Bill67 Posted March 29, 2022 Report Share Posted March 29, 2022 (edited) Quote Attention: Honourable Member of Provincial Parliament Linda Mae Lindo “Racial Equity in the Education System Act” Dear Hon MPP Lindo: Please consider this open letter to address your private bill, Bill 67. Your proposed legislation seeks to formally separate Ontarians and classify people based on phenotypes and not see children/students as individuals. This law would legalize government overreach and implement an autocratic regime. People are not their skin colour and should not be reduced to a single variable, race. This is not the philosophy that has made 2022 Ontario one of the greatest societies in the history of humanity. Your plan is to attack meritocracy and individualism and segregate/divide people on the phantom concept of “race”. Children/students should not be identified/classified/grouped by their race but as individuals empowered with accountability and free will. They should be taught they are one and be given the opportunity to appreciate the opportunities that exist in Ontario and that these do not exist for the majority of people on the planet. Ontario is a special place with laws and a system to ensure fairness of opportunity as per the Human Rights Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and every other law in the province. Bill 67 Anti-racism competency 277.28.1 Despite anything in a regulation made under this Act, a performance appraisal of a teacher shall include competencies related to a teacher’s anti-racism awareness and the teacher’s efforts to promote racial equity. Racial Equity MPP Lindo, what is your Bill’s definition of “racial equity”? I could not find it which is curious considering the name of your Bill. The Ontario government’s website defines it as: Racial equity Racial equity is the systemic fair treatment of all people. It results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone. It contrasts with formal equality where people are treated the same without regard for racial differences. Racial equity is a process (such as meaningfully engaging with Indigenous, Black, and racialized clients regarding policies, directives, practices and procedures that affect them) and an outcome (such as equitable treatment of Indigenous, Black, and racialized clients in a program or service). https://www.ontario.ca/document/data-standards-identification-and-monitoring-systemic-racism/glossary#:~:text=Racial%20equity,without%20regard%20for%20racial%20differences. York Region District School Board (YRDSB) defines racial equity as: Racial equity “ Racial equity is defined as the elimination of racial disproportionalities so that race can no longer be used to predict one’s outcomes in life.” https://www2.yrdsb.ca/sites/default/files/2021-03/ABR-STRATEGY-Part1.pdf The Act you propose wants to “promote racial equity”. The elimination of disproportionalities is the same as mandating equal outcomes. The elimination of racial disproportionalities is the same as equal outcomes based on race. Is the definition of “racial equity” that the government should intervene in schools to fix outcomes of student performance so that students, as divided by a single variable, race, should all statistically have the same performance results? If so, this is obviously an overreach of government and anti-individualism. Government Control over Outcomes vs Free Will The government should not be controlling outcomes. No legitimate scientific approach would apply a single variable in measuring and comparing groups. This is an affront to the right of an individual to determine their own outcome. Will your Bill’s definition of outcome apply to all students or only white students? Is the goal of Bill 67 to see government intervention to the point that all racial outcomes are higher than those of the white students? If so, this should be explicitly stated in the Bill for all to see. Bill 67 wants to injure the principle of meritocracy and free will. This contravenes the spirit of education. It fundamentally opposes the importance of effort, aptitude, and commitment. Bill 67 counters the very objective of education which is to develop a strong work ethic, critical thinking, valuable learning skills, and self-confidence. Any government plan to control the outcomes of children’s performance goes against the principle of free will/personal responsibility. The goal of Bill 67 meets the definition of totalitarianism. The government should allow children to succeed based on their personal choices/actions, not based on their racial group. In Ontario, there is already equality amongst schools. There are no laws or policies in Ontario, in 2022, that favour anyone based on their race or colour. We do not have the US system that is property tax based and creates “better” schools for richer people. Our schools, as you should know, are funded on a per child basis with additional funding for each “marginalized “child. In fact, schools with more racialized student tend to be better funded. Our schools have fair opportunities for all. Any disparity in outcome cannot be attributed to a “racist system”. Any government plan to control the outcomes of children’s performance goes against the principle of free will/personal responsibility. It is also simple-minded to believe that a single variable can be responsible for outcome. Your perspective, that you are trying to legalize, will set Ontario back to pre-Confederation times. Your Bill will attempt to undo all of the collective, harmonic work that those, of all races/colours/creeds, who built this province before you worked so hard to create. They created a one-Ontario mindset with equal services and opportunities for all and you want to divide people and control outcomes based on race. The goal of Bill 67 meets the definition of totalitarianism. The government should allow children to succeed based on their personal choices/actions, not based on their racial group. This is tribalism in its ugliest form. Bill 67 Anti-racism competency 277.28.1 Despite anything in a regulation made under this Act, a performance appraisal of a teacher shall include competencies related to a teacher’s anti-racism awareness and the teacher’s efforts to promote racial equity. Anti-racism The “anti-racism’ programs that your Bill 67 would implement will include language such as “white privilege”. This is a racist stereotype that is reductive and not based in fact. “White privilege”, as per CRT and antiracism advocates, is the claim that white people, because they are white, have easier paths to success and, as such, their achievements are not equal to non-whites’ successes. This is Ryerson’s definition: “White Privilege” refers to a socio-political system that distributes power, privilege and benefits unequally among groups in societies and countries in our world. It is rooted in the history of European colonial domination and settlement of the Americas, Asia and Africa, on one hand, and the 19th century practice of “race science” justifying this domination, on the other. These two phenomena have resulted in a set of political, social and cultural beliefs, assumptions and practices based on the primacy of one group over others. Privilege is often times difficult and hard to see for those people who were born with access to power and the resources that go with that power.” https://www.ryerson.ca/wpc-global/about/what-is-white-privilege/ Bill 67’s training programs will also include the phrase “white supremacy”. This means that all systems in Ontario are designed to keep whites at the top. Every system. This theory, and what would be taught in anti-racism classes, promotes the idea that white success is less valuable as “all whites” start the “race of life” with a head start over everyone else by benefitting from white supremacy. This is how York Region describes “anti-racism”. Anti-racist curriculum “An anti-racist curriculum involves showing how the history of modernity is shaped by racism, colonialism, and white supremacy. From this more critical understanding of history, students and teachers could begin to better understand the forces that shape contemporary racial inequalities. Anti-racist education should be based on an understanding of racism as a structural and historical phenomenon as well as an interpersonal one. Through this re-envisioning of the curriculum, White students could be engaged with considerations of white privilege, power, and complicity in order to better understand and question their position in contemporary society. Simultaneously, Black, Indigenous, and other racialized students might also engage with content that prepares them for life in a racist society.” https://www2.yrdsb.ca/sites/default/files/2021-03/ABR-STRATEGY-Part1.pdf This is a disturbing message to send kids/students and educators. Why would you want racialized students to believe the systems are against them? Why would you want students to believe their white classmates didn’t earn their success? Why should someone be reduced to their skin colour and not their individual life experiences? The answer is to create hate and resentment. The answer is to develop a mindset of victimization mind for racialized students. Racialized students are excelling in Ontario and teaching children to be victims is offensive and dishonest. Bill 67 will also order training on “white fragility”. This Orwellian phrase claims that anyone disagreeing with the framing of whites as oppressive and racist and underserving of their success is “fragile” and their rebuttals should be discounted because it is a manifestation of their “fragility”. These anti-racism trainings all consistently include anti-white hate. Bill 67 wants to normalize these racist stereotypes against whites and this Bill has no place in Ontario or anywhere. You are quoted as saying: “We have an opportunity to actually shift the discussion and ensure that policies get crafted that do, in fact, create anti-racist spaces from kindergarten to Grade 12, and all the way through post-secondary.” https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2022/03/02/mpp-laura-mae-lindo-to-debate-racial-equity-bill-in-legislature-wednesday.html You want to start spreading anti-white hate to children in kindergarten. You want 4 year olds to start learning that white people are oppressors and non-whites are oppressed. You want non-whites to start learning the “system is against them” and for kids to demand to be seen for their colour as “their colour shows how oppressed they are”. Where is Evidence of Systemic Racism? There is no rule, law, policy that is discriminatory or racist in Ontario’s education system. If so, please name one. In the instance that you would claim that there is one, it should be challenged at the HRTO as the Human Rights Code does not allow for racist policies against racialized people, only for white people. The claim that Ontario has always had “systemic racism” will ignore the 1954 Fair Employment Practices Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code of 1962. Since 1990, Ontario has had the Human Rights Code which makes racial discrimination illegal in Ontario by law. The HRTO has produced significant case law supporting the rights of racialized people. There are clearly mechanisms in the system today in 2022 which make discrimination illegal. There is no systemic racism in Ontario as the Code and the Charter of Rights prevent it. As there are no laws or policies that are racist, your claim that there is systemic racism must be premised on the notion that individuals are taking legitimate policies and laws and misapplying them in a racist manner. In order for this to have systemic implications, this misapplication of the policies must be extremely organized and wide spread. Basically, you are claiming that teachers and school administrators and everyone involved in the education process are collectively, across the province, applying school policies/laws/rules in a racist manner to promote white success and to create barriers for the non-whites in order to make their opportunities for each more difficult. This would seemingly include racialized teachers and administrators and all school employees/volunteers at all levels. Please correct me if I have misunderstood your position. One question for you would be, “How is there systemic racism against racialized students when the racialized students are out-performing the white students?” The data clearly shows that racialized students are the most successful in Ontario schools. There is no evidence of white students having any advantage over another group because they are white. There is not one performance assessment data point in which white students show any statistical dominance over every other group. In comparing group-by-group, several racialized groups are performing better than whites. This counters the narrative pushed by Bill 67 advocates/CRT proponents that racialized students face discrimination and are not performing as well as whites due to “systemic discrimination”. The actual data disproves what this this Bill purports to claim which is education in Ontario creates barriers to success for racialized students and facilitates easy success for white students. There has been systemic racism in Ontario and across Canada. No reasonable person would doubt that Chinese people experienced systemic racism or the Japanese during WW2. However, we are in 2022. Third-generation Japanese-Canadians outperform white Canadians in almost every category and no reasonable person would believe that “white supremacy” and “white “privilege” and “systemic racism” act to benefit Japanese- Canadians. Chinese-Canadians are also excelling in every category yet both experienced horrible systemic racism. The reason is that it is 2022 and there is no systemic racism- only myths and political propaganda. In response to any claim that a data point “proves” white supremacy/systemic racism against a specific racial group, compare that racial group’s performance to Asian students. If the Asian group’s performance is consistently better, why would you not accept the position that other factors impacted the determination and not “racism?” Why does “systemic racism” not impact everyone? How would anyone defend the position that “white supremacy” benefits Asian people? Before anyone believes that there is systemic racism in Ontario schools, review the success of Asian students and then explain how they are either “magically impervious” to systemic racism or realize that there is no systemic racism. If we examine your premise, that racialized students are at a disadvantage in schools in Ontario, in 2022, because of their ”race”, we can look at the students, as divided by race, as your philosophy demands. In doing so, we see that the statistical group averages, removing people as individuals and categorizing them on a single variable, we find that there is no systemic racism and that “other racialized” students dominate over white students. TDSB Data “Towards Race Equity in Education” “Towards Race Equity in Education” was published in April 2017 and disproves any claim of systemic racism in the TDSB. As per the York University study, students in the TDSB were divided into three groups, “White”, “Black” and “Other Racialized Group. The group “other” refers to any non-Black racialized person. The report shows that there are ZERO statistical advantages to being a white student in the TDSB and that as a group, “other racialized” students are dominating every statistical measurement. Please find the following facts from their report. https://edu.yorku.ca/files/2017/04/Towards-Race-Equity-in-Education-April-2017.pdf Population Size In 4.1 b), the report shows the population percentages based on race. White is 35%, Black is 12%, South Asian (19%), East Asian (19%). These four are the largest racial groups in the TDSB. Graduation Rates 4.1 b Figure 6- “Other racialized” students graduate at a rate of 87% to White’s rate of 84%. This demonstrates that the system works best for racialized students. No reasonable person would accept that the system is racist and biased in favour of whites if “other racialized” students graduate at a higher rate than whites. This disproves any systemic bias or “white supremacy”. Post-Secondary Paths 4.1 c) Figure 8: University 60% of Other Racialized students confirm registration in university, white students are at 47%. This demonstrates that the education system does a better job steering “Other Racialized” students into university than whites. No reasonable person can claim that a system that produces better results for racialized students is systemically racist and inherently biased in favour for whites. This supports the principle that effort, aptitude, and other factors, not race, determine one’s success. College 21% of Black students confirm enrolment in college, whites and other are 14%. This shows that for purposes of entering college, the system works best for black students. For purposes of entering university, the system works best for other racialized students. No advantage to being white, none. If more “Other” are going into university than whites and more Black students are going to college and post-secondary education is the tool for societal power then how is the school system racially biased in favour for whites? The data shows that the TDSB is least favourable to whites in terms of post-secondary advancement. This disproves any systemic bias or “white supremacy”. Academic Streaming You said: “A strategy for change is a strategy that works, a strategy that the community is bought into and a strategy that we can lead from these places,” Lindo said. “If you’ve got racism running willy nilly through our schools from kindergarten to Grade 12 in the form of harsher punishment and discipline for Black and Indigenous children, literally children. Then you look at what's happening in post-secondary and you hear the concerns that people have that we don't have a diverse workforce in post-secondary. Well, maybe part of that is because we still continue to stream Black, Brown and Indigenous kids out of k to 12.” https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/kitchener-mpp-s-anti-racism-bill-receives-nearly-unanimous-support-1.5803959 Figure 5- shows in Academic stream- “other” is 80% and White is 81% This discounts the theory that racialized students are streamlined away from an academic path. There is no statistical difference between “white” students and “other racialized”. 80% of other are placed in the academic stream and 81% of whites are placed in the academic stream. People will frequently lie and claim that racialized students are directed away from the academic stream and only white students are allowed to participate in this stream and this gives them an advantage in pursuing post- secondary education. The data proves the opposite. Discipline 4.1 e Suspensions- Figure 11- 85% of “other racialized” students have no suspensions, 82% of White students have no suspensions. This shows a statistical advantage to being racialized in the system with respect to the issuing of suspensions. Other Racialized students are suspended less than white students. This is not what you will hear when people complain about systemic racism in schools but you will only hear fragments of anecdotal evidence, not facts. People will likely use US figures, not Ontario data, to make their false claims of “systemic racism” in Ontario. Figure 12- Expulsions East Asians are 19% of the TDSB population yet make up 2% of the expulsions. If a system were designed to be racist and to promote whites over everyone else, how could this stat be true? It is more reasonable to conclude that actions and behavior determine outcome, not systemic racism. It is also important to note that if any individual decision is discriminatory, the HRTO is available to any Ontarian student. People will also complain that expulsion patterns are racist. I encourage you to research every anecdotal example provided. Look for one case of any expulsion in which the expulsion was not reasonable. Do not accept anecdotal evidence. Take the time and review each case. Anonymize the children’s names but research the background to their expulsion before you believe any expulsion was racist. The fact is that all expulsions are reasonable and there is no racism in these decisions. In individual outliers, the HRTO can address them on a case-by-case basis. Racialized students, on average, are less likely to be suspended/expelled than white students. Consider the statistical data and not emotional platitudes to assess if there is systemic racism in school discipline. Facts and Trends in Suspensions: York Region District School Board “Every Student Counts Survey” Another report, this one for the YRDSB, also supports the position that there is no systemic racism in suspensions. Review the data from the 2021 report. The average suspension rate, (1,064 students suspended) for all 40,911 students, was 2.6%. East Asians who made up the second highest student enrolment had the lowest suspension rate at 0.6%. White students, who were the largest group, were in the middle at a suspension rate of 2.1%. This indicates that there are no “invisible forces” working against racialized students to prevent their success. In fact, it shows the opposite. See Table 6 in attached report. Disciplining and Health and Safety I recognize that you like to conflate health and safety practices with racism. You believe that if a child is out of control and is a health and safety risk to themselves and others that taking precautions to mitigate risk to everyone is racist. You frequently reference the calling of the police on young children as racist. Conveniently, you do not mention that these children’s behavior is what triggered the police involvement. You leave out the context. I hope you can dedicate your energy to sharing the magic solution to keeping a child, and those around them, safe when having a serious temper tantrum. As you know school employees are very limited in what they can do in these situations. There are protocols and techniques that can be applied but once those have been exhausted and the child is still a health and safety threat please explain what school staff should do as opposed to calling the police. By the way, the police are not called to arrest or imprison the child but to take action to ensure they are safe. Evidence Based Explanation Obviously, as “Other” are dominating all data points- not white students- and have demonstrated that they do not face systemic barriers, you should seek an alternative explanation for a small percentage of one group not being successful in Ontario schools. You consistently cite anecdotal evidence to support your claim of systemic racism. As you should now recognize that there is no systemic racism, we should explore your claims of “anti-Black” racism. Certainly, as you proclaim, the education system is embedded in “white supremacy” , we would not count the 70% of the population, the white population, as facing “systemic racism”. In removing the white population from the equation and compare “other racial groups to one another, we see many of the racial groups performing, as a group, at the top of the success rates. As we see, the data shows “Other Racialized” students do not experience systemic racism. I am sure you will claim that Black students experience “systemic racism and anti-Black racism”. Your contention is that “systemic racism” impacts Black success but you have no explanation for why “other racialized” students flourish in the “white supremacy” system. Data for Black Students 4.3% of Ontario’s population is Black. 53% of Black students, as per the TDSB report, are in the academic steam. 69% of Black students graduate. 86% of Black graduates enroll in post-secondary education 26% of Black students go on to university and 60% go on to college. 58% of Black students receive zero suspensions. Anti-Black Racism Based on the above, it is reasonable to conclude that not every Black student experiences “anti-Black racism” in Ontario schools. We can, based on the above data, conservatively estimate that the education system functions without barriers for 50% of Black students. If half of the 4.3% of the Black student population are finding success in the education system, “other racialized” students are dominating the system and white students “cannot experience systemic racism” then we can conclude that Ontario’s education system is functioning well for over 97% of the non-Indigenous, student population. It is more reasonable to conclude that the system is not inherently racist or biased than the system is racist but only one group that operates in the system is vulnerable to the oppression. Your race-centric assessment of the performance results of racial groups would be that the data, as per statistical averages, demonstrates that the education system is 97% objectively fair and there is 97% meritocracy but “systemic racism” for less than three percent of the population. It is not plausible to conclude that the school teachers/authorities/administrators/staff/volunteers all collectively work to keep 2% of the population oppressed and create a fair system for 97% of the student populous. I hope you are not claiming that educators are intentionally aiming/conspiring to see Black students not find success because it seems that is your position. You said, “ Stories of teachers telling black students to go into basketball rather than math and Indigenous students feeling uncomfortable in class because of the way history is taught are examples Lindo points to as rooted in systemic racism.” You also said, “ “As an example of racist language, Lindo pointed to the use of the N-word by teachers in class or by children on the playground.” https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2022/03/16/cambridge-mpp-explains-her-opposition-to-racial-equity-in-schools-bill.html To be honest, I question the authenticity of your anecdotal evidence. Name these teachers using the “N-word” in class and encouraging Black students to go into basketball over math. I would like to know the context behind these claims, if there is even any shred of fact to them. I would be very confident that a teacher would be severely reprimanded and publicly shamed if they did that, cancelled. I would also doubt a teacher would push any student away from math and towards sports. Please provide these teachers that you accuse of such egregious actions, an opportunity to present their narrative or don’t mention these because absent of evidence, they are bald assertions. The data clearly demonstrates that there is no “white supremacy” and “white privilege” in the TDSB as racialized students are the top performers. People will likely seek answers as to why Black students “underperform”, as a group, in comparison to the other groups. The fact that the data shows a lower rate of success for a small percentage of the total group is not evidence of systemic racism. Many Black students excel in the Ontario school system which also disproves systemic racism. There are thousands of examples of Black students who have amazing experiences in the Ontario education system. There are great teachers, coaches, volunteers, administrators, drama/theatre directors, and many others in various roles dedicated to seeing student success. Black students go on to becoming doctors, nurses, teachers, business people, business owners and flourish in society. Why would this alleged, invisible, systemic phenomena only impact some Black students and not all? The simple answer is because there are other variables at play, not race. The complex answer can be found in examining a multi layered approach to assessing what variables should be measured in assessing performance outcomes. Anti-Social Behaviour A point that people do not want to hear is that while Blacks constitute 4% of Ontario’s population, they are the statistically the most likely to be involved in homicides. A single variable approach cannot explain this but if we want to look at suspension and expulsion rates in Ontario schools we should also look at why 4% of the province’s population are involved in the majority of the province’s homicides as either offenders or victims. In fact, we can analyze that number more deeply. The vast majority of victims/perpetrators of homicide are Black males between the ages of 16-40. This, in fact, is around 1% of Ontario’s population. It is reasonable to conclude that the group most involved in anti-social behavior, such as homicide, would also be the most suspended and expelled group in schools. The U of T Homicide Tracker complied data, found 44 per cent of homicide victims identified as African, Caribbean or Black. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/new-uoft-research-sheds-light-on-homicides- 1.6315931 This statistic of 44% , in conjunction with patterns of inter-racial violence and media/police reports on suspect descriptions, indicate the very high rate of Black homicides as victims and perpetrators. In February 2022, a Black Grade 12 student, Jahiem Robinson, was tragically executed on school property in Scarborough by another student. This is an example of extremely egregious anti-social behavior that is more prevalent in the Black community than any other. This cannot be attributed to “systemic racism”. In 2019, in the USA, Black homicide offenders made up 56% of all homicides, as per the FBI. This number would seem comparable to Ontario; although, the government in Ontario will not release the race based figures for homicide offenders. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded- homicide-data-table-3.xls 35 People on Toronto’s Most Wanted for Homicide List 19/35 suspects on the most wanted for homicide list are Black. This is 54% and the reader should appreciate that these people have not been convicted or proven guilty; they are simply “wanted” for murder. However, the statistical representation, 54%, is consistent with other unofficial data. http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/homicide/mostwanted.php Clearly, no reasonable person would blame homicide on systemic racism. This is anti- social behavior linked to many traits of dysfunction and is not unique to any race. All races commit homicide. Additionally, no reasonable person would believe that anyone, based on their race, has a higher propensity to commit homicide; therefore, other variables must be considered. Addressing these variables, not racial equity, should be explored as solutions. This same logic applies to differing outcomes in race-based data. It is not the person’s race that is the factor in suspensions/expulsions, it is their behavior. Their behavior is a result of a multitude of variables and creating legislation to mandate outcomes based on race is patently illogical and void of any scientific reasoning. There are other, non-racist, explanations for the lack of success in the school system for a group that has such a high rate of homicide. Asians make up almost 20% of Canada’s population and represent about 5% of the incarcerated population. This is similar to their low levels of suspensions and expulsions in schools as behavior, not racism, determines outcomes. https://www.statista.com/statistics/561857/distribution-of-adult-population-in-federal- correctional-services-canada-by-race/ Third-generation Asians are almost the highest income earners amongst all Canadian workers. It is logical to find that students who follow the rules do not get suspended/expelled and people who follow the laws do not get incarcerated. Income Rates; White Males Chinese, Korean, Japanese, South Asian all make more in average earnings compared to the average, male, White worker. Arab or West Indian workers make within three cents on average of a White worker. This places the average, male, White worker in the middle of the pack in terms of employment earnings compared to racialized counterparts. There is no systemic racism in employment in Canada. See Table 2 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/36-28-0001/2022001/article/00004- eng.pdf?st=s6h8vaMG Income Rates; White Females For females, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, South Asian Arab or West Indian all earn more than the average White female. The group, Southeast Asian, earns within two cents on the dollar. This is evidence, fact-based, not anecdotal theory that there is no systemic racism in Canada. People work and earn their success or lack of success. There is no systemic or statistical advantage in employment earnings for whites. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/36-28-0001/2022001/article/00004- eng.pdf?st=s6h8vaMG There is no evidence to support the notion that some Blacks underperforming in schools is attributable to a racist system designed to keep whites at top. This can quickly be debunked by looking at how racialized groups dominate in Canadian society and that many Black people enjoy success and great achievements. Again, it seems your claim is that “white supremacy” and “systemic racism” impacts about half of the Black population which is 2% of the province’s population. The data also shows that a small percentage of the Black population is involved with about half of the homicides as either victims or perpetrators or accused. It is more reasonable to conclude that “systemic racism” and “racist teachers” are not responsible for the lack of success in this group. Subsection 170 (1) of the Act is amended by adding anti-racism related responsibilities to the duties of boards. New subsection 212 (1.1) provides for fines for persons who disrupt or attempt to disrupt proceedings of a school or class through the use of racist language or activities. Your Bill wants to fine people for engaging in “racist language or activities”. You have already framed the definition of “racism” to include “subconscious” thought. See your definition: “Racism” means the use of socially constructed ideas of race to justify or support, whether consciously or subconsciously, the notion that one race is superior to another. Your Bill proposes to have legislative authority over people’s subconscious and be armed with the power to punitively control anyone with whom you disagree. Ontario was not built to be authoritarian and to attack individualism and the freedom of thought and expression. Your definition of “supporting the notion that one is race is superior to another” is extremely radicalized and prejudiced. For example, I assume you believe that white people cannot experience racism/discrimination. You believe there is “white supremacy” in Ontario despite the Human Rights Code, the Canadian Charter of Rights and not one example of a single rule/law/policy that benefits whites over others. You also believe there is “white supremacy” despite the fact that Asians outperform whites in academic and employment averages. You also believe in “white privilege” and that the achievements of whites are not as legitimate and credible as non-whites because whites achieved their success in a “white supremacy” system designed to keep them at the top. For example, you would state categorically that a white child raised in the foster system, like myself, who grew up to work in construction, and got my degree later in life has “privilege” over a Black student raised by two loving, successful, wealthy, academic parents that nurtured and supported their child because of “white supremacy”. As per your Bill, anyone who disagrees with you on the above points would be “racist” and potentially fined. If I were to quote Martin Luther King and say that I want to judge people by the content of their character and not the colour of their skin, you would state that I am not “anti-racist” because an “anti-racist” must acknowledge that being “racialized” is a barrier to success. I am not allowed to believe in what you call “colour blindness”. The TDSB’s “Talking Race with our Children” states that colour blindness is racist. “Talking Race with our Children” Address color blindness Colorblindness • foists whiteness on everyone • strips non-white people of their uniqueness • suppresses critically important narratives of oppression • assumes everyone has the same experience here in Canada • Promotes the idea that non-white races are inferior. https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/ward8/docs/Shelley%20Laskin/Talking%20Race%20with%20Your%20Child(ren).pdf Systemic Racism in 2022 In 2022, yes there is systemic racism, but in favour of Black people. There are programs, like QUARMS at Queens and BSAP at the University of Toronto, to make it easier for Black students to attend medical school. https://meds.queensu.ca/academics/quarms https://applymd.utoronto.ca/black-student-application-program · Federal programs to make it easier for Black people to start a business and buy a home. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/black-entrepreneurship-program/en https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/media-newsroom/news-releases/2022/canada-supports-housing-black-canadian-families · The City of Toronto commits more than $1.2 million in cultural and economic investments to confront anti-Black racism. The City is making multiple investments in Toronto’s Black arts and culture community and business sector to address the systemic economic, social and cultural exclusion facing Black communities in Toronto. https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/get-involved/community/confronting-anti-black-racism/ · Ontario’s government implemented The Ontario Black Youth Action Plan is a four-year, $47 million commitment to help reduce outcomes disparities for Black children, youth and families. This work will be addressed through four pillars: 1. culturally focused parenting and mentorship 2. early intervention and prevention 3. access to higher education and skills development 4. community outreach and promoting anti-violence Ontario Black Youth Action Plan, Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) Based on actual numbers, no immigrant group is better supported by the system than Blacks. First Generation Your parents immigrated to Ontario because of the structure that was in place. They wanted to raise you in a society built by settlers of all colours and from all places. A society with OHIP and ODSP and OSAP and OW. The “ O “ is for Ontario. They immigrated to Ontario because throughout the history of the world, no other society had the freedom and support and tolerance of Ontario. In one generation, you became a democratically elected Member of Provincial Parliament. You earn over $100,000/year and are in the top 10% of one of the world’s wealthiest countries yet all you see is “white supremacy”. You have an uncle who rose to success in politics, Alvin Curling, and surely you recognize that family support and peers play a significant role in a child’s educational success. It seems you have “family privilege” that many of us did not. I would suggest that " family " is more linked to success than race. Watch the video from 2:00 You want to divide children by race and eradicate meritocracy and assess/evaluate/support by racial group to achieve “racial equity”. You said: "When I look at the speaker and above his head it says 1867, I'm always reminded we weren't considered people at that point," the New Democratic representative for Kitchener Centre said in a recent interview. "So I'm in a system that has taken quite a long time to recognize my humanity as a Black person and the intersectionality of who I am as a Black woman." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/laura-mae-lindo-ndp-black-caucus-1.6348977 The above is one of the few factual statements that you have made. It is true that you were not considered a person in 1867. Well, neither was I or anyone alive today in 2022. None of us had been born yet. Your family had not even arrived to Canada yet. Your life now, in 2022, in Ontario could not begin to compare with the hardships of the settlers/pioneers back in 1867. In 1867, people were building the infrastructure that you now enjoy today without roads or hospitals or cars or electricity. You want to complain about how hard it is for you to look at the number 1867 while you live in 2022 Ontario. I also hope your knowledge of history is better than believing that Canada had slavery. If not, you should learn about the date of Confederation, research the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada , and review The Slavery Abolition Act that came into effect on 1 August 1834. Frankly, I have no idea what point you are trying to make when you complain about seeing the number 1867 while you earn over $100,000/year as a democratically elected public official. Also, no one wants to recognize you as a Black person or a Black woman. We see you as an individual person and we do not want to reduce you to one or two variables. You are an individual and you have made a success professionally and academically of your life. Congratulations. Obviously, you have some confusing ideas about people and some obvious hatred and resentment for your fellow Ontarians that you want to impose on children but no one can deny you that this system has provided well for you professionally. You want to eradicate “whiteness” from Ontarian society yet you thrive in this system and so does everyone else. I am happy for anyone finding success through hard work and the proper channels. I see no value in classifying people by race and indoctrinating children to believe one group has systemic advantages and the others have systemic disadvantages. One, it is not true, Two, it is divisive and hateful and will seek to instill hatred into people’s minds. Thank you for reading the above with an open mind. I hope you look to the data, open your heart, and recognize how amazing Ontario is and how lucky we are all to live here. Doug Johns Hamilton Edited March 30, 2022 by Bill67 placed complete letter inside new drop-down quote 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeitgeist Posted March 30, 2022 Report Share Posted March 30, 2022 (edited) Let’s call this what it is: racial determinism. People are being defined as victims and oppressors on the basis of their race without reference to the idea of human agency. Are we nothing more than the sum of our “intersectionalities”? Does government have the right to determine how much someone deserves based on these identifiers? What about upbringing? What about personality, intelligence, strength? Once we step out of equality into equity, we enter into deciding someone’s value, victimhood, etc., on the basis of qualities that cannot possibly tell the story of what makes up a person. Even privilege is hard to define. Does money make a person “better”? What about “happiness”? These are nebulous questions that government can only pretend to answer. Bill 67 is a horrible piece of legislation, so given our current cultural confusion and government overreach, it will probably pass. It will just add to the fear people already have about being able to express rational ideas and question pseudoscience. Edited April 1, 2022 by Zeitgeist 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nationalist Posted March 30, 2022 Report Share Posted March 30, 2022 I'll never forget the first time I heard the term "racial equity". It came out of Biden's mouth while he was patting himself on the back for not getting caught cheating in the 2020 election. I turned and stared at the TV in a state of shock and anger. "Racial Equity"??? Does he even know what he's saying? The term spread up here and is now being promoted in schools and taught to our kids. This is a sickening attempt to make white Libbies "feel" better about the laws they've passed over the years that have about destroyed the black community and the native community. Laws that have given rise to such glorious outcomes such as the welfare-baby-making business, unrealistically high levels of single-mom families, the marginalization of standard morality. You want "equity"? OK, give all the POCs a laborious job and have them work their tails off to support themselves. Make divorce harder to get. Promote family values. THAT's the world our forefathers dealt with and is the main reason for the racial discrepancies. "Equity"...pfft...what a crock! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill67 Posted March 31, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 It means not equality in opportunity but in outcome! Like communism. Everyone gets same salary, same everything. But no one says equity when we look at basketball or track or badminton or table tennis or cricket. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeitgeist Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 (edited) 20 hours ago, Bill67 said: It means not equality in opportunity but in outcome! Like communism. Everyone gets same salary, same everything. But no one says equity when we look at basketball or track or badminton or table tennis or cricket. When people feel that no matter how educated, skilled, talented, or hard-working they are, the outcome is pre-determined, they eventually become unmotivated and resigned. Why care or work at anything? Equality is justice. Equity is in the eye of the judge. It risks putting representation above merit. Lose your meritocracy and you lose your economy and social cohesion. It’s extreme statism that’s popular with communist ideologues and supporters of international top-down central planning like Trudeau. The fact that Ford is signing off on this doesn’t reflect well on him. The Bill supports inequality and policies that could really hurt people. It’s also an NDP policy that isn’t centrist in any way. Edited April 1, 2022 by Zeitgeist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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