Photo courtesy of the Maclean’s Magazine
It’s clear that COVID-19 and racism are a dangerous combination. We need better information about how Indigenous, Black and other racialized people interact with Canadian health-care systems.
Faculty of Education Professor Carl James has combed through disaggregated racial information from the Toronto District School Board. He’s consistently found important differences among students categorized as “Black.” For example, newcomer students from the Caribbean or Africa tend to fare better than those born here. James has theorized that it’s because Black Canadian citizens have endured racism at school their entire lives.
Another overly broad category that he’s pulled apart is “Asian,” noting that Filipino students struggle more than those with roots in other countries. That’s another community that needs particular attention now: to list just one reason, most of the workers at Cargill’s Alberta meat plant, which had a terrible COVID-19 outbreak in April, are Filipino. If the goal of data collection is targeted action, the target needs to be clear.