Systemic Discrimination

With the increase in migration and newcomers arriving from nations that have also experienced colonization, it is important to acknowledge the unique yet similar experiences that have occurred across the world. One major component of colonization was the development of a power hierarchy across the globe, with Europeans being the standard for comparison. Kowalchuk and Pellizzer Soares (2021) highlighted the important ideas of Frantz Fanon, stating, “the internalization of the ‘symbolic order’ wherein the colonizer’s worldview is imposed upon the colonized person, which as a result traps them in their own inferiority complex.” Fanon argued for the necessity of decolonizing the mind. These structures of colonial thought and social hierarchies continue to influence different groups’ ability to access resources and equal participation in society. According to Souissi (2024),

Systemic racism is often seen as the tendency within a group to systematically exclude or marginalize racialized people. It puts unfair obstacles in the way of non-white individuals who are trying to access such important resources as employment, accommodation, or health care.

Research has been undertaken on newcomers to Canada and their experiences with systemic and individual acts of racism and discrimination. According to Mooten (2021, p. 5), “Although scientific racism has been discredited, the concept of ‘race’ has persisted as a socio-political construct.” This is evident in numerous social indicators such as rates of poverty, food security, access to safe housing, access to financial credit, and rates of profiling and active discrimination due to ethnicity.

Mooten (2021) explored the seasonal agriculture worker program, the caregiver stream, and the international mobility program as three examples of systemic discrimination based on country of origin that lead to discriminatory wage practices and unprotected working conditions. This is one example of systemic discrimination experienced by newcomers to Canada.

Indigenous people face high levels of systemic discrimination in access to employment and when dealing with government systems such as healthcare, education, justice system, children’s services, and more. Research and action is being undertaken to address this historical systemic discrimination and the impact it has. One measure is the implementation of equity, diversity, and inclusion policies in the workplace and government organizations.

References

Kowalchuk, J., & Pellizzer Soares, R. (2021). Frantz Fanon and his influence. In C. van Kessel (Ed.), Intellectual influences in contemporary curriculum study. University of Alberta. https://pressbooks.openeducationalberta.ca/curriculuminfluences/chapter/fanon/

Mooten, N. (2021). Racism, discrimination and migrant workers in Canada: Evidence from  the literature. Government of Canada: Policy Research, Research and Evaluation Branch. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/documents/pdf/english/corporate/reports-statistics/evaluations/r8-2020-racism-summary-eng.pdf

Souissi, T. (2024, June 13). Systemic racism in Canada. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/systemic-racism