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
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.