Tangled Lines: Unraveling the Racism and Discrimination Divides in Sault Ste. Marie
Tangled Lines: Unraveling the Racism and Discrimination Divides in Sault Ste. Marie
March 2023 | Rachel Rizzuto
Creating welcoming communities requires the participation of all community members. As such, Northern Policy Institute and Environics Research asked the question, what are the current racism and discrimination realities in Northern Ontario communities that might impact welcoming efforts?
Online and telephone surveys were conducted in February 2022 as part of a broader initiative to collect comparable, consistent data across the regions of Northern Ontario. The results of the Anti-Racism and Discrimination Survey indicated that most respondents felt Sault Ste. Marie is welcoming and people of different backgrounds generally get along. While this is certainly a positive sign for the community, there were a few concerns respondents brought up. Specifically, concerns were raised around the experiences and discrimination towards Indigenous peoples.
For example, just over half of respondents felt that discrimination against visible minorities was no longer a problem. For Indigenous peoples, responses were split down the middle: 48 per cent of respondents agreed and 48 per cent of respondents disagreed with the statement. Finally, most respondents felt that individual prejudice against visible minorities and Indigenous peoples was a bigger issue than discrimination built into laws and institutions. To learn more about the survey findings and recommendations, read the report here:
Continue reading → Press Release
This paper is a part of a survey series undertaken in February 2022 through the Measurement Month initiative. This program is an annual effort to leverage our individual resources to collect consistent, comparable data to inform decision-making at the local, regional, provincial, and national levels
Related Research:
Connecting the Dots: Lessons from the International & Community Matchmaker Northwest Pilot