LETTER: NPI survey about racism in Sault has many gaps

SooToday received the following letter to the editor from Jeff Arbus regarding the Northern Policy Institute survey about what people think about racism and discrimination in Sault Ste. Marie.

Recently SooToday published a survey report from the Northern Policy Institute (NPI). The report focused on how people felt about racism and discrimination.

Five northern communities were surveyed, including the Sault. The report concluded that people in the Sault generally feel welcomed and that racism and discrimination are not major concerns. The report noted higher levels of concern among Indigenous respondents. The report finished with some suggestions for future improvement. 

In a follow-up story, SooToday published comments from Jane Omollo, Algoma University's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion manager. Ms. Omollo's comments accurately framed the limitations of the survey. The survey results create the impression that, generally, all is good in the Sault when it comes to racism and discrimination.

As Ms. Omollo put it, in fact, there is much more work to do.

In light of Ms. Omollo's comments, Sault citizens and city council should use much caution when assessing the NPI survey.

The survey was very limited in scope. NPI noted that phone calls were made to Sault residents (they discarded the low number of email responses). They had about 250 responses in a city of over 70,000. This is not a conclusive sample. There is no indication that the leaders of marginalized or targeted groups were contacted.

The NPI survey did not address systemic discrimination, which, as Ms. Omollo pointed out, is prevalent and insidious.

The survey did not address intersectionality and the interconnected nature of social categories, such as race, class, and gender, which creates overlaps of discrimination. The survey did not seem to address the economic status of respondents (people with economic privilege may not notice systemic discrimination as directly as, say, those seeking employment, working at minimum wage jobs, or in unsafe working conditions).

Of great concern is that the survey did not address non-visible minorities.

Rather, the report says that the focus was on visible minorities and Indigenous persons. Certainly, it is crucial that discrimination toward visible minorities and Indigenous persons be robustly addressed. But leaving out non-visible minorities omits from the study a significant part of the population who experience discrimination on a regular basis. 

The survey was meant to address a very important topic which affects our social structures and community as a whole. The limitations of the survey produced a skewed result that could lull readers into thinking that all is good in the Sault when it comes to racism and discrimination.

While it is my experience that there is a great deal to be enjoyed by living in the Sault when compared with many other communities, one must not be naive when attention is turned to combatting racism and discrimination.

City leaders have shown a willingness to address racism and discrimination, obviously recognizing that it is real. City councillors and staff have taken training which advances their knowledge of various types of racism.

Recently, Mayor Shoemaker, CAO White, and Police Chief Stevenson engaged in antisemitism training. These are important steps for city leaders and a start toward more definitive action.

In the past few weeks, the Sault city council turned attention directly toward addressing racism and discrimination. A resolution put forward by Coun. Angela Caputo and supported unanimously by the council instructed city staff to produce a report on the feasibility of establishing an anti-hate advisory committee.

This is a very positive step and should be welcomed by all. I hope that City Councillors are not distracted by the claims of the NPI survey and recognize that establishing such an advisory committee will be a progressive move for the city. 

Racism and discrimination are on the rise in Ontario, Canada, and globally. We see evidence every day of incidents, including increasing numbers of violent incidents, in communities far and wide. We have experience with this in the Sault. We do not need to wait for more incidents to occur before we act. We all need to do our part to ensure that hate has no place here.

Jeff Arbus