The Black Lives Matter rally in Moncton in June. Image: Inda Intiar/Huddle
The New Brunswick Multicultural Council (NBMC) has launched a survey to understand experiences and perceptions of racism in the province, including in businesses and workplaces.
NBMC anti-racism coordinator Husoni Raymond says the survey will also cover systemic and other forms of racism in housing, education, the justice and healthcare systems, the private sector and the public sphere.
“There’s so little research on the topic of racism in New Brunswick and we can’t address a problem that we don’t understand completely,” he said. “In order to tailor [solutions] to the needs of our province, we have to gain a foundational understanding, and that’s what the survey aims to do.”
It will also provide a platform for racialized people to share their experiences and thoughts on what solutions are appropriate, he added. Non-racialized people will also have a chance to share what they’ve witnessed in various facets of life, including in the service and retail sectors.
Understanding the experiences of racialized people within workplaces, including whether or not they’re comfortable talking about racism and issues like microaggressions, will inform the anti-oppression training that NBMC is currently building for businesses, Raymond said.
The aim is to create more inclusive workspaces by helping people understand their personal biases, and how they can “disadvantage and further marginalize people of colour,” said Raymond.
It’s more important than ever now amid a global awakening of systemic racism, and as New Brunswick is receiving record numbers of newcomers from around Canada and the world in the last few years. The province is targeting even more immigrants in the coming years.
Racism creates a barrier to the social and economic prosperity of the province, Raymond notes.
“When people don’t feel included and welcomed in their community, or if they constantly feel marginalized, they’re going to leave,” Raymond said. “If New Brunswick wants to be attracting and retaining the best talent possible, we must be more proactive in efforts to be inclusive.”
“We have people that are underemployed. We hear stories of people who are highly qualified, with years of experience in a particular field, but can’t find jobs…they’re going to leave and try to go somewhere else where there might be fewer biases,” he added. “So New Brunswick needs to do more. We can do more, and we must do more in order to be a place for racialized people to live, work and raise their families.”
Raymond says the survey is just one piece of the puzzle to tackling the larger issue of systemic and other forms of racism in the province. It will be made available in multiple languages to make it accessible to as broad an audience as possible.
Inda Intiar is a reporter for Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
