CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A delegation of individuals from P.E.I.’s Black Cultural Society made a solemn statement before Premier Dennis King and Opposition leaders on Tuesday outside the Coles Building in Charlottetown.
About 20 people lined up with their hands behind their backs as names of black people who were killed following interactions with police in Canada and the U.S. were read out.
The names included George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, and Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old black woman who fell to her death after Toronto police were called to her 24th floor apartment on May 27.
Nationwide protests followed the death of Floyd, resulting in nightly curfews in several U.S. cities and escalating accounts of police attacks on demonstrators and journalists.
Tamara Steele, president of the Black Cultural Society, urged the premier and other MLAs to ensure equal access to job security and safe learning environments in schools for all Islanders, regardless of race.
"Here we stand in a socially acceptable gathering in representation of our masses to ask you to consider us when you are considering new legislation and policy," Steele said.
"To review existing legislation, to ask yourself, 'does this represent all of my constituents fairly and equally or is it outdated and maybe needs to be revised?' "
In an interview, Steele said many members of P.E.I.’s black community are exhausted from watching the events in recent days in the U.S. and Canada.
"We're angry. We're angry and we're grieving hard," Steele said.
"Everyone is just tired of this."
Steele said racism is felt by many black Islanders but is often seen in what she called “micro-aggressions” or unconscious abuses or white privilege.
MLAs from all parties condemned racial discrimination in the legislature on Tuesday.
Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly, the only black MLA in P.E.I.’s legislature, urged all MLAs to make more efforts to support black and Indigenous Islanders and other people of colour.
"We must commit to fight anger with understanding, we need to replace fear with love.”
- Gord McNeilly
"We must commit to fight anger with understanding, we need to replace fear with love,” McNeilly said in a statement.
“We can promise to be fair, but we must take this feeling deep into our hearts. This is where racism must be extinguished."
Premier Dennis King called the delegation a “meaningful demonstration”.
"Obviously, what's taking place in the United States is geographically a piece (away) from us, but it's cause for us to realize that systemic racism and discrimination and hate is here, too,” King said.
“Even if the conversation is uncomfortable, it's a conversation we need to have."
Prior to the last election, King’s party, the Progressive Conservatives, pledged to conduct a “government-wide implicit bias analysis” and to implement diversity and inclusion training.
But when asked about this implicit bias analysis, King said he was unaware if this has been completed.
“If it hasn't been done, it's certainly something that needs to be done,” King said.
Only 2.6 per cent of employees in P.E.I.’s civil service are members of a “visible minority”, according to the most recent public service commission report.
Steele said, from the outside, it did not appear that an implicit bias analysis has been completed within government.
"That's kind of why we're asking, in our ask today, (to) review your policy, review your legislation,” Steele said.
Have your say
Want to wade into the debate? Write a letter to the editor and email it to [email protected]. Be sure to include a name, address and daytime telephone number where the author can be contacted. Letters should be no more than 250 words.
