You're invited to Join the Virtual March Against Racism!

Racism is a real problem affecting millions of people in Canada alone.

Many deny its existence or continue to take the issue of racism lightly. But the fact remains, racism has very serious and widespread negative impacts on our society. Here are some striking facts on racism and how it affects the lives of so many:

1. People of colour live in poverty 100% more frequently than whites.
2. People of colour earn 28 % less than whites.
3. Child poverty for children of colour is 45% while the rate for all children is 26%.
4. Those experiencing racism are 100% more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general public.
5. Aboriginal people are about 3 times more likely to commit suicide than the general population.
6. Aboriginal youth suicide rates are about 6 times higher than the general population.
7. 50% of blacks think about their race at least once a day.
8. 23% of those living in Canada incorrectly believe that some races are genetically smarter than others.
9. Despite employment equity in the federal public service, people of colour occupy only 4% of the jobs at the management level in the public service.
10. Canada's recent immigrants are better educated, on average, than native-born Canadians but they fare worse in the job market. Unemployment for Canadian immigrants was 6.6% -nearly twice of what it was for native-born Canadians (3.5%)

 
By signing this petition today you are letting people, organizations, companies, institutions and government know that a society free of racism and racial discrimination is a goal worth working towards and one worthy of our time, effort, and resources. By ignoring the impacts of racism, we all lose.

Your support is critical to continuing the movement towards equity and ensuring equal opportunities for all of us regardless of race.

Thank you for joining our Virtual March for Against Racism!

(Sources cited:

1. Galabuzi, Grace-Edward (2001) Canada’s Creeping Economic Apartheid. Toronto: CSJ Foundation for Research and Education, page 16
2. Galabuzi, Grace-Edward (2001) Canada’s Creeping Economic Apartheid. Toronto: CSJ Foundation for Research and Education, page 15
3. Canadian Labour Congress (2003) Anti-Racism Integration Guide, Book 1: Getting Started. Ottawa: Canadian Labour Congress, p.14
4. Kirchheimer, Sid (2003) Racism should be a public health issue. British Medical Journal (2003) 326: 65-66
5. Downloaded from Health Canada’s website on Aboriginal People on June 10, 2004 at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/for_you/aboriginals.html#9
6. Royal Commission on Aboriginal People (1995) Choosing Life: Special Report On Suicide Among Aboriginal People. Ottawa: Canada Communication Group Publishing, 1995. Cited in Reference 9.
7. Kirchheimer, p. 65
8. Source: Estable, Alma,, M. Meyer and G. Pon (1997)
Teach Me To Thunder: A training manual for anti-racism
trainers. Otttawa: Canadian Labour Congress, Handout
#16
9. Galabuzi, p.114
10. Statistics Canada)