Following the release of systemic racism commissioner Manju Varma’s final report, attention is turning to how the government will respond.
The report had 86 recommendations, ranging from the renaming of racist place names to a Black- and Indigenous-led task force to address systemic racism in New Brunswick policing.
Pabineau First Nation chief Terry Richardson said the ball is now in the government’s court.
“When you get a report, is it just another document that goes on a shelf and just collects dust?” he said.
“So it’s how much meaningfulness this report carries with it.”
Richardson was disappointed that Varma didn’t call for an inquiry into systemic racism faced by Indigenous people in the justice system, but said swift action on other recommendations would be a good sign that the government is serious about addressing the report.
One such example is the government ban on using the words unceded and unsurrendered in land acknowledgments. Higgs has said that the ban is in reaction to a land claim filed by the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick last year.
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Richardson said it’s a denial of fact and a sign that the government has no interest in negotiating with First Nations, who want to be able to share in the economic activity taking place on their traditional lands.
“It’s not a secret. This is the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Wolastoqey, the Mi’kmaq and the Passamaquoddy people of this province, lands that we’ve shared for hundreds of years and lands that we continue to share,” he said.
“If anybody wants to question systemic racism, well there’s a perfect example of racism. It’s a smaller level, but it’s racism and that’s got to be taken away.”
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Premier Blaine Higgs says he has yet to read the report and isn’t sure when the province will respond to the recommendations found in it.
“Our hope is we would be actively looking at that in the new year,” he said.
“There’s a lot of recommendations and how many we can act on, how many are kind of things … maybe we should consider. So I can’t give a timeline.”
For racialized people in the province delays in government action have consequences, according to Matthew Martin, the CEO and president of Black Lives Matter New Brunswick.
“This is really like life or death for myself and many of my colleagues and friends and for a lot of folks within New Brunswick,” Martin said.
“So I really do hope that our government sees this and they really push forward and push forward quickly with intention and purpose to implement these recommendations.”
Other recommendations in the report include mandating police forces and health authorities to collect race based data, a clear anti-hate strategy, a revamp of immigration services and how newcomers are supported in the province and the creation of a body or position to specifically focus on dismantling systemic racism.
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