you, as an elected representative, also support this because it is in the best interests of all Canadians. I would also ask that you reconsider your characterization of funding for anti-oppression initiatives as "offensive", as it could be interpreted as support for maintaining oppression.

Lastly, I am also concerned about the statement that Mr. Green read on his show, which he claimed came from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The statement was "we are absolutely not providing funding for their anti-oppression nonsense. We do not stand for these types of things." Am I to understand that Citizenship and Immigration Canada will not provide funding for anti-oppression work of any kind? This is deeply troubling and not at all consistent with Canada's commitment to protect the human rights of all persons. Please look into this issue and ensure that your department has a clear understanding of how important it is to fund anti-oppression initiatives.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing about the continuation of funding for Access Alliance by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and a retraction of the statement that you made on the Roy Green Show. I have copied my member of parliament, Paul Dewar, and opposition critics Olivia Chow (NDP) and Justin Trudeau (Liberal Party) so that they can also respond to this important issue.

Sincerely,

Zoe