Québec City, December 9, 2021 – With the approach of the first anniversary of the report entitled Racism in Québec: Zero Tolerance submitted by the Groupe d’action contre le racisme (GACR), Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism Benoit Charette presented a detailed report on the Québec government’s achievements and advances in response to the 25 actions in the report. He was accompanied by Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs Ian Lafrenière, and his Parliamentary Assistant and MNA for Sainte-Rose Christopher Skeete.

Minister Charette noted that all the actions have received an initial response from the government and that it is pursuing its efforts. It is worth noting that the government gave itself five years to respond to the entire array of actions in the report of the GACR.

Minister Lafrenière pointed out that most of the actions in the report of the GACR to respond to Indigenous realities fall within the scope of the implementation of the calls for action of the Inquiry Commission on Relations Between Indigenous Peoples and Certain Public Services in Québec (the Viens Commission), concerning which a progress report was made public on September 17, 2021. Moreover, other announcements have been made since then, in particular the enhancement of the content dealing with the Indigenous peoples in Québec school curricula.

While the Québec government acknowledges that much remains to be done, it is indeed proud to have achieved this level of progress in less than a year on a problem of such great importance for our society. The appointment of the Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism and the launching of an awareness-raising campaign are two significant facets of government action to combat racism and are also the first of their kind in Québec’s history. Measures have been adopted with respect to each one of the actions submitted in the report of the GACR.

The government’s key initiatives pertaining to the report of the GACR

Action No. 1: Make the ban on random police stops mandatory.

  • In the context of the police reform now under way, the new powers stipulated in Bill 18 tabled on December 8, 2021, will explicitly prohibit police stops based on a discriminatory motive.

Action No. 2: Add social services workers to police services to create mixed patrol teams.

  • Through the $25 million allocation stipulated in Budget 2021-2022 to undertake the police reform, the government is financially supporting the adoption of innovative new practices by police forces in the context of pilot projects.

Action No. 3: Offer professional development on the issue of discrimination, racism and profiling for police services, correctional services, special constables, and other law enforcement agencies.

  • Under the police reform, Bill 18 will enable the government to demand ongoing training devoted to discrimination and racial profiling.
  • What is more, the government has announced $930 000 in funding for such training.

Action No. 4: Combat all discrimination in housing on the grounds of race, colour, ethnicity, or national origin.

  • The recent economic update earmarks $20.8 million over five years for the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) to enable it to hire additional staff in order to process complaints more rapidly, especially in the realm of housing, and intensify initiatives in the regions. Enhancing the Commission’s capacities will also lead to the possibility of offering additional training on discrimination and racism.

Action No. 5: Mandate the Commission de la construction du Québec to promote construction trades among visible minorities and create a pool of candidates for recruitment purposes.

  • The Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) has submitted to the Minister its action plan, which includes measures now being rolled out and initiatives such as the launching of awareness-raising videos and the establishment of steering committees for an inclusive industry.

Action No. 6: Within the next five years, negotiate and conclude international agreements on the recognition of professional qualifications. Make the skills assessments conducted by professional orders faster and more flexible for immigrants covered by these mutual recognition arrangements. Offer individual support to candidates for a profession or regulated trade and ensure that the skills recognition process can begin from abroad.

  • The government recently adopted an ambitious plan respecting the recognition of competencies with a $130-million budget over two years. The measures adopted in the context of this government initiative seek to broaden full participation by immigrants in the Québec labour market.
  • The government has stepped up negotiations and a broader mandate has been assigned to negotiate new international agreements respecting the recognition of occupational qualifications.

Action No. 7: Within the next five years, increase the representation of visible minorities among public service employees to reflect their representation in Québec’s labour force.

  • The most recent annual review reports that the ratio of visible and ethnic minorities is rising steadily. It reached 14% as of March 31, 2021, compared with 11% as of March 31, 2018.
  • Several measures are in place to support the attainment by March 31, 2023 of the objective of 18%, including a new training program on cultural diversity management for public service managers, which is about to be launched.
  • Bill 60, the Act to amend the Public Service Act and other provisions, proposes a new public service staffing process that will come into force in the winter of 2022. The proposed changes will enable members of the visible minorities, as is the case for all Quebecers, to better highlight their skills, knowledge, and experience for jobs that interest them and that correspond to their training.
  • An information campaign conducted among the ethnocultural diversity media is in preparation to ensure proactive promotion.

Action No. 8: Ensure the presence of at least one visible minority member on the majority of boards of state-owned enterprises within the next five years.

  • This target was achieved in the fall of 2021. More than half of the boards of directors of government corporations have at least one member from a visible minority.
  • Through Bill 4 to modernize the Act respecting the governance of state-owned enterprises, greater numbers of government corporations will be concerned by the attainment of the government’s objective to have at least one representative of a visible minority on their boards of directors.
  • The government has adopted a new policy on cultural identity that increases the transparency, accountability, and representativeness of the segments of Québec society on the boards of directors of government corporations.

Action No. 9: Develop a national anti-racism awareness campaign to keep the public constantly informed about the various aspects of racism and discrimination.

  • An initial province-wide multimedia anti-racism awareness-raising campaign has been launched, which will continue for the next three years.

Action No. 10: Include racism and discrimination issues throughout the school curriculum.

  • The government has announced that the theme of racism will be integrated into the new course on Québec culture and citizenship.

Action No. 11: Include the theme of racism in the mandatory courses for initial teacher training.

  • Efforts are under way to better support and equip teachers to broach and examine this sensitive topic.

Action No. 12: Appoint a Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism.

  • The Premier has made a historic decision to appoint the first Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism.
  • To assist the Minister, the government has established the Bureau de coordination de la lutte contre le racisme, which has a mandate to coordinate government follow-up to the implementation of the report of the GACR.

Action No. 13: Introduce continual, mandatory training on the issue of racism for government employees.

  • Awareness training focusing on racism is being elaborated for public service staff starting in the spring of 2022.

“Our government launched an unequivocal message one year ago by committing itself to implementing the entire report of the GACR, Racism in Québec: Zero Tolerance. For the past year, my colleagues and I have increased initiatives in all the fields targeted by the GACR. Our desire to make Québec a racism-free society encourages us to innovate and to commit ourselves in new ways. I am proud of the first-time initiatives that we have already carried out in such a short time.”

Benoit Charette, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism, Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Minister Responsible for Laval

“The fight against racism and the racism that more specifically affects the First Nations and the Inuit is a priority for me. We must learn together to know each other, and we must do so in a spirit of respect. It is my hope that by working in partnership with the Indigenous nations, their organizations, and stakeholders in civil society, we will implement solutions adapted to all of society’s members.”

Ian Lafrenière, Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs

“Our government is taking racism and discrimination seriously. This question is close to my heart since I am from a minority background. No one must suffer discrimination. With my colleagues Ministers Charette and Lafrenière we are doing everything to ensure that Québec becomes an example of an open society that is respectful of differences.”

Christopher Skeete, MNA for Sainte-Rose, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism

Related link:

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www.quebec.ca/gouv/politiques-orientations/groupe-action-contre-racisme

Highlights:

The Groupe d’action contre le racisme, established in June 2020, had a mandate to pinpoint a series of effective actions to combat racism. It was asked to determine the sectors that, as a priority, require measures that consider the specific realities of members of the visible minorities and the Indigenous communities.

Last update: December 10, 2021