Systemic Racism. Really?

Original Date: November 5, 2023; Updated: January 14, 2024 and August 24, 2024.

Author: Tim Platnich

In June, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that systemic racism “is an issue right across the country, in all our institutions ….”. Many other politicians, elites and interest groups have similarly claimed that Canada is systematically racist. Indeed, this claim has been elevated to being a 'fact'.

Racism is a form of discrimination. The online Cambridge Dictionary defines discrimination as “treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their race, gender, sexuality, etc.” Ordinarily, racism in Canada is considered to be where 'white' people treat black people and other people of colour in a worse way than they treat other white people.

Systemic racism is more than racism by one or more bigots. Unfortunately, bigots (including racists and misogynists) exist. But their existence does not a system make without more.

Oxford Languages (online) offers the following two definitions of 'system':

“1. a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network.”

“2. a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized framework or method.”

A few examples of systems include: legal systems, political systems, government institutions and education systems.

Systemic racism must involve some institution, organization or interconnected network. Justin Trudeau gave the RCMP as an example of a racist institution. One racist, or even a few, in an institution does not make the institution racist. There must be a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized framework or method. Under this definition, for the RCMP to be found to be a racist institution, evidence would be required to show that its principles, procedures, framework or methodology is racist.

Is there evidence that Canada's institutions, organizations and networks, including the RCMP, are systemically racist?

Discrimination on the basis of race was first legally prohibited, in certain contexts, since about the 1930s. See the Unemployment Relief Act of BC. From about the 1960s and 1970s, discrimination on the basis of race was legally prohibited both under Federal and Provincial legislation across the country. Race discrimination was generally prohibited but expressly prohibited in reference to the specific areas of housing, employment and receipt of government benefits, to name a few.

In 1982, the rights of all races to equal protection under the law was constitutionally entrenched in Canada (except Quebec) under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

By virtue of the Charter of Righs and Freedoms, and a myriad of federal and provincial legislation, in Canada, it is illegal for governments, institutions, organizations, entities and individuals to discriminate on the basis of race. In short, systemic racism, if it exists, is illegal. Sanctions for unlawful discrimination are wide ranging. Government legislation can be nullified. Entities and persons can be sanctioned by courts and human rights tribunals across the land. Sanctions can include fines, damage awards, reinstatement of injured parties, and so on. A person may simply make a complaint about racism to a human rights tribunal. If an initial investigation suggests discrimination has occurred, the tribunal has jurisdiction to seek informal resolution, failing which, a hearing will be held. If, at a hearing, discrimination is found, various remedies may result. This is all without financial cost to the complainant.

One area where systemic racism is alleged is in the area of employment. Again, such systemic racism would be illegal. But, does it exist nonetheless? What is the evidence?

One would expect that systemic racism in the area of employment would be evident in employment earnings. If discrepancies exist in employment earnings, these discrepancies would need to be shown as being caused by white discrimination against racialized minorities and by no other factors. If other factors explained unequal outcomes in earnings, the claim of systemic racism would be undermined. What does the data say?

I will refer to a report from Statistics Canada released January 26, 2022. This Report is referencing and analyzing 2016 Census Data. Please read the report if you think I am cherry-picking. The following is a direct quote from the conclusions of the Report.

"After taking sociodemographic characteristics into account, the weekly earnings of men in five categories—Japanese, Korean, Chinese, South Asian, Arab and West Asian—were not significantly different from those of White men. However, the weekly earnings of men in five other categories—Filipino, Southeast Asian, Latin American, Black, and Other visible minority groups—were significantly lower, with the largest differences observed among Black and Latin American men. When employment characteristics, specifically full- and part-time status and occupation, were taken into account, the weekly earnings of Black, Latin American and Filipino men were significantly lower than those of White men.

Among women, it was only among Black women that weekly earnings were significantly lower than White women, net of sociodemographic characteristics. Weekly earnings were significantly higher among Chinese, South Asian, Filipino and Southeast Asian women relative to their White counterparts, and not significantly different among women in five other categories. Overall, women in designated visible minority categories fared better relative to their White counterparts than did men."

Let's go a little deeper into the data. According to Table 2 of the Report, Chinese, Korean and Japanese men had higher average weekly earnings than white men. Also, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino and South Asian women had higher average weekly earnings than white women. No apparent systemic racism against racialized minorities here.

Latin American and Black men earned substantially less than white, Chinese, Korean and Japanese men. Is systemic racism singling out Latin American and Black men? Or could other factors be involved? The earnings of Latin American and Black women were also lower than earnings of white, Chinese, Korean and Japanese women, but by a much smaller margin. Is systemic racism harder on men than on women? It seems so, because Filipino and South Asian women earn more than white women while their male counterparts earn less than white men.

The Report looks at many factors that may influence earnings. One major factor is education. This is what the Report concludes regarding education:

"The prevalence of university degrees among individuals in most designated visible minority categories is notable. The shares of Chinese and Korean women and men with a university degree were about 35 to 40 percentage points higher than the shares of their White counterparts, while the shares of South Asian and Japanese people with a university degree were 20 to 25 percentage points higher than that of White people. In the decomposition analysis, educational attainment accounts for a substantial share of the explained portion of the gaps in earnings relative to White people. By contrast, smaller shares of Black and Latin American individuals had a university degree and hence educational attainment accounted for very little of the earnings gap between them. The factors contributing to lower rates of university completion among Black and Latin American individuals, and the returns to education realized by those with postsecondary credentials, are two possible lines of inquiry."

It seems that certain racialized groups are better educated than other groups, including whites. It is not clear from the Report where the university degrees were obtained. If they were obtained in Canada, this would suggest that universities in Canada do not discriminate against racialized groups in their admissions process. Indeed, there are many affirmative action programs in Canada that, if anything, discriminate in favour of racialized groups.

I am not suggesting there are no racists and bigots in Canada. Thomas Sowell, in Social Justice Fallacies, makes an interesting observation. He says:

“Racism is an attitude inside people’s heads, and may cost racists nothing. But discrimination is an overt act, out in the real world, that can cost the discriminator either little or much, depending on economic circumstances. In a free competitive market, with prices determined by supply and demand, discrimination can have serious costs to the discriminator.”

His point is that racist attitudes may not translate into racial discrimination as there may be economic consequences to converting racist attitudes into actual discrimination. In addition to economic consequences, in Canada, there may also be legal consequences that factor against both individual and systemic discrimination.