March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Leading personalities from all over the world in denouncing mounting racial discrimination in this UNESCO video.

In 1966, the UN General Assembly proclaimed March 21 as the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD). This date emerged recognizing the killing of 69 people at a peaceful anti-apartheid demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa by police in 1960.

The 2022 International Day focuses on the theme Voices For Action Against Racism and aims to highlight the importance of strengthening meaningful and safe public participation and representation in all areas of decision-making to prevent and combat racial discrimination.

How is Canada doing?

A detailed report from Statistics Canada shows that the number of police-reported hate crimes in Canada increased 37% from 2019, with police reporting a total of 2,669 in 2020. Simultaneously, the Chinese population in Canada was 10 times more likely to report being a victim of ethnic or racial discrimination. In fact,B.C. had the highest rate of hate crimes in the country during first year of COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Statistics Canada, self-reported data indicates that rates of violent victimization among Indigenous people were more than double that among non-Indigenous people, but also showed that Indigenous people have lower confidence in police, the justice system and other institutions than their non-Indigenous counterparts.

It is important to remember that while progress has been made, Indigenous Peoples, racialized communities and religious minorities in Canada continue to face racism and discrimination every day.

What can I do?

We encourage you to take some time and ask yourself — are we making progress in combatting racism? And what more do we need to do to continue the fight against racism?

Education and active listening are key to fighting against racism. Here are some of the steps you can take: