citizen mobilization as a tool in the fight against systemic racism: the case of the city of montréal

Once mandated by the City, its role is to 1) propose guidelines for public consultations to ensure their transparency, credibility, and effectiveness; 2) prepare, in anticipation of the consultation, a file documenting the specific issue on the agenda; 3) organize and lead the public consultation; and 4) issue recommendations based on the comments and opinions gathered during the consultation. [...] Source : OCPM These documents, in the view of several participants in the consultation, revealed a number of distressing findings: the City's actions to combat racism and discrimination are incoherent with its own rhetoric on the subject; its racial color-blindness means that it denies the systemic nature of racism and discrimination; and it confuses the fight against these realities with actions. [...] Topping the list is the recommendation to recognize the systemic nature of racism and discrimination, followed by the recommendation to appoint a person to act as Commissioner for Combatting Systemic Racism and Discrimination. [...] Without the citizens' initiative supported by Montréal en action, the public consultation on systemic racism and discrimination would probably not “Acknowledging the existence have taken place, but the role played by the of systemic racism and OCPM certainly contributed to the rapid discrimination, and knowing implementation of corrective measures. [...] Today, Montreal is among the leaders in the fight against racism and discrimination in Quebec.” The production of this document was made possible thanks to the financial support of: The ideas and opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Quebec.