Racism

that the CCR:

1. Supports a definition of family that takes into account the family realities observed in various cultural communities and other family dependency situations (multigenerational family, de facto child, brother and sister, etc.), as well as the specific realities of other diverse social groups, including the families of people from LGBTQ+ communities.

that the CCR:

1. Recognizes the efforts made by Canada in support of the International Decade’s objectives and the fact that there is a long way to fully achieve these objectives;
2. Calls on the Government of Canada to live up to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment regarding the International Decade that Canada will take “a whole-of-government approach that builds upon the framework of the Decade, by developing policies and projects that tackle anti-Black racism, discrimination, and bias in public and private institutions.”;
3. Calls on IRCC to create a permanent actionable policy to further the objectives of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

that the CCR call on federal, provincial and territorial governments to:

1. Collect and make publicly available full access to disaggregated data;
2. Ensure that legislation and policies that impact on poverty are informed by disaggregated data.

that the CCR call on all levels of government in Canada to:

1. Work to expand fair access to institutions and opportunities;
2. Promote economic equity and justice;
3. Seek investments in opportunity and advancement;
4. Work to ensure that racial equity and racial justice efforts are adequately funded and effectively resourced.

That the CCR:

1. Call on the chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation to appoint a Task Force to examine refugee and immigration services, policies and structures in Canada for systemic racism.
2. Call on the chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation to ensure that such a Task Force include refugees, immigrants, refugee and immigrant advocacy organizations and experts in systemic racism in Canada.

That the CCR:

1. Endorse the Anti-racism policy developed by the Anti-Racism Core Group.
2. Accept this policy as one of the organization's operational policies.

That the CCR urge all its member groups to adopt the following convention:

As a member of the Canadian Council for Refugees, our organization:

1. Commits itself to facilitating the elimination of racism and all forms of discrimination by working towards the identification and elimination of the barriers that prevent refugees and immigrants from participating in Canadian society;
2. Commits itself to ensuring that the principles of equality, equity for all races, languages, faiths and cultures are reflected in our organization's policies, procedures and relations with staff, members and the society. It is our responsibility to ensure that the communities that we serve and members of our organization see themselves valued and reflected within the organization;
3. Undertakes to develop and implement an anti-racism policy;
4. Fosters an environment that is free of racism, sexism, discrimination and bias where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity;
5. Seeks opportunities for training and education in anti-racism for our staff, volunteers and Board;
6. Provides opportunities for refugees, immigrants and people of colour to be represented when selecting participants for meetings (e.g. CCR conferences) and when organizing events;
7. Recognizes the importance of public education about why Canada must protect refugees and welcome immigrants. This work may be undertaken through active media work, through public education programs and through making positive information on refugees and immigrants readily available and accessible.

That the CCR urge the government of Canada to:

1. Ensure that the UN Action Plan produced includes a section advancing the protection of refugees and asylum seekers;
2. Ensure and enable the participation of NGOs and refugees capable of analyzing and suggesting verifiable measures to address xenophobia and related intolerance towards refugees and asylum seekers;
3. Develop and promote verifiable measures to address xenophobia and related intolerance towards refugees and asylum-seekers.

That the CCR:

1. Ask the government to report periodically on how it is countering racism and xenophobia with specific attention to the impact on immigrants and refugees;
2. Ask the government of Canada to establish an independent review body to review, with respect to racism and xenophobia, programs and policies that have a bearing on refugees and immigrants;
3. Ask the federal and provincial governments to implement mandatory anti-racism training for all their employees.

That:

1. The Gender and Anti-Racism Core Groups cease to exist.
2. The Executive, in consultation with current core group members, core group candidates, Working Group chairs and other members interested, develop a proposal for new structures to address anti-oppression issues, and that this proposal be submitted to the membership at the Spring General Meeting. In the meantime the Executive will have responsibility for ensuring gender and anti-racism issues are addressed.