Canada's Premiers Wrote A Statement On Racism But Couldn't Agree On Saying It Was Systemic

Over the past month, there have been more conversations about there being systemic racism in Canada. The Prime Minister has even talked about it in his daily briefings. However, a joint statement with the country's premiers on racism could not acknowledge the systemic part of it.

Canada's first ministers, including Justin Trudeau, released a statement on anti-racism on June 25.

In it, the leaders acknowledged that ongoing racism in all of its forms would not be tolerated in Canada.

"Acknowledging that there is a problem is only the first step; a society that is free of racism and discrimination requires an ongoing commitment," the statement reads, before adding that the federal, provincial, and territorial governments would commit to making real change.

A phrase that is not included anywhere in the statement, though, is "systemic racism."

The Prime Minister was asked about this during his June 26 address from Big Rig Brewery in Kanata.

"There was not consensus on using the phrase 'systemic discrimination' or 'systemic racism,'" he said.

"I have been crystal clear that the federal government recognizes it in order to better address it, but I think people have seen that it's still a strong statement that needs to be followed up by concrete actions."

Discussions about systemic racism have been raised across the country, as well as in Parliament.

They follow instances of police brutality against indigenous people such as Chief Allan Adam, who was tackled and beaten by RCMP officers in Fort McMurray.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was even ejected from the House of Commons for a day after calling a Bloc Quebecois MP a racist.

Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchette said that Singh should apologize, adding that the MP in question was "anything but a racist person."

Like the United States, Canada has also seen a number of ongoing protests against systemic racism, specifically in the country's police forces.