June 30, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 120 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S4027-S4028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              HUMAN RIGHTS

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, as we grapple with the manifestations of 
racism and intolerance in our society here in the United States, it is 
important to remember that we have friends and allies across the globe 
who face similar challenges. They support U.S. leadership and seek our 
engagement on issues of common concern.
  Throughout my career in Congress in both the House and Senate, I have 
been fortunate to participate in the Parliamentary Assembly of the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe--OSCE PA--a 
critical venue for international engagement. I have served as the OSCE 
PA Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance for 
the last 5 years, after serving as a committee officer and then a vice 
president of the assembly. It has been a rewarding experience

[[Page S4028]]

working with like-minded parliamentarians from Canada and across Europe 
to advocate for human rights and to promote democratic development.
  Of course, as we engage on these issues, we must be candid about our 
own shortcomings, which I did in a recent web dialogue with dozens of 
parliamentarians from across the OSCE region on the impact of the 
current pandemic on diverse societies. I noted how minority and 
immigrant communities are more vulnerable to the harmful impacts of the 
pandemic, in part due to past inequalities that inadequate healthcare 
and economic responses are exacerbating. I also raised the efforts to 
respond to the killing of George Floyd, including reforms designed to 
rebuild trust between police officers and the communities they are 
sworn to protect and serve.
  Following this web event, Dr. Hedy Fry, the head of the Canadian 
Delegation to the OSCE PA, contacted me. She shared with me an opinion 
editorial she wrote which describes, in equally candid terms, how the 
events in the United States have made Canadians more aware of 
inequalities and injustices in their own country and the need for 
Canada to respond appropriately. Her remarks illustrate that the U.S. 
can exercise global leadership by serving as an example of self-
examination followed by corrective action. If we do it, we can 
encourage other countries to do the same.
  I want to thank our friends in the Canadian Parliament for their 
collaboration in the OSCE PA and support for U.S. initiatives. I am 
grateful that we have worked so closely together over the years toward 
the common goal of making this world a better place, and I look forward 
to our continued collaboration. I would like to share Dr. Fry's remarks 
with my Senate colleagues; therefore, I ask unanimous consent to have 
her op-ed printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


                                             House of Commons,

                                            Canada, June 25, 2020.
       The terrible acts of violence against Black persons in the 
     United States has brought racism, to the forefront, in 
     Canada. But, racism has also been systemic, though insidious 
     here, for generations. Not as openly violent, as in the US, 
     but present nonetheless, in our institutions, workplaces, 
     schools and society.
       Over the last 30 years, Canada enacted progressive 
     legislation to protect minorities: the Charter of Rights and 
     Freedoms, Employment Equity, the Citizenship Act, the 
     Canadian Human Rights Act, the Multiculturalism Act, and 
     anti-hate laws.
       Yet data shows that Indigenous peoples still have the 
     highest suicide rate, poorest health outcomes, and most 
     incarcerations; that visible minorities, despite education, 
     are under employed and under-paid; that Black men are carded 
     and suspected of criminality.
       Racism is rooted in colonialism. Colonialism sought to tame 
     the savages, to bring them to Christianity, to de-culturalize 
     native populations ``for their own good''. It also 
     stereotyped them as inferior, less educable, more ``savage 
     and untamed'' in their reactions and therefore less 
     trustworthy and prone to criminality.
       Stereotyping is the root of xenophobia.
       Residential schools in Canada, apartheid in South Africa, 
     and slavery in the Americas were all based on the presumption 
     that Native peoples were one step above animals, barely. The 
     so-called ``science'' of eugenics, in the early 20th century, 
     confirmed this.
       The bubbling cauldron of anti-Black violence and xenophobia 
     has historically never been far from the surface in the USA 
     and is entrenched in all of its institutions.
       In Canada, the stereotyping and institutional bias is more 
     insidious and subtle. Though the violence against Black 
     communities is most apparent in some areas of Canada. The 
     violence against Indigenous peoples is evidenced across the 
     country and this age of ubiquitous cameras record and bring 
     them to light.
       Systemic racism is never far beneath the surface. COVID 19 
     exposed this. Crisis brings anger and fear. It cracks the 
     thin veneer of tolerance that seems to exist in quiet, polite 
     times. It seeks to blame ``the other''. Fear caused the 
     eruption of anti-Chinese hate in Canada and amplified the 
     reality of Black and Indigenous lives.
       We are all shaken and empathetic.
       But our denial and ignorance can no longer stand.
       We must listen and act. We need to collect disaggregated 
     data, based on ethnicity, Indigenous status, religion, race, 
     color, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, 
     age, and disability. We must match that data against 
     employment, incarceration, health outcomes, socioeconomic 
     status and participation in the social political, economic 
     and cultural life of our nation. This is called getting to 
     the factual evidence.
       We must use that evidence to educate the public and teach 
     unvarnished history, in our schools. It will then become 
     apparent that the Chinese and Japanese have been in British 
     Columbia for 160 years; that the Chinese built a railroad 
     that united our nation from sea to sea; that they, the Sikhs 
     and Indigenous peoples fought in WWI and II; that they 
     returned to face discrimination and hardship, but stayed and 
     built a nation.
       We must teach about the internment of Ukrainians, the 
     arrest of Italians, and the antisemitism that turned away 
     Jews from our shores during World War II. We must acknowledge 
     the ugliness of our past and learn from it.
       We must then take steps to train and sensitise our 
     institutions; we must make them welcoming to the diversity of 
     Canadians that live here. We must set policies, programs and 
     measurable goals to eradicate systemic discrimination. We 
     must track our progress and report to Canadians. We must, 
     finally, aim for an inclusive society that will respect and 
     harness the benefits which diversity brings.
       It is a long road. But if we begin now, it is a worthy goal 
     to show the world that it is possible to put aside conflict 
     and live together, as many different peoples, in peaceful 
     coexistence.
       In order to build a strong, peaceful prosperous nation, 
     everyone must belong--and everyone must build it together.
           Stay well,
                                The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., MP,
     Vancouver Centre.

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