It's time for Quebec to launch commission into systemic racism, group says

Does Quebec have a racism problem?It's time for theprovincial government to find out, advocates say.

A new group led by EmilieNicolas, president ofQubecInclusif, is collecting signatures for apetition to launch a publiccommission into systemic racism in Quebec.The petition will be tabled in the National Assembly when the next session opens.

The proposal hasattracted support fromProjet Montral, QubecSolidaire andsome members of the Quebec Liberal Party.

Italso has the backing ofbothGrardBouchardand Charles Taylor, who headedup the province's hearings on reasonable accommodation in 2007.

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"Wehave a huge issue in Quebec just talking about racism," Nicolas told CBC Montreal's Daybreakon Monday.

"With a commission, we would be able also to engage citizens from across the province.One of the problems is we don't talk about racism and if we do it, often doesn't leave the island of Montreal."

Nicolas said the commission would resemble theBouchard-Taylor commission in terms of structure, with public hearings across the province,only this time the focus wouldn't be on reasonable accommodation.

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Instead, itwould be a "kind of an answer or a remedy to whatBouchard-Taylorcreated,in terms of allowing racist speech into the public sphere," she said.

Haroun Bouazzi, who is also part of thegroup pushing for a commission, said it would look at the policies in place aimed at countering things like racial profiling, and see how they can be improved.

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"The outcome of the commission of course would be public policies with targets, and [on a] yearly basis, seeing how we actually get closer and closer to these targets," said Bouazzi,co-president ofMuslim and Arabs for a Secular Quebec.

A 'difficult conversation'

Bouazzisaid the middle years of a Liberal majority government would be an opportune time to look at the issue, acknowledging that it would be a politically difficult line of inquiry.

"I think there is perhaps a specificity in Quebec in terms of howfrancophonesthemselves have suffered from discrimination and it makes theconversationabout racism even more complicated," he said.

"At the same time, it is a difficult conversation to have everywhere."

The office of KathleenWeil,Quebec's minister of immigration, diversity and inclusiveness, was non-committal when asked about the possibility of a commission.

In a statement, Weilsaid "recognizing and appreciating Quebec's ethnocultural diversity and ensuring that all members ofsociety are able to participate fully in Quebec's economic, social and cultural development are priorities for our government."

She pointed out that the province introduced a $42.5-million, five-year actionplan in March aimed at eliminating barriersto employment, promotingequal representation and fightingdiscrimination.