Senators ask for anti-racism investigation into Canadian government

Government legislators suggested that the Senate should establish a committee that examines systemic racism in Canada on Tuesday, according to Blacklock's Reporter.

This committee would reportedly run for a year, with 12 members investigating whether this racism does exist in this country. So far, no budget has been proposed.

A senator from Ontario said that "We have not taken to the streets to march in solidarity with our Aboriginal brothers and sisters ... what is wrong with us?"

Another Ontarian senator said that the committee would "review the extent and scope of anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism and systemic racism in federal institutions and agencies."

As well as this, some senators also suggested that the Senate should also review how Canadian governments have tackled anti-Indigenous racism and anti-Black racism throughout history—giving the committee a large mandate to tackle.

Racism, argued one senator, "is ingrained in every level of society." As a result of this, he concluded that "demonstrating was a good thing to do."

"Why does an Inuit man have to be slammed to the ground by the door of a moving RCMP vehicle to get our attention? Why on the streets of Winnipeg do we see yet another case of police brutality to get our attention?," he added.

The Senate, as with most other facets of Canadian government, is notoriously slow-moving, with the last anti-racism bill being introduced two years ago. The decision to move the motion forward is still pending.