Center for Research-Action on Race Relations
Encyclopedia
The Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) is a Canadian, non-profit
civil rights
organization committed to promoting racial harmony and equality
. The organization functions as a service for victims of discrimination
through activities involving advocacy
, research
and legal representation. It is considered a leader among non-profit organizations of its type in Canada
.
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
area, however, assistance is not limited to this region.
, 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 Fo Niemi, who has maintained the title of executive director
since the organization’s creation.
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 crime
s and hate incidents; hate on the internet
; homophobia
; media bias
; racial profiling
in public services and employment; systemic racism
and critical race analysis and union misrepresentation.
The organization’s goals are largely focused on policy interventions, public education
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
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
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
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
who was affiliated with a neo-Nazi website
-aided a number of individuals in filing complaints against discriminatory and unethical police
and transit authority behavior.
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 intern
s who study in law
, political science
, social work
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
.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
organization committed to promoting racial harmony and equality
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
. The organization functions as a service for victims of discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
through activities involving advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
, research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and legal representation. It is considered a leader among non-profit organizations of its type in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
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
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
area, however, assistance is not limited to this region.
History
The organization was founded in 1983 in Montreal, QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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 Fo Niemi, who has maintained the title of executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
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
Racial equality
Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races....
, 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
Social injustice
Social injustice is a concept relating to the claimed unfairness or injustice of a society in its divisions of rewards and burdens and other incidental inequalities...
that must be corrected.
The CRARR’s areas of expertise include discrimination and harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
in employment; discrimination in school discipline; hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
s and hate incidents; hate on the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
; homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
; media bias
Media bias
Media bias refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the...
; racial profiling
Racial profiling
Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...
in public services and employment; systemic racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and critical race analysis and union misrepresentation.
Current activities
i. Services and ActivitiesThe organization’s goals are largely focused on policy interventions, public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
and mobilization, promotion and recognition, research-action, and training and consulting. More specifically, the organization offers a wide range of services and activities, including:
a. Advocacy and defence for victims of discrimination based on race, religion, ethnic or national origin, citizenshipCitizenshipCitizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
status and related characteristics.
b. Charter research and litigation on racial equality issues
c. Conferences, consultations and seminars on different race relations and equality rights issues
d. Research-action projects on systemic racism and on racial minorities’ needs
e. Interventions and advocacy before legislative, administrative, regulatory and judicial agencies.
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
Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, MP was Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal government of Paul Martin lost power following the 2006 federal election. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the constituency of Mount Royal in a by-election...
, 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
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
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
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
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
Intervener
In law, intervention is a procedure to allow a nonparty, called intervenor to join ongoing litigation, either as a matter of right or at the discretion of the court, without the permission of the original litigants...
status in two discrimination cases reviewed by the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
. One was Lavoie v. Canada
Lavoie v. Canada
Lavoie v. Canada, [2002] 1 S.C.R. 769, 2002 SCC 23 is a leading decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on whether preference on basis of citizenship infringed equality guarantee under section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms...
(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
Canadian Human Rights Commission
The Canadian Human Rights Commission is a quasi-judicial body that was established in 1977 by the government of Canada. It is empowered under the Canadian Human Rights Act to investigate and try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the provision of services within federal...
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
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is an administrative tribunal established in 1977 by the Canadian Human Rights Act. It is directly funded by the Parliament of Canada and is independent of the Canadian Human Rights Commission which refers cases to it for adjudication under the Act.The Tribunal...
against a man in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
who was affiliated with a neo-Nazi website
-aided a number of individuals in filing complaints against discriminatory and unethical police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and transit authority behavior.
Current Organizational Features
i. Employees/VolunteersThe 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 intern
Intern
Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...
s who study in law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
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
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
, Banque Nationale, CHUM Ltd., Canadian Auto Workers
Canadian Auto Workers
The Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile social unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
, the National Council of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service, the Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
, and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation
Canadian Race Relations Foundation
Canadian Race Relations Foundation is a Canadian government agency responsible to foster racial harmony and cross-cultural understanding and help to eliminate racism. The foundation was opened in November 1997, after receiving royal assent on February 1, 1991. The Foundation operates at "arms...
.