The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF; , ''FCRR'') is a

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

and Crown corporation responsible to foster racial harmony and cross-cultural understanding and help to eliminate

racism in Canada Racism in Canada traces both historical and contemporary racist community attitudes, as well as governmental negligence and political non-compliance with United Nations human rights standards and incidents in Canada. Contemporary Canada is ...

.Canadian Race Relations Foundation. 2010 March.
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
" ''Cision''. The foundation was officially opened in November 1997 as part of the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement. The Foundation is led by a board of directors appointed by the federal government as selected by the

Governor in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of a ...

by recommendations from the

Minister of Canadian Heritage The minister of Canadian heritage (french: ministre du patrimoine canadien) is the minister of the Crown who heads Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for culture, media, sports, and the arts. History The ...

, currently Steven Guilbeault. (Previously, such advice came from the Minister for Multiculturalism, last held by

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...

.) As an arms-length organization, the CRRF has Special NGO

Consultative Status The consultative status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations ( NGOs) in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and So ...

with the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

History

In 1988, an agreement was reached between the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

and the

National Association of Japanese Canadians National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(NAJC), called the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement, which acknowledged that the treatment of

Japanese Canadians are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them living ...

during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

was unjust and violated principles of

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

. The federal government apologized on behalf of Canadians for such actions and provided compensation to those Japanese-Canadian families who were wronged. The NAJC also negotiated:

CA$ The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style g ...

21,000 for each individual Japanese Canadian who had either been removed from the British Columbia coast in 1942 or was alive in Canada prior to 1 April 1949 and remained alive at the time of the signing of the agreement; a $12 million contribution to aid Japanese Canadians in rebuilding destroyed communities; and a $24-million

endowment fund A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are of ...

to establish what would become the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. The ''Canadian Race Relations Foundation Act'' (Bill C-63) received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 1 February 1991 and proclaimed by the Government on 28 October 1996. The Foundation was officially opened in November 1997.

Current activities

* CRRF Roundtables: The CRRF holds a series of roundtables across Canada, engaging people with discussions on

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in the ...

and

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

in Canada. These events are open to the public. * We Are Canada: A photo project that focus on stories of community leaders associated with

visible minorities A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connect ...

and out-of-Québec

francophones French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the la ...

. Thirty-one people were interviewed. * Community Mobilization Fund: A fund program by the CRRF that provides

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places * Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, ...

from $5,000 to $20,000 for

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

projects across Canada. The grant's largest sponsor is

Sun Life Sun Life Financial Inc. is a Canadian financial services company. It is primarily known as a life insurance company. Sun Life has a presence in investment management with over CAD$1.3 trillion in assets under management operating in a number ...

, who contributed $60,000. In 2020, following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

and the subsequent demonstrations, the CRRF received $300,000 in donations from various sources. * Awards: ** The Awards of Excellence are held biennially to highlight the '

best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...

s' achievements of organizations. ** Established in 2003, the CRRF Award for Lifetime Achievement purposes to "acknowledge and honour individuals who promote the principles outlined in the ''Canadian Race Relations Foundation Act''." ** The Community Champion Special Award recognizes "exemplary Canadians who have made an outstanding contribution to their community." * Mobilizing municipalities: In 2010, the CRRF partnered with the

Ontario Human Rights Commission The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through ...

(OHRC) to hold forums that were to focus on "Mobilizing Municipalities to Address Racism and Discrimination." * EDIT project: With the collaboration of Images Interculturelles and the CRRF, the Conseil des relations interculturelles of Quebec developed the EDIT project. The EDIT project is an audit tool for organizations who desire to foster, stimulate, and increase their growth. The project uses a Human Resources participation point system for organizations to measure at various levels their business model, their

ethnocultural An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of people who are unified by a common religious and ethnic background. Furthermore, the term ethno-religious group, along with ethno-regional and ethno-linguistic groups, is a s ...

diversity management and equity capacity practices.

Canada Lecture

In 2010, the CRRF introduced Canada Lecture, an annual event inviting "accomplished Canadians to raise awareness and understanding of critical issues related to racism and racial discrimination and creating

social harmony The Harmonious Society (; also known as Socialist Harmonious Society) is a socioeconomic concept in China that is recognized as a response to the increasing alleged social injustice and inequality emerging in mainland Chinese society as a result ...

in our society." Previous lectures have included: * 2019: "Doing Immigration Differently" — delivered by Tareq Hadhad (founder,

Peace by Chocolate Peace by Chocolate is a Syrian-Canadian chocolatier company, based in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Prior to being forced to flee from Syria during the country's civil war in 2012, the company's CEO and Founder Tareq Hadhad’s father, E ...

) * 2018: "Contemporary Issues in Freedom of Expression" — delivered by Justice Russell Juriansz (

Ontario Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Socie ...

) * 2017: "Innovative Ideas - Solutions for Racism: Empathy" — delivered by panelists:

Reuven Bulka Reuven Pinchas Bulka (; June 6, 1944 – June 27, 2021) was a Canadian rabbi, writer, broadcaster, and activist. He was the spiritual leader of Congregation Machzikei Hadas in Ottawa from 1967, first as Rabbi and then as Rabbi Emeritus, and s ...

(founder, president, & CEO, Kind Canada Genereux), Nation Cheung (director, youth initiatives,

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

), and Marie Wilson (commissioner,

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

); moderated by Nouman Ashraf (assistant professor,

Rotman School of Management The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management (commonly known as the Rotman School of Management, the Rotman School or just Rotman) is the University of Toronto's graduate business school, located in Downtown Toronto. The University of Toronto has b ...

) * 2016: "On Campus - Diversity and Unity" — presentations by academics:

Robert Daum Robert A. Daum is the founding Director of Iona Pacific Inter-religious Centre and Associate Professor of Rabbinic Literature and Jewish Thought at Vancouver School of Theology. Daum earned a PhD in Near Eastern Studies at the University of Calif ...

(

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

), Elke Winter (

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

), Mathieu Wade and Eric Forgues (

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian francophone university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on highe ...

), and Sinziana Chira (

Mount Saint Vincent University Mount Saint Vincent University, often referred to as the Mount, is a public, primarily undergraduate, university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was established in 1873. Mount Saint Vincent offers undergraduate programs in Arts, S ...

)

Public service announcements

The CRRF is involved in the development of three 30-second

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

(PSA) television spots in 8 languages that have been broadcast on OMNI-TV since 25 February 2010, with production wholly funded by Rogers OMNI Television. The theme of these PSAs is to "see people for who they really are: Unite Against Racism Campaign." The eight languages used for the PSA includes

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

, and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

messages available to multilingual audiences is an important step towards building an inclusive and accepting Canadian society." She adds that, "OMNI is privileged to contribute, participate and make a difference in these aspirations." The PSAs are used in the largest multimedia anti-racism campaign in Canada.

Research projects

The CRRF undertakes research, collects data, and develops a national information base to further an understanding of the nature of racism and racial discrimination in Canada. As such, the Foundation has established a niche for research projects that are not traditionally funded by the federal government. The Foundation does not provide core funding to any organization but will support specific outreach/education initiatives. It has a program that provides funding of up to $7,500 for "Initiatives Against Racism" to support projects aimed at a broad public audience. Funding support for anti-racism initiatives is provided through the CRRF's "Research and Initiatives Against Racism" programs. The CRRF is also consulted by officers from the Multiculturalism program at the Department of

Heritage Canada The National Trust for Canada (french: La Fiducie nationale du Canada; formerly known as the Heritage Canada Foundation) is a national registered charity in Canada with the mandate to inspire and lead action to save historic places, and promot ...

as a key community resource in the national effort to address racism. The CRRF also publishes a journal, titled ''Directions'', which publishes one research article per issue, providing "community-based, action-oriented research, commentary, and perspectives on eliminating racism and discrimination."

Organization

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation operates at

arm's length The arm's length principle (ALP) is the condition or the fact that the parties of a transaction are independent and on an equal footing. Such a transaction is known as an "arm's-length transaction". It is used specifically in contract law to ar ...

from the government and is registered as a

. It is led by a board of directors and constitutes various staff members as well as volunteers. The foundation was partly founded by the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC), who negotiated a contribution of $12 million on behalf of its community. The

matched that contribution to create a $24 million

that would establish the CRRF.

Employees/volunteers

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation is administered by a board of directors consisting of a chair and up to eleven other directors appointed by the federal government. The selection process is coordinated by the Prime Minister's Office, based on recommendations by the

. As the CRRF operates at arms length from the government, its employees are not part of the

Federal Public Service The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...

. The CRRF hires staff from time-to-time, but has a small staff and therefore few hirings. The Foundation also takes student placements and volunteers on a case-by-case basis.

References

External links

*
National Film Board

Images Interculturelles (French)

Media Awareness
{{authority control Department of Canadian Heritage Federal departments and agencies of Canada Canadian federal Crown corporations Organizations based in Toronto 1997 establishments in Canada Anti-racism in Canada