Systemic Racism In Employment In Canada

Historically Canadians have considered themselves to be more or less free of racial prejudice. Although this conception has been challenged in recent years, it has not been completely dispelled. In Colour-Coded, Constance Backhouse illustrates the tenacious hold that white supremacy had on our legal system in the first half of this century, and underscores the damaging legacy of inequality that continues today. Backhouse presents detailed narratives of six court cases, each giving evidence of blatant racism created and enforced through law. The cases focus on Aboriginal, Inuit, Chinese-Canadian, and African-Canadian individuals, taking us from the criminal prosecution of traditional Aboriginal dance to the trial of members of the 'Ku Klux Klan of Kanada.' From thousands of possibilities, Backhouse has selected studies that constitute central moments in the legal history of race in Canada. Her selection also considers a wide range of legal forums, including administrative rulings by municipal councils, criminal trials before police magistrates, and criminal and civil cases heard by the highest courts in the provinces and by the Supreme Court of Canada. The extensive and detailed documentation presented here leaves no doubt that the Canadian legal system played a dominant role in creating and preserving racial discrimination. A central message of this book is that racism is deeply embedded in Canadian history despite Canada's reputation as a raceless society. Winner of the Joseph Brant Award, presented by the Ontario Historical Society

This multidisciplinary volume brings together scholars and activists to examine expressions of racism in contemporary policy areas, including education, labour, immigration, media, and urban planning. While anti-racist struggles during the twentieth century were largely pitched against overt forms of racism (e.g., pogroms, genocide, segregation, apartheid, and 'ethnic cleansing'), it has become increasingly apparent that there are other, less visible, forms of racism. These subtler incarnations are of special interest to the contributors. The intent of Race, Racialization, and Antiracism in Canada and Beyond is to probe systemic forms of racism, as well as to suggest strategies for addressing them. The collection is organized by themes pertinent to political and social expressions of racism in Canada and the wider world, such as the state and its mediation of race, education and the perpetuation of racist marginalization, and the role of the media. The contributors argue that, in order to effectively combat racism, various methodological approaches are required, approaches that are reflective of the diversity of the world we seek to understand.

Comprises essays. Discusses race relations beginning in the mid- 18th century and continuing to the mid-1980s. Asserts that racial discrimination is part of Canadian history and part of the capitalist economic system. Includes case studies of indigenous people, Chinese and Japanese immigrants, and blacks.

Loney takes issue with popular attitudes toward race and gender, whereby to be born a woman or a member of a visible minority is to enter life at a disadvantage and therefore be entitled to compensatory provision. Arguing that social class not group membership determines life chances, he refutes the claims of those who detect systemic prejudice and discrimination and reap considerable public subsidy in return. From the release of the Abella report to the present, Loney sets the growth of federal involvement in preferential hiring in the context of a growing industry whose success depends on the constant affirmation of group grievance based on gender or race. He argues that preferential hiring policies and a muddled multiculturalism leads to the continual assertion of the primacy of race even as the government officially opposes racial thinking. Loney discusses many up-to-date and high profile examples, including Bob Rae's preoccupation with skin and gender politics, Brian Mulroney's attempts to strengthen the Conservative Party's ethnic constituency by funding ethnic groups and maintaining high levels of immigration, and former defence minister David Colinette's extensive use of public funds to court ethnic voters in his Toronto constituency. The Pursuit of Division will be essential reading for anyone concerned about where government-mandated policies on equity and multiculturalism may be taking us and about the implications of emphasizing the politics of difference over that of shared community.

Champion sprinter Donovan Bailey said it, and this book confirms it. While racism may not be as blatant in Canada as in the United States, it does exist. Members of visible minority groups are discriminated against in employment, housing, and access to public services. The increasing visibility of hate groups and calls to restrict immigration mark the growing tension. Racist attitudes against Asians and Blacks, in particular, have seeped into the criminal justice system. Ironically, since 1960 it has been illegal in Ontario to track crime by race, making it difficult for researchers to collect data. The media, our primary source of information, has sensationalized crimes where minority groups are implicated. Clayton Mosher uses historical data and media reports to expose racism in Canada's social, legal, and criminal justice systems. He considers the social contexts of discrimination, legislation directed against minority groups, law enforcement, and court outcomes. At last, we are offered an objective assessment of racism in Canada. Discrimination and Denial is essential reading for judges, lawyers, police officers, social policy makers, and community leaders. Interpretations of recent events, such as the shooting of officer Todd Baylis by a fugitive alien and gang-style slayings in Toronto's Chinatown, are guaranteed to heat up the embers of public debate.