City must help fight discrimination in the workplace, says chair of Fredericton’s Racism Task Force

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The head of Fredericton’s Anti-Racism Task Force wants to see the city play a role in ensuring members of minority communities are not discriminated against when seeking employment.

With Fredericton growing and seeking to attract more newcomers, the municipality has a role to play in ensuring people of color are not left out of the workforce because of their race, said Passionate Ncube, President. of the task force, following a presentation he gave to the city’s livable community committee on Thursday.

“One of the critical issues is that if Fredericton is going to grow, it’s going to accept everybody,” Ncube said. “Fredericton needs to address the fact that there are immigrants, there are new people coming.

“And one of the things that people come in and don’t want to stay in Fredericton, and don’t want to stay in New Brunswick as a province, is because of the employment challenges.”

Ncube said he also wants the town hall to do more to ensure that members of minority groups feel welcome when using the facilities owned by the municipality.

“If I go to a swimming pool, do I feel like I belong there?

The City of Fredericton announced the 15-member task force in August 2021, after Mayor Kate Rogers vowed before her election that she would fight racism in the city.

Ncube’s presentation on Thursday focused on the work the task force has accomplished in the months since its first meeting last March.

He said the task force established a governance structure and set up subcommittees to come up with recommendations to present to city council, Ncube said.

Ncubed didn’t share any recommendations during its presentation, but said the task force has heard from residents about their experiences and will formally present recommendations to counselors at a later date.

Speaking after his presentation, Ncube said racism exists all over the world, with Fredericton being no exception.

In February 2021, CBC News reported on the experience of racism among residents of Doone Street in Fredericton, many of whom are immigrants.

Com. Ruth Breen, the city council’s representative for the anti-racism task force, said she was pleased with what has been done so far.

Com. Ruth Breen said the city needs to address systemic racism and the barriers that prevent all residents from participating in society. (Ruth Breen/Facebook)

“They’ve really started doing focused work on what is really a monumental task,” she said.

Breen said even before becoming a councilor in the spring of 2021, she knew Fredericton had work to do to address racism.

“We constantly face issues of racism, but more importantly, we really need to focus on systemic racism and what is happening that creates barriers to full participation.”

Last December, ManjuVarma, the former New Brunswick Systemic Racism Commissioner, released her long-awaited report, which included a call for “a task force focused on dismantling systemic racism in New Brunswick police services. “.

However, members of the Wolastoqey, Mi’kmaw and Black communities criticized his report for not recommending that the provincial government launch a public inquiry into systemic racism in New Brunswick.

Asked about his thoughts on a public inquiry into racism, Ncube said it was an issue he needed to research before deciding.

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