The Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) is a Canadian,

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

organization committed to promoting racial harmony and equality. The organization functions as a service for victims of

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

through activities involving

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

and legal representation. It is considered a leader among non-profit organizations of its type in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The CRARR has supported and assisted over 250 victims of discrimination since its inception in 1983. It takes on approximately 75 new cases per year. The majority of individuals aided come from the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

area, however, assistance is not limited to this region.

History

The organization was founded in 1983 in Montreal,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada and while it has expanded the reach of its work to other parts of Canada, it maintains its base in Montreal. It was co-founded by , who has maintained the title of executive director since the organization's creation.

Mission statement

The organization's motto is "United for Diversity and Racial Equality." Its mandate, broadly speaking, is "to promote racial harmony and equality in Canada". The organization is actively engaged in promoting equality and multicultural representation in Canada through various activities. As such, the CRARR has a strong commitment to promoting racial equality, believing that "When it comes to real inclusion—real integration, real presence in decision-making positions—we still have a fairly long way to go". This position demonstrates the organization's belief that underrepresentation of minorities is a social injustice that must be corrected. The CRARR's areas of expertise include discrimination and harassment in employment; discrimination in school discipline; hate crimes and hate incidents; hate on the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

; homophobia;

media bias Media bias occurs when journalists and news producers show bias in how they report and cover news. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an ...

; racial profiling in public services and employment; systemic

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and critical race analysis and union misrepresentation.

Current activities

i. Services and Activities
The organization's goals are largely focused on policy interventions,

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

and mobilization, promotion and recognition, research-action, and training and consulting. More specifically, the organization offers a wide range of services and activities, including: In addition, the organization also honours an individual or non-profit organization with its bi-annual Frederick Johnson award. Past recipients include Hank Avery, African-Canadian who pushed for the recognition of a black slave's cemetery in Quebec, the organization Mothers United Against Racism and Hon. Irwin Cotler, Canada's former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General. In 2004-2005, the CRARR hosted a conference on youth crime prevention. Additionally, the organization hosts an annual lecture on Diversity in Canadian Media that is co-sponsored by the department of Communication Studies at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

in Montreal. ii. Recent Activities
The CRARR, represented by Civil Rights Advocate Elena Toews, is currently assisting two groups of black residents of Southwest Montreal who have filed claims with the Quebec Human Rights Commission. The individuals, Samantha Hyman-Roberts and Gallo Cham, have claimed that they were both racially profiled and

abuse Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...

d by transit authorities after failing to show proof that they had purchased transit tickets. Both Hyman-Roberts and Cham are asking for $50,000 and $30,000, respectively. The complaints are currently in the process of being filed on behalf of the individuals by the CRARR. iii. Past Successes
The CRARR has been granted intervener status in two discrimination cases reviewed by the Supreme Court of Canada. One was Lavoie v. Canada (2002) which discussed giving preference to citizens over non-citizens for government jobs. As intervener, the CRARR argued that the practice was discriminatory and "the preference operated in a particularly invidious way with respect to women." The CRARR argued that many women keep foreign citizenship out of practical considerations, such as maintain the ability to return to their former country to take care of elderly parents. The reality that citizens receive preference over non-citizens is contrary to the federal action plan, Embracing Change, that was created in 2000 to increase the representation of visible minorities in the federal public service which can often include non-citizens. In addition, the organization has also achieved the following: -intervened in a number of cases before the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

and Quebec Human Rights Commissions and helped victims of racism receive over $400,000 in damages through various court cases -won a case before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal against a man in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

who was affiliated with a

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

website -aided a number of individuals in filing complaints against discriminatory and unethical

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and transit authority behavior.

Current organizational features

i. Employees/Volunteers
The staff currently consists of three people led by the executive director, Fo Niemi, who co-founded the organization in 1983. In addition to the executive director, the organization also has a counsellor for victims of discrimination, a legal counsellor and a communication and research officer. The organization attracts interns who study in law,

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

and communications. At least six lawyers are associated with and work closely to the rest of the CRARR team in addition to a number of other experts across Canada who lend their expertise and advice to the organization. ii. Funding
As a non-profit organization, the CRARR receives funding from a range of both public and private institutions. This includes the government of Canada, businesses, unions, educational institutions, as well as donations from private individuals. In 2007, the organization received a contribution from Canada's Department of Justice in the amount of $67,000 CAD. iii. Partners
The CRARR is affiliated with a number of governmental and non-governmental actors. Governmental parties include the Department of Canadian Heritage, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities of Quebec, the National Crime Prevention Strategy and the Secrétariat à l’action communautaire autonome du Québec. Some non-governmental partners include the Royal Bank of Canada, Banque Nationale, CHUM Ltd., Canadian Auto Workers, the National Council of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service, the Canadian Jewish Congress, and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.United Nations 6

References

External links