By LINCOLN DEPRADINE
The Liberal Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has provided $9.1 million in grants in ongoing efforts at dismantling anti-Black racism and to meet the needs for sustained funding within Black-led and focused non-profit organizations across Canada.
The money is being disbursed to 107 organizations under the “Black Ideas Grant (B.I.G): Bridge and Build” 2023/24 program.
It’s part of a $200 million “Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund” being administered by the Foundation for Black Communities (FFBC), which was founded in 2020 with the aim of ensuring that Black-serving organizations have the “vital resources needed to create lasting change”, and “can thrive and have agency in defining their own futures”.
The grant funding was announced at a Toronto event of Black community members, who were joined by federal MPs Kamal Khera and Marci Ien.
“This initiative is about empowering and uplifting Black communities to shape their future and continue their vital contributions to Canada,” said Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth. “We will ensure Black-led organizations in Canada have the resources to tackle historical and systemic challenges faced by the community.”
FFBC co-chair Liban Abokor, who was one of the speakers at the event at the Nia Centre For the Arts on Oakwood Avenue, told Share that of the 107 projects to be funded, about 50 are in Ontario.
“We’re incredibly excited about funding projects that are really going to make a meaningful impact in our community. Projects range from food insecurity to housing, to employment, to investing in women and youth. The projects we’re investing in are really a response to what the community needed and told us that they want to see,” Abokor said in an interview.
The federal government, over the last several years, has invested in various programs to assist racialized groups, including members of the African Canadian community.
According to the Trudeau government, the investments include a “commitment to help Black communities in Canada reach their full potential”.
Since 2019, the government has also pumped more than $175 million in the “Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative” and has pledged nearly $100 million to Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy.
In the 2021 budget, the government allocated up to $200 million to establish a Black-led “Philanthropic Endowment Fund”.
The FFBC, a philanthropic foundation, is responsible for managing the assets of the contributed funds to create a long-term, self-sustaining source of funding for Black community organizations.
The Liberal administration has also just launched its 2024-2028 anti-racism strategy titled, “Changing Systems, Transforming Lives”. The strategy represents a “more holistic approach to tackling systemic racism and discrimination”, which “remains an unacceptable reality for far too many people in Canada”, the government said.
Among the priority areas of the strategy are “promoting economic, social and cultural empowerment”, and advancing racial equity in immigration, health and housing systems”.
“We want the federal government to reflect the Canada it serves, because the more voices and perspectives we have at the table, the better the decision making,” Prime Minister Trudeau said.
“With Canada’s ‘Anti-Racism Strategy: Changing Systems, Transforming Lives, 2024-2028’, we’re putting forward an ambitious, comprehensive plan to make Canada more diverse, inclusive and prosperous. That means encouraging voices with different experiences to lead, and ensuring those voices are reflected in federal policies, programs and services. This is part of our larger work to build more homes and keep them affordable, invest in quality health care, reform our justice system, and make our streets safer in partnership with communities.”
Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, described diversity as being “at the heart of what it means to be Canadian”.
The minister, commenting on the 2024-2028 Anti-Racism Strategy, said every Canadian “bears a responsibility to confront racism and discrimination wherever it persists”.
The strategy, she added, “marks another stride in our collective journey to be united and build a more equitable and inclusive Canada, together”.
As Khera put it, “the heart of the strategy lies within communities across the country, by working with them and investing in them. It was developed through extensive engagement with community leaders, researchers and organizations. Informed by the invaluable insights of thousands of Canadians with lived experience of racism and religious discrimination, it aims to make a marked difference in the lives of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Black, racialized and religious minority communities”.
