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Ontario government releases anti-racism strategy; includes collecting race-based data

Michael Coteau, Ontario's Minister Responsible for Anti-Racism, announced the anti-racism strategy Tuesday. Global News

TORONTO – Ontario is focusing on tackling anti-black and anti-indigenous discrimination as well as Islamophobia in its newly released three-year strategy to combat systemic racism.

The plan includes collecting race-based data in the child welfare, justice and health sectors, as well as in education from kindergarten to Grade 12.

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It will also create an “assessment framework” to help remove unconscious bias in certain programs, starting in the child welfare, justice and education sectors this spring.

A specific Black Youth Action Plan comes with a four-year funding commitment of $47 million aimed at increasing opportunities for black children and youth.

In the strategy the government says the need to address Islamophobia is “urgent” and it will roll out a public education campaign and look at collecting and publishing police data on reported incidents of Islamophobia and other forms of racial prejudice.

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The Liberal government intends to introduce legislation to give it authority to mandate race data collection.

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