A Progress Report on Anti-Racism Policy Across Canada

This report was published by People for Education.

HERE’S HOW THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE THIS REPORT:

Anti-racism policies are gradually becoming more widespread in Canada. In 2019, the Government of Canada launched a 3-year plan for long-term action towards increasing equitable access to and participation in the economic, cultural, social, and political spheres. At the jurisdictional level, Ontario was the first province to pass an anti-racism act in 2017, and most recently in 2022, British Columbia and Nova Scotia passed landmark legislation on anti-racism policies across their provincial public institutions.

But what does anti-racism mean? And why are these policies happening now?

Anti-racism is the belief in equality among all races, and that racial inequality is an outcome of problematic policies and power imbalances.

Anti-racism has emerged as a priority focus area in Canada because of a long history of racial discrimination, underscored by numerous current events triggering discussions on race, inequity, and social injustice. In particular, the public education system has faced the challenge of addressing incidents of racism in their schools, as well as ongoing efforts to ensure that every child can access their human right to a quality education.

While anti-racism policies have emerged from publicly funded school boards across Ontario in recent years, new research from People for Education reveals significant inconsistencies in the execution of these strategies. This report explores findings from an online scan completed during summer 2022 of the websites of 72 publicly funded school boards in Ontario, in addition to data collected in the 2021-22 Annual Ontario School Survey.

The goal of this progress report on anti-racism policy across Canada, and specifically in publicly funded school boards in Ontario, is to share evidence about the work that has been accomplished to date and provide three key recommendations on how to move forward in advancing anti-racism.

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