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Canadian Government Creates $47 Million Fund For Black Children To Fight Racism

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Amber Randall Civil Rights Reporter
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The Ontario government released a three year plan aimed at erasing “systemic racism” in their organizations Tuesday.

The plan, worked on for the past year, includes race-based data collection, money for young black people and anti-racism legislation, reports The Star.

“When even one of our citizens is left behind the entire province suffers,” said Michael Coteau, the minister of anti-racism. “These are concrete actions from a government to dismantle systemic racism and its devastating impact it’s having on our communities. While it isn’t a be (all) and end-all solution it is a bold step in the right direction and this is just the beginning.”

One part of the potential legislation includes collecting race-based data in certain sectors like child welfare, health and justice. They also want to use an assessment to get rid of implicit bias in those programs.

Another proposal centers around creating an anti-racism plan, along with a $47 million Black Youth Action Plan devoted to education and employment options for black children. The legislation also proposes more mental health initiatives for black youth.

“I want black youth in this province to know that their lives matter. I want them to know that they matter and I want them to know that the government of Ontario and the people of Ontario care for them,” Coteau said.

The legislation also focuses on Islamophobia and the “urgent” need to talk about it. The Ontario government plans to start gathering information on alleged hate crimes.

“Our government is ready to take responsibility and to make change,” Coteau said. “It’s taken us decades to get to this point. And I believe that it’s never too late for us to correct our course.”

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