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Today is Emancipation Day, marking the abolition of slavery in Canada and other British colonies on August 1, 1834.
It is an important moment to remember and honour those who fought and lost their lives for freedom and liberation. It is also time to confront the truth about Canada’s role in slavery and the lasting harm it has caused.
Earlier this year, Canada chose to abstain from a United Nations vote to recognize the trafficking of enslaved Africans as a crime against humanity.
That silence speaks volumes.
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Canada has responded by calling on the Government of Canada to issue a formal apology for Canada's role in the trafficking and enslavement of Africans.
Black workers continue to face workplace racism and discrimination, earn less than non-racialized workers, and experience inequities in education, housing, and health. They are also more likely to be over-policed.
These issues reflect a system that still has not fully reckoned with its past. Let’s change that together.
In solidarity,
- Marc-Édouard
Marc-Édouard Joubert
Executive Vice-President
Canadian Labour Congress
P.S. Read our full Emancipation Day statement and find more ways to take action here.
The CLC national office is located on the traditional and ancestral land of the Algonquin nation. This land is the unceded and never surrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe peoples. Visit native-land.ca to learn more about the Indigenous land(s) you are on, as well as Indigenous languages and ways of life, and visit CLC’s Indigenous Rights and Justice Resource Centre to take action on advancing Indigenous rights and justice in your workplace.
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