It’s been two years since nooses were found on various unionized construction sites around Toronto and Rosemarie Powell, executive director of the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN), said the Black community has been going through the stages of grief ever since.
Powell was one of the panellists at an online event hosted by the TCBN and Labour Community Services called Beyond Trending: Confronting Anti-Black Racism – Not an Occasional Act.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, that period was a time of reckoning within the construction industry and within our community benefits movement,” she said.
“There was a really strong reaction from contractors about the nooses that were found on construction sites, the community response was swift. They went through all the stages of grief: shock, denial. How could this be in 2020? We heard from our participants and those Black experienced journeypersons who have been enduring in the system for so long and who have told us that…this has been happening forever. This is nothing new. It’s been exposed because of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.”
The next stage was anger.
“They took to the streets and they marched and they protested,” said Powell. “The first noose was at the Michael Garron Hospital and the community there had an incredible response that really called out those contractors who weren’t doing everything they could to make sure that Black lives were protected on the jobsite.”
Then came reaching out to the industry to see what actions they could take together to root out systemic and anti-Black racism. Powell thinks the community is now in a state of depression and wonders if they will ever reach the final stage…acceptance.
The visibility of our contribution…cannot just be the shortest month in the year,
— Angela Robertson
Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre
She said while contractors came out with statements about zero tolerance, established internal diversity, equity and inclusion committees, worked with the mayor of the City of Toronto and created the Declaration for Inclusive Workplaces and Communities, there is still much uncertainty.
“Despite all of that, we fear that none of the structural changes that we wanted to see will be forthcoming any time soon without a sustained fight,” said Powell. “Why do we have to keep fighting for this?”
Powell said the TCBN wants community benefits on new transit projects that are being built.
“Metrolinx, who was the pioneer for community benefits in Ontario with the Eglinton Crosstown, signalled that they plan to do community benefits differently,” she said.
“What does that mean? Will we ever come out of that vital stage of grief where we can breathe easy, where we feel assured that the industry has changed for the better? I sure hope so. That’s what we’re working towards but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Other speakers on the panel included Angela Robertson, executive director of the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, and Gary Pieters, commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The moderator was Ginelle Skerritt, CEO of the York Region Children’s Aid Society.
Robertson said she has a contested relationship with Black History Month.
“I think Black History Month also needs to be a moment for white folks to talk about white supremacy and not just for Black folks to talk about racism,” said Robertson.
“I believe that it is both a time to affirm our presence and our contribution as Black people, but I also feel that it is also a time when we need to address and call out and call upon others to address anti-Black racism and to work for the just change that we all desire. The visibility of our contribution…cannot just be the shortest month in the year.”
Pieters pointed out this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Human Rights Code in Ontario. He said the key to tackling anti-Black racism is to get everyone working together.
“Real change definitely means continuously monitoring organizations, continuously checking on the standards, the quality, the delivery, so if an organization states that this is what its commitment is then the mechanisms to monitor whether they are living up to those commitments is essential,” said Pieters.
“There are instruments that can be used to hold institutions accountable. Some of that includes reviews, inquiries and things of that nature but also working collaboratively.”
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