THUNDER BAY – The composition of the city’s anti-racism and respect advisory committee, which currently lacks Northwestern Ontario Indigenous representation, is set to be overhauled.
Thunder Bay city council on Monday night approved new terms of reference for the committee, which includes a significant expansion of members to include representatives from more than a dozen organizations including Matawa First Nation, Fort William First Nation, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Office of Human Rights and Equity at Lakehead University, along with five community representatives approved by council.
The committee currently has 11 members, including mayor and two councillors, five community representatives and one appointee from each of the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association, Regional Multicultural Youth Council and the Urban Aboriginal Advisory Committee.
Committee chair Amina Abu-Bakare said the only Indigenous person appointed as a community representative hails from New Brunswick, adding there is nobody from any of the First Nations communities around Thunder Bay on the committee.
“These are the main key stakeholders in Thunder Bay who are affected by racism. If we are really going to be an anti-racism committee that addresses issues in the city the key stakeholders have to be at the table,” Abu-Bakare said, adding those stakeholders would bring forward the concerns from their respective communities.
Abu-Bakare said she is the only other minority of the community representatives, though that does not mean she has the same experiences as others in the community.
Racism affects Indigenous people more than any other group in Thunder Bay, she added.
“I am a privileged black woman in Thunder Bay. I do not face the racism other people on the streets face and that’s the bottom line,” Abu-Bakare said.
The original recommendation from the committee was to limit the role of elected officials to the mayor holding an ex officio, non-voting role.
Both of the two council appointees – Coun. Rebecca Johnson and Coun. Paul Pugh – said they believed it was beneficial for them to be a part of the committee.
Mayor Keith Hobbs, who has sat on the committee throughout his two terms, pointed to what he called the “whiteness” of the current council.
“I’m hearing all the time at this anti-racism and respect committee that we don’t understand the issues,” Hobbs said. “How can we possibly understand the issues? We don’t live it. We have no idea what it’s like for an Indigenous person to come here.”
Council approved amendments to keep the mayor and two councils on the committee with voting power, as well as to add further representation from local educational institutions.
The terms of reference includes the mandate for a roundtable against racism to be held twice per year, featuring involvement 30 different agencies and organizations.
