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in 6 Canadians victims of racism: poll
CTV.ca News Staff
A new poll is challenging the view of Canada as a tolerant and open society, as close to four million Canadians report being the victims of racism.
The Ipsos-Reid poll, released Monday, found that one in six adults, or 17 per cent of those surveyed, said they had experienced racism personally.
Perhaps the most surprising finding was that seven per cent, or 1.7 million Canadians, would not welcome someone of another race as a next-door neighbour.
As well, 13 per cent (3.1 million Canadians) said they would never marry or have a relationship with a person of another race, and 15 per cent (3.4 million Canadians) said skin colour makes a difference in their workplace.
"I think that is a horrible shame," said Rudyard Griffiths, the executive director of the Dominion Institute, which commissioned the survey.
"We should be treating each other as fellow citizens with respect and tolerance, interested in each other's opinions -- not seeing each other through the lens or filter of race."
The survey was conducted to mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Griffiths said it shows that Canada needs to work on being a more tolerant multicultural nation.
"Maybe as a country, we've been too quick to see racism and discrimination as problems that other countries are forced to deal with," Griffiths told CTV.ca.
"But I think at the same time, we've got to remind ourselves that this is a persistent and ongoing challenge that we face as a country and we've got to remain vigilant."
According to the poll, Canadians believe the groups most targeted by racism in their community are:
* Muslims and Arabs -- 38 per cent
* Aboriginals/First Nations -- 31 per cent
* Blacks -- 28 per cent
* East Indians -- 24 per cent
* Asians -- 14 per cent
* Jewish -- 11 per cent
* Hispanics -- five per cent
The poll also found that 17 per cent believed racism was on the rise in their community. Another 13 per cent believed racism had decreased, while the majority said it had neither increased nor decreased.
Most of those surveyed said the best way to combat racism is by promoting racial tolerance in schools. Griffiths agrees with that assessment.
"The beautiful thing we all know about children is that when it comes to race, young children are largely colour-blind, and that this is a learned behaviour," he said.
"If it's a learned behaviour, hopefully it's behaviour that can be unlearned."
As the poll was released Monday, NDP MP Libby Davies introduced a bill in Parliament calling on the federal government to ban racial profiling from all federal departments.
The bill would require ministers of various departments to report back to Parliament on the activities of their ministries. Federal agencies would also have to create policies to eliminate such profiling.
It was supported by all opposition parties. Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal joined Davies at the news conference.
"I think we should emphasize to unite Canada, unite Canadians and celebrity our similarities, not differences," Grewal said.
The Ipsos-Reid poll was conducted between March 15 and 17. A randomly selected sample of 1,001 Canadians were surveyed by telephone. Results are considered accurate to within plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
in 6 Canadians victims of racism: poll
CTV.ca News Staff
A new poll is challenging the view of Canada as a tolerant and open society, as close to four million Canadians report being the victims of racism.
The Ipsos-Reid poll, released Monday, found that one in six adults, or 17 per cent of those surveyed, said they had experienced racism personally.
Perhaps the most surprising finding was that seven per cent, or 1.7 million Canadians, would not welcome someone of another race as a next-door neighbour.
As well, 13 per cent (3.1 million Canadians) said they would never marry or have a relationship with a person of another race, and 15 per cent (3.4 million Canadians) said skin colour makes a difference in their workplace.
"I think that is a horrible shame," said Rudyard Griffiths, the executive director of the Dominion Institute, which commissioned the survey.
"We should be treating each other as fellow citizens with respect and tolerance, interested in each other's opinions -- not seeing each other through the lens or filter of race."
The survey was conducted to mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Griffiths said it shows that Canada needs to work on being a more tolerant multicultural nation.
"Maybe as a country, we've been too quick to see racism and discrimination as problems that other countries are forced to deal with," Griffiths told CTV.ca.
"But I think at the same time, we've got to remind ourselves that this is a persistent and ongoing challenge that we face as a country and we've got to remain vigilant."
According to the poll, Canadians believe the groups most targeted by racism in their community are:
* Muslims and Arabs -- 38 per cent
* Aboriginals/First Nations -- 31 per cent
* Blacks -- 28 per cent
* East Indians -- 24 per cent
* Asians -- 14 per cent
* Jewish -- 11 per cent
* Hispanics -- five per cent
The poll also found that 17 per cent believed racism was on the rise in their community. Another 13 per cent believed racism had decreased, while the majority said it had neither increased nor decreased.
Most of those surveyed said the best way to combat racism is by promoting racial tolerance in schools. Griffiths agrees with that assessment.
"The beautiful thing we all know about children is that when it comes to race, young children are largely colour-blind, and that this is a learned behaviour," he said.
"If it's a learned behaviour, hopefully it's behaviour that can be unlearned."
As the poll was released Monday, NDP MP Libby Davies introduced a bill in Parliament calling on the federal government to ban racial profiling from all federal departments.
The bill would require ministers of various departments to report back to Parliament on the activities of their ministries. Federal agencies would also have to create policies to eliminate such profiling.
It was supported by all opposition parties. Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal joined Davies at the news conference.
"I think we should emphasize to unite Canada, unite Canadians and celebrity our similarities, not differences," Grewal said.
The Ipsos-Reid poll was conducted between March 15 and 17. A randomly selected sample of 1,001 Canadians were surveyed by telephone. Results are considered accurate to within plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
