Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to providing a safe and inclusive workplace for all its employees. This includes educating our public servants on how racism can manifest itself in the workplace. Racism is a belief in a hierarchy of human value. It is a belief, conscious or unconscious, that some people are worth more than others. Racism is easy to see when it takes the form of specific acts of hate and violence, but systemic racism hides in plain sight. It is the kind of racism where the power of one racial group is exhibited and upheld over others in institutions, including schools, law enforcement, healthcare, and a workplace.
By contrast, anti-racism is about acknowledging the inherent privilege held by certain racial groups over others. Anti-racism is about speaking up when you see racism in action and educating those around you about the benefits of diversity within our communities and workplaces. It is about yielding positions of power to those who are otherwise marginalized, advocating for policies that break down systems of oppression, and promoting not only equality but equity. In addition to the work under way to implement mandatory cultural awareness training, the Department of Finance will launch an anti-racism campaign.
The Department of Finance will launch this anti-racism campaign to run between March 16th and April 21st that will encourage all GNWT employees to challenge their beliefs and attitudes around racism. The goal of this campaign is to encourage employees to learn about anti-racism so they can take steps to stand against systemic racism and stand up for marginalized persons within our communities. We recognize that, in order to eliminate systemic racism in the NWT, we must build a culture of anti-racism within the public service.
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