Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change Uncategorized

Ontario Budget 2021-2022 – a racial justice relevant summary ( March 24, 2021 )

Anti‐Racism and Anti‐Hate Grant program – $1.6 million over 2 years to address systemic racism – by supporting community based anti‐racism initiatives focusing on anti‐Black racism, anti‐Indigenous racism, anti‐Semitism and Islamophobia – no mention of anti-Asian racism !?

$4 million to provide culturally responsive support to First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations. In recognizing COVID‐19 has disproportionately impacted racially diverse, newcomer and low‐income communities – $50 million to support targeted and tailored community outreach and education using Community Ambassadors, mobile testing sites, distribution of PPE kits, case management support to connect individuals to critical services and to safely self‐isolate. In addition.

To ‘defeat’ COVID-19 – $1 billion for vaccination rollout ( $50 million targeted for rural and urban Indigenous people ); $2.3 billion for testing and contact tracing in 2021 and 2022; $1.8 billion to provide care for COVID-19 patients and tackle surgical backlogs; $50-million boost for last years program for manufacturers of personal protective equipment and other supplies; hospitals getting $1.8 billion to help ease pandemic-related pressures; $1 billion to support municipalities with COVID-19 expenses; $50 million for cultural organizations and faith-based groups for costs associated with COVID-19; $3.7million to help remove barriers and provide safe, accessible transportation for persons with disabilities and older adults with limited mobility to travel to their COVID‐19 vaccination appointments – no mention of funded capacity for disaggregated data collection ?

Housing – $255 million for municipal service managers and Indigenous program partners to respond to rising COVID‐19 cases in shelter settings; $18.5 million over 3 years for the Transitional Housing Support Program to support victims of domestic violence and survivors of human trafficking; $13 million over 3 years to assist people with developmental disabilities in accessing community housing and to expand the Adult Protective Service Worker program to support them to live independently.

Long Term Care – $2.3 billion over four years to expand the system ( replaces $1.75 billion previously announced ) – for 20,161 ( ?? ) new beds for both “for-profit” and public facilities; $4.9 billion over four years for previously announced average of 4 hours of direct care per resident each day

Mental Health – $175 million for mental health and addictions support programs.

Policing – $8.4 million over three years to fund a crisis call diversion program within OPP to help divert calls to mental health services ( while investing $12.5 million over 3 years to enhance mental health services available to OPP staff !? )

Tribunals Ontario – $28.5 million over 4 years for new case management system – to modernize client interactions, provide comprehensive online dispute resolution services, enhance ability to monitor cases online and receive/submit documents electronically – no mention of access to justice or disaggregated data collection !?

Capital Plan – investments in transit, highways, schools, hospitals, broadband – additional $16.9 billion in 2021–22 – fundamental to made‐in‐Ontario growth, recovery, long‐term prosperity – no mention of employment equity related conditions or obligations attached with respect to all the many jobs that are being created !?

Families – Child Benefit doubled – a one-time payment of $400 per child and $500 per child with special needs; expanded Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses tax credit ( CARE ) by 20% for one year – which increases support from $1,250 to $1,500 on average; $2.1 million over 3 years to assist survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking; $18.2 million over 3 years to help address violence against First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and girls; a new $30 million for a Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit for 2021.

Children & Youth with Special Needs – $240 million over 4 years for more service capacity in early intervention and rehabilitation and Preschool Speech and Language Program services; $4.5 million over 3 years to support the Abilities Centre in Whitby to connect youth and adults with disabilities to employment opportunities.

Small business support – $1.7 billion for businesses that received the Small Business Support Grant can get a second payment – $10,000 to $20,000 – no need to re-apply; new $100 million Tourism & Hospitality Small Business Support Grant program for hard-hit businesses – one-time payments between $10,000 and $20,000; new Ontario Tourism Recovery Program – also $100 million – to help “historically successful businesses”get back on their feet; $150 million for a tax credit to encourage Ontarians to explore their home province once it’s safe to travel.

Job Training – Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit – up to $2,000 – for Ontario residents between 26 and 65; $85.0 million for the Skills Development Fund; $117.3 million to assist job seeking women, racialized individuals, Indigenous peoples, youth and people with disabilities; $157.2

million for workers in the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic – ie. hospitality and tourism sectors – to provide career counselling and urgent training; $60.8 million to upgrade and expand high‐speed internet and other digital infrastructure for community organizations, colleges and other employment training service providers; $194 million for employment and training programs and services that are responsive to the province’s economic recovery; $2 million for the development of a “virtual skills passport” that tracks learners’ credentials; $288.2 million for the Skilled Trades Strategy; and establish an Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee – representation !?

Long-Term Recovery Plan – $6 million annually for the Indigenous Community Capital Grants Program to address long‐term infrastructure needs and fast‐track shovel‐ready on and off‐reserve projects; $1million for enhancements to the Ontario Made program; $5 million over 2 years for the new Ontario Junior ( Mineral ) Exploration Program; $50 million over 2 years for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation to support investments in infrastructure, culture, economic development and training; form a task force to address economic barriers faced by women; $56.4 million over 4 years to create a new Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network to accelerate the development of next generation electric, connected and autonomous vehicles and lower environmental and carbon footprint mobile technologies – doesn’t include Indigenous Peoples, peoples of colour, persons living with (dis)abilities, 2SLGBTQ+ individuals !?

Broadband Access – additional $2.8 billion to bring broadband to more people by 2025.

Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change Uncategorized

DAY 15 – November 25 – UDHR Article #15 – TAKE ACTION !!

DAY 15 – November 25 – UDHR Article #15 – TAKE ACTION !!

“(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”

“30in30 – From Remembrance to Equity, Inclusion & Human Rights”

The ongoing effort to get all Canadians to pause and consider the real meaning and underlying significance of Remembrance Day – as well as its visceral connection to the International Day for Human Rights ! There are 30 days between November 11 (Remembrance Day) and December 10 (International Day for Human Rights) – with December 10th being the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) !

See and ACT now – https://groups.google.com/g/ColourofChangeNetwork/c/ugXxwHbGqjk

As the UDHR has 30 Articles – one for each of the 30 days that separate these two profound moments in our shared national and international consciousness – “30in30 – From Remembrance to Equity, Inclusion & Human Rights” is a shared opportunity to consider each of the Articles – day by day – as we travel from “remembrance” to why it was and is that we engage(d) in such pain, sacrifice, suffering and violent forms of conflict resolution – to the preservation and pursuit of freedom, equity, inclusion, fairness and human rights !!

Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change News

The media needs to confront racism in Canada: Avvy Go and Gary Yee (Opinion, The Globe and Mail)

Avvy Go and Gary Yee

Special to The Globe and Mail

Updated November 10, 2020

Avvy Go is the clinic director at the Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. Gary Yee is director of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice.

Read the article on The Globe

Many Canadians have experienced intense emotions watching the election unfold in our neighbour to the south. Those of us fighting for social justice have feared the possibility of four more years of Donald Trump and the continuing destructive impact on society, well beyond the U.S. borders. We experience something visceral and deeply personal when we see the dehumanization of those who belong to communities with less power and privilege. Speaking as Chinese-Canadians, the increased anti-Asian racism this year has increased our sense of being the “other” – being the perpetual foreigner. All our institutions, including the powerful media, must do better to ensure our social cohesion and cherish our collective humanity.

Chinese-Canadians continue to be treated as foreigners, despite our over 150 years of history in this nation. Nov. 7, 2020, marked the 135th anniversary of the Last Spike ceremony for finishing the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. During its construction, Chinese labourers were paid less than other workers and did the most dangerous jobs; hundreds died and were often buried in unmarked graves. Our community’s contribution to this nation-building was repaid with 67 years of legislated racism, first with the exorbitant Chinese Head Tax in 1885 to restrict Chinese immigration, followed by the Chinese Exclusion Act that banned Chinese immigration outright in 1923 until 1947.

Despite our long history in Canada, today Chinese-Canadians are still seen as outsiders who bring in diseases or drive up the housing market. With the rising tensions between Canada and China – a country which is not even the birthplace of many Chinese-Canadians – our loyalty to Canada is increasingly being questioned.

The pandemic has exposed how deep-seated anti-Chinese racism is in Canada. Across the country, social media has been flooded with heart-wrenching reports of verbal and physical attacks on Chinese-Canadians and other Asian-Canadians.

With Black Lives Matter, and other anti-racism movements across North America, more Canadians are becoming aware of the existence of structural racism in our own backyard. Still, far too many Canadians either regard this as an issue that exists only south of the border, or that racism is just a matter of “a few bad apples.”

Sensationalism in the media gives lots of attention to explicitly racist incidents, without shining enough light on the everyday lived experiences of racialized people who face systemic barriers in the workplace, health care, justice system, and elsewhere. Nor have the media done enough of a deep dive into Canada’s history of colonization of Indigenous peoples and the transatlantic slave trade, as well as the continuing impact of such atrocities.

As the Far Right movement has taken to social media to spread hate and misinformation, the role of traditional media as a source of trusted information has become ever more important The media hold tremendous power as the disseminator of information to the general public. But with that power, media also have an obligation to ensure that they do not become part of the problem.

To help move our society from one where racialized folks are being “othered” as lesser humans to one where all people belong as equal participants, influential media outlets have the power and opportunity to step up and support inclusion and belonging for all.

Media outlets need to become more inclusive and involve all racialized communities in issues of interests to all Canadians, and not just stories that are perceived as affecting them only. For instance, don’t interview Chinese-Canadians only when the media are doing a story on China and Hong Kong, or on the real estate market in Vancouver, but talk to us also about the Canadian economy, or climate change. We share very similar interests, experiences and expertise with all Canadians.

It’s important for media outlets to adopt an anti-racist approach to their work, including systemic policies and practices. They must be mindful of the impact of choices for stories, headlines and content, to avoid worsening racism or reinforcing the stereotype of Chinese-Canadians and others as perpetual foreigners.

Journalists and media leaders need to appreciate and understand every racialized community as a diverse one and stop treating us as a monolithic entity. No person of colour or Indigenous person should be expected to speak for their entire community before their perspective is rendered worthy of publication.

The past several years of turmoil both in the United States and in Canada have taught us that our democracy is fragile, and that structural racism, if left unchecked, poses a serious risk to social cohesion. There’s so much damage to be undone when those with power and privilege try to dehumanize others. Each of us experiences racism and forms of “othering” in different and deeply personal ways. By working as a bridge, media can amplify the true reality of our entire society, and use its incredible power to transform how we see ourselves and each other. We need to start reclaiming some of our humanity and rebuilding our society based on principles of justice and equality.

Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change Uncategorized

COP-COC | Reconstruction and Reset Plan for Canada

La version française suivra.

COVID-19 has exposed and significantly increased pre-existing racial inequities in Canada. The pandemic has amplified major racial inequalities in employment, healthcare, access to senior care, housing, access to justice and education.  While the Canadian government is working on a recovery plan from the pandemic, we need to reimagine what a society founded on justice, equity and dignity would truly look like. To that end, the Colour of Poverty Colour of Change (COP-COC) is proposing a Reconstruction and Reset Plan for Canada, one that will not only address racial inequality, but pave the foundation for a more prosperous and fair society for all.

Read the full  COP-COC’s Reconstruction and Reset Plan:

COP-COC Reconstruction and Reset Plan – FederalDownload

La COVID-19 a révélé et considérablement accru les inégalités raciales préexistantes au Canada. Les réponses politiques des différents ordres de gouvernement n’ont pas réussi à corriger les désavantages structurels et systémiques selon des critères raciaux. Pendant que le gouvernement canadien travaille sur un plan de rétablissement après la pandémie, nous devons réinventer ce à quoi ressemblerait vraiment une société fondée sur la justice, l’équité et la dignité. À cette fin, la couleur de la pauvreté, la couleur du changement (COP-COC) propose un plan de reconstruction et de rétablissement pour le Canada, qui non seulement s’attaquera à l’inégalité raciale, mais posera les bases d’une société plus prospère et plus juste pour tous.

COP-COC RECONSTRUCTION ET RÉTABLISSEMNENT: UN PLAN POUR LE CANADADownload