Timmins residents share painful stories on day to eliminate racism
On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the group called Timmins Together hosted a symposium.
The agenda included a speech by Councillor Kristin Murray and a discussion panel featuring local newcomers who shared some of their discriminatory experiences in the city.
Ifeoma Kasimanwuna, of the Timmins Local Immigration Partnership, said they took a fresh approach this year.
“How (better to) educate people than have them together with people with lived experience, share their experiences and talk about how racism and discrimination is showing up in the community so that those at the helm of affairs, at the upper levels in organizations, can really pay attention,” Kasimanwuna said.
The symposium began with a candid speech by Murray about some of her experiences living as a black and Indigenous child in Chapleau. She called on people to decolonize their language.
Murray said sayings such as 'grandfathered in,' 'peanut gallery' and 'no can do' have racist ties and should not be used.
"Just because we heard something growing up doesn't mean it's appropriate," she said.
The audience also heard from newcomers, including people from Asia, including the Philippines.
When Estella Chow moved to Timmins in 1993, she said employers didn't want to hire her.
“You know what it, it's bringing back the pain that I have for a long time, you know,” Chow said.
“You just feel it like, it slices your heart if you go back to that.”
But now she's a business owner and is proud of her successful children.
"We should accept the people of who they are, whatever country they coming (from),” she said.
“At the end of the day, we’re one.”
The symposium also addressed what newcomers say is a big issue here and throughout the country -- when employers ask for 'Canadian experience' on job applications.
“It’s a very good excuse not to hire a newcomer,” Kasimanwuna said.
“It’s also a good excuse to get a newcomer to start from the bottom and keep them at the bottom because you don’t have it the way we do it, forgetting that diversity is about bringing different things to the table.”
For those who want to learn more about eliminating discrimination in the workplace, the Timmins Economic Development Corporation invites people to read the 'Workplace Inclusion Charter' and sign the declaration to celebrate diversity in the community.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.