July 2, 2020

Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, MB – Today NDP MLA Jamie Moses is launching an online questionnaire to allow Manitobans to provide feedback on the impacts and aspects of systemic racism in Manitoba. The feedback will help inform the basis of legislation Moses aims to introduce this fall to help address aspects of systemic racism within government systems.

Following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations have continued across the globe. In Manitoba, demonstrators have held rallies in front of the Legislature and other significant sites over the past month demanding justice for BIPOC.

“Black Manitobans are saying enough is enough—they are calling for real changes to systemic inequalities and racism that put Black, Indigenous and families of colour at risk,” said Titi Tijani, Vice-President of African Communities of Manitoba Inc. “Now is the time for leadership to listen. This survey will give our community a space to share our concerns and propose solutions for a fairer and safer Manitoba.”

“People across the world and right here in Manitoba are standing up, using their voices and demanding that elected leaders listen. Systemic racism must be acknowledged and named by the Pallister government so that we can understand it and start to combat its impacts on Manitobans,” said Moses. “One way that we can start to do this is by addressing it in our public services. We are ready to hear from all Manitobans about the ways we can work toward the elimination of institutional and systemic racism in our society, with the public services leading the way.”

The survey can be found here.

“Legislation is one step we can take to help address systematic racism in our society. I intend to take the results of this survey and help inform legislation that will ensure there is mandatory anti-racism training and education in all provincial government services, so we can ensure the safety and equality of all Manitobans, including BIPOC,” added Moses.