The program, launched in 1996 after the Parliament of Canada officially recognized Black History Month, was designed to educate young Canadians on the role racial diversity played in shaping our nation. Instead, the Conservatives replaced the challenge with a major commemoration of the War of 1812.
Parks Canada’s black history portal, launched as part of a decade-long diversity education initiative, no longer mentions Da Costa’s name. There is an oblique reference unnamed persons of “African descent” accompanying Samuel de Champlain, but in keeping with the government’s new direction, the emphasis is on black soldiers, starting with, you guessed it, the war of 1812.
I have nothing against soldiers, but by expunging Da Costa, we ignore a seminal moment in the birth of our country.
Da Costa was an African linguist/explorer who spoke multiple languages, including the eastern Algonquian dialect that permitted him to interpret between Samuel de Champlain and the Mi’kmaq people of the New World.
That voyage laid the foundation for Canada. His interpretative skills were key in the survival of the first European expedition that resulted in permanent settlement in Canada.
Without Da Costa, Champlain would likely not have survived the first bleak winter.
Through Black History Month, successive governments have educated all Canadians about the role played by different races in the birth of Canada.
By eliminating Da Costa from the narrative, the current Conservative government is reinforcing a misimpression that minority Canadians are recent arrivals to the country.
The Da Costa program was not just a lesson in history; it was an opportunity to promote interracial education and harmony. It encouraged reflection on why we are still fighting racism more than 400 years after Da Costa’s arrival.
Last week’s Globe and Mail exposé on the colour of justice in Canada was striking, but not surprising.
One in five Canadians is a visible minority, yet our judicial system is almost exclusively white. Only one per cent of judicial appointments include visible minorities and aboriginal Canadians. Shame on us!
Even worse, the article quoted a Justice Department official saying the department kept no statistics on the racial makeup of appointees.
And therein lies the rub. In the governor-in-council process, someone has to be mindful of whether the institutions of governance reflect the face of our country.
Historically, the appointments director in the Office of the Prime Minister is responsible for ensuring a range of race and gender diversity in all appointments.
When I sat in Cabinet, every single decision was vetted through a gender and race screening process.
Prime minister Jean Chrétien’s designate, Penny Collenette, personally oversaw all ministerial appointments, ensuring the nominees reflected the makeup of the country.
A strong woman and a lawyer, Collenette was deeply committed to increasing the numbers of women and visible minorities on all bodies, especially the bench.
She often had to ride herd on judicial recommendations that entrenched inequities.
More often than not, nominees recommended by the legal community, were not as diverse as candidates promoted by Parliamentarians.
When Beverley McLachlin became the first woman to lead the Supreme Court, there was a major lobby within the legal community to elevate Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci instead. I remember receiving a phone call from a bencher from the Law Society of Upper Canada of the Law Society promoting his (male) candidate of choice.
But it was the political influence of people like Collenette and then Justice minister Anne McLellan that encouraged then prime minister Chrétien to opt for McLachlin.
During the Liberals’ time in office, judicial appointments were all tracked on the basis of gender and race, just like all other appointments. We had a plan for racial and gender diversity. Even though we sometimes fell short of the mark, no minister would dare propose a potential appointee without reviewing her/his impact on overall equality targets in each department.
Today’s government signaled its disinterest in racial equality when it cancelled the Da Costa program and replaced it with a commemoration of the War of 1812.
It is no accident that the face of Canada is not changing, especially on the bench.
Political leadership is about making choices.
As long as the story of Da Costa is not worth telling, the scales of justice in Canada will continue to be tipped in one direction.
A government that does not track the racial makeup of its appointments must live with imbalance.
A judicial system without aboriginal or minority judges is simply not fair.
Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era Cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: SHEILA COPPS
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