Founded in 1996 by the Canadian Government, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) was created as part of the Japanese Canadian Redress agreement, and meant to reaffirm the principles of justice and equity for all throughout the country.
In that time, the organization has sought to affirm those principles through a variety of workshops, action plans, campaigns, funding opportunities and other diverse initiatives uniting Canada against racism, and promoting multiculturalism and diversity.
Earlier this year, the CRRF carried the first two of 12 Building Bridges workshops, in Victoria and Vancouver, aiming to combat hate in Canada. But, more recently, the CRRF is welcoming the announcement of “Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028.”
This action-oriented framework for change builds on an earlier iteration and is informed by substantial community input. With an investment of $110.4 million aimed at driving action in employment, justice and law enforcement, housing, healthcare and immigration systems, it takes a whole-of government approach, including over 70 federal initiatives to eliminate systemic racism and create diverse and inclusive communities.
“Our work regularly reveals the extent to which racism is still deeply entrenched in Canada. The communities we support and with whom we collaborate across the country experience it firsthand in all its forms, from violent acts of hate to more insidious, daily systemic inequities,” says Mohammed Hashim, CEO of the CRRF. “A community-informed federal strategy to transform this reality, with concrete actions and accountability mechanisms, is a strong and long-awaited push in the right direction.”
The strategy’s priority areas include promoting economic, social, and cultural empowerment; advancing racial equity in immigration, health, and housing systems; driving justice, law enforcement, intelligence, and public safety systems reform; and using international engagement to inform advancement on racial equity and inclusion at home.
The CRRF affirms the need for all four of these priorities to be tackled across the government. The CRRF also recognizes the need for impacted communities to lead change, which is why our National Antiracism Fund (NARF) supports the first two priorities through by supporting, enabling and convening community groups and organizations to carry out their own work to combat racism and create opportunities for meaningful dialogue, learning and sharing with the broader public.
Additionally, the core of the CRRF’s commitment through the Strategy is to drive public policy change in the fields of justice, law enforcement, intelligence and public safety systems reform, an area in which the CRRF says they have made significant strides, and will continue to be an accelerator of transformative change.
The CRRF congratulate their colleagues at the federal Anti-Racism Secretariat and the Department of Canadian Heritage for this important milestone, and they look forward to working with the federal government and other partners to make this vision a reality and create a future in Canada where everyone is treated equitably with dignity, respect, and opportunity.
Source: The Canadian Race Relations Foundation
