Last year there was a report written, “Alberta Anti-Racism Advisory Council Recommendations” and I thought it was well done. I’m not sure how well some of their recommendations are being pursued. For example. One of them is to establish an Ombudsperson office with staff to investigate all complaints about policing in Alberta in an independent, transparent and timely manner. This body will have punitive powers and ensure compliance with recommended actions.
I did a Google search for the office. If I found the right information, it says the Ombudsman cannot investigate:
- Decisions made by the Federal government
- Members of the Legislative Assembly
- Federal or municipal police forces
- Decisions made by universities or schools
- Decisions made by the courts
- Private businesses or private matters
Does this mean the advisory council recommendations are an exercise in futility? Is this a good question? Or does it mean something has been accomplished, but we don’t know about it? I’d like to find out.
The Mayor of Edmonton, Amarjeet Sohi, called for a strategy to address racism in Edmonton moments after being sworn in as the city’s first South Asian mayor. I’d like to know what has been accomplished. It is hard to find a recent hate crime story in the news. Just what are they doing to address this issue?
If the Ombudsman can’t investigate the police, who is?
One story that really bothers me is the one about an “Indigenous teenager in Edmonton, Alberta, who has spent nearly a year without a chunk of his skull after a local police officer allegedly kicked him in the head “football-style.” The lad was handcuffed, lying on the ground, and wasn’t offering any resistance when Const. Ben Todd attacked him. Apparently, Todd wasn’t even suspended for the incident.
What’s happening with this?
Minorities all over North America are scared of the police. In the United States, it’s even worse.
Watch Dababy – Rockstar (ft. Roddy Ricch) [BET Awards Performance]
A group I belong to is challenging members to set up their “Citizening” and take an active role in making Alberta into the province it needs to be… for everyone.
I would like to take an active role in helping to reduce racism, discrimination, and work towards assisting with other social issues. But, I can’t do it myself.
If you would like to join me, I’ve set up a Google Group, where discussions on how to move forward on this issue, can be addressed, and develop action plans for various levels of engagement. If we can put together a good-sized group, perhaps we can help draw more attention to racism in Alberta, and encourage local officials to stay on track.
There’s a homepage for the group, that gives a basic overview of how it can work, with a preview of the group, so you can see how it’s setup. You can join it here.
It’s easy to ignore one voice. One-hundred or more voices isn’t so easy to dismiss. Maybe, just maybe, we can get something done.