M-115 Black Canadians

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should formally apologize to Black Canadians for its role, intended or not, in chattel enslavement in Canada, address the generational disadvantageous effects of enslavement and its systemic racist legacy, commit to undertaking inputs for judicial, educational, fiscal and cultural equity, with Black Canadian collaboration, so that they can take part in “The Canadian Dream” equitably, and officially recognize pre-Abolition Act pioneering African Canadians as a distinct culture in Canada which would serve to:

(i) present African Canadians with a deserved apology for over 200 years of chattel enslavement in Canada,

(ii) address the Canadian government's role, intended, implicit or indifferent, taking responsibility for their role in chattel enslavement and its racist legacy,

(iii) acknowledge that chattel enslavement was initiated over 400 years ago to assemble a cheap, ready, usable work force who were dehumanized, dispersed globally and used as the low-cost machinery of the day,

(iv) acknowledge that African peoples were targeted to be used in this capacity, because of their abundance and skills, but most specifically because of the colour of their skin, which forestalled escaping and blending into neighboring communities,

(v) acknowledge that the linguistic skills of a free Black man, Mathieu DaCosta, opened North America for colonization by the French in 1605, in colonial Canada, the “Code Noir”, a 1743 ordinance decreed by King Louis XIV, stipulated that both Indigenous and Black slaves brought to the French colony would be considered the possession of those who purchased them, and that Great Britain continued to condone and practice chattel enslavement after defeating the French at the Plains of Abraham in 1759,

(vi) make clear that after the Slavery Abolition Act, 1834, the Dominion of Canada, created in 1867, continued systemic racism developed during slavery, perpetuating and practicing discriminatory beliefs in society, institutions, organizations and legislation effectively treating Blacks as marginalized inferiors,

(vii) reiterate that rightfully Black Canadians' social, political, cultural and economic contributions to the progress of this country deserve to be acknowledged, embraced, genuinely respected, dignified, appropriately redressed and celebrated in the same way that Indigenous peoples and Chinese, Italians, Japanese and Jewish people have received official apologies and compensation, even though Blacks' request for an apology and redress has been and continues to be sidelined and trivialized.