MOOSE FACTORY, Ont. – In a tacit rebuke to Canadian leaders including Premier Doug Ford, a group of northern Ontario First Nations have issued a statement on systemic racism.
“In the racial turmoil of the last few weeks, a number of people, and some Premiers in Canada, have spoken publicly to say that there is little or no systemic racism in Canada,” the statement begins. “We the Omushkego Cree First Nations people of Ontario’s north know differently.”
The statement was issued earlier this week by the Mushkegowuk Council, which represents the Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany, Moose Cree, Taykwa Tagamou, Chapleau Cree, and Missanabie Cree First Nations.
Premier Doug Ford came under fire for suggesting at a June 2 press conference that racism was less widespread and deeply rooted in Canada than in the United States.
“It’s like night and day comparing Canada and the U.S.,” he said. “Thank God we’re different than the United States – we don’t have the systemic, deep roots they’ve had for years.”
Facing a backlash on the comments, Ford acknowledged the next day that systemic racism existed in Ontario and throughout the country.
The Mushkegowuk statement makes reference to Ford's words without naming the premier.
“In 1905, when Canada and Ontario made a foundational treaty with our people, government representatives solemnly promised we would be able to continue to use our lands as we always had, forever," it reads. "Then they opened our lands to forestry, mining, and hydro dams without our consent, leaving us with almost none of the benefits."
"That was racism, and it was deep, and it was systemic. And some of that continues to this day.”
The statement asserts that, while there has been real progress, the First Nations are still experiencing the impacts of systemic racism that has marked their relationship with Canada for over a century.
“We live and experience systemic racism every day, in the attitudes of some of the people we talk to, and in the poor quality of the housing, health services, and educational system that our Chiefs, our elders, our children, our mothers, and our youths have to deal with in our daily lives,” it reads.
In Timmins in 2018, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was called in for two separate incidents — the police-involved shooting death of 21-year-old Joey Knapaysweet and the death of 62-year-old Agnes Sutherland after her interaction with the police. The SIU has cleared Timmins Police in both cases, determining there's no reasonable grounds for criminal charges.
In March 2018, Ontario Human Rights Commisioner Renu Mandhane said racism appears to be normalized in the city after a visit.
This past February, the Ontario Human Rights Commission filed a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) application alleging discrimination based on Indigenous ancestry by public service providers in Timmins. It names the Timmins Police Service, Timmins and District Hospital, Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB), and other social service agencies.
The families of Knapaysweet and Sutherland have also each filed HRTO applications. As of last month, the HRTO hadn't received responses from the parties named in the applications. Because of the provincial emergency order for COVID-19, the HRTO said the parties have until 23 days after the order is lifted to file their submissions.
- With files from TBNewsWatch
