EDMONTON—One of the co-chairs of Alberta’s Anti-Racism Advisory Council hopes the newly formed advisory body will move beyond discussions around discrimination and find concrete solutions to breaking down systematic racism in the province.

“(The council) is going to put together tangible actions, clear strategies to combat — hopefully eradicate, but certainly address — racism in Alberta,” Heather Campbell told reporters Monday at the unveiling of the council, which includes 24 community members appointed by the province who will work to advise the government on fulfilling its goal of ending racism and discrimination in Alberta.

Education Minister David Eggen, the minister overseeing the province’s anti-racism initiative, said the council is the first of its kind in the history of Alberta government.

“We have always been an accepting society, but we must recognize that racism does exist and it needs to be combated in every way possible,” Eggen said.

The council is part of Alberta’s anti-racism initiative, launched by Premier Rachel Notley following the Quebec mosque shooting that killed six people and injured 19 in early 2017. Following the announcement of its creation, the province received more than 300 applicants for the 24 council seats.

Those who were selected include leaders, advocates and teachers from across Alberta who represent an array of communities in the province, including Indigenous people, Jewish and Muslim leaders, as well refugees, newcomers, and racialized folks from the LGBTQ community.

“The interest that we had for applications is unbelievable,” Eggen told reporters Monday. “We tried to have a reflection of diversity, of geography, of gender, and of experience.”

Eggen’s part of the council’s work will place emphasis on educating Albertans on the diversity of its population through school curriculums. Alberta Education is currently engaged in a curriculum rewrite for students in kindergarten to Grade 12 that is set to be rolled out gradually beginning this fall, and will be completed by 2022.

“We know that sometimes hate and racism are a product of ignorance, so we combat that ignorance through education,” he said.

Education is a key point of action for Omar Najmeddine, a council member and executive director of Al Rashid Group, representing Canada’s oldest mosque in Edmonton. Al Rashid was recently visited by members of the Wolves of Odin, an Islamophobic group in the city, prompting a criminal police investigation into the incident.

“Racism is nothing but ignorance,” Najmeddine said. “ ... so educating people and creating awareness is key.”

Promoting better understanding is also key for Nadine Eagle Child, an Indigenous woman from Lethbridge and a member of the new council. She said she hopes the council will find concrete ways to foster dialogue between communities to ultimately dismantle stereotypes that fuel racist incidents targeting Indigenous people.

“As Indigenous people, we experience a lot of racism in southern Alberta, especially in the Lethbridge area and surrounding little towns,” Eagle Child said. “It’s something we’ve been dealing with our whole lives.”

A dedicated council to fight racism is welcome news to Irfan Chaudhry, director of the office of human rights for MacEwan University, but he said the conversation should move beyond the roundtable, and that great emphasis should be placed on tangible results and action.

Chaudhry, who researches and tracks hate crimes and hate incidents in Alberta, said he hopes the council comes up with community-related approaches to starting a dialogue on racism. He added while education is a good first step, he hopes there will be efforts to reach and connect with people outside of the system as well, and connect with those who are sharing racist sentiments.

Other key issues the council hopes to address, Eggen said, include recognizing the foreign education and work credentials of newcomers to Alberta, as well as strengthening the Human Rights Commission and bolstering hate-crime units in police jurisdictions.

Alberta’s anti-racism initiative also includes the allocation of $2 million in grant money for community organizations that are creating programs to raise awareness. The first 33 recipients of the grants were announced last month.

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With a provincial election looming in the next few months, Eagle Child, Najmeddine and Campbell all said they hope to continue this work with whichever government takes power. Eagle Child added she is thankful a dialogue on racism now exists on the provincial level.

“Finally somebody is looking up and saying, ‘Hey, there’s racism in Alberta. Let’s do something about it,’” she said.

Nadine Yousif is a reporter/photographer for Star Edmonton. Follow her on twitter: @nadineyousif_

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