Toronto MP Michael Coteau was part of a delegation of eight MPs and senators that marked one of those firsts: a “historic” meeting in Washington between Canada’s Parliamentary Black Caucus and the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus.
, one of his top goals was to establish, for the first time, ties between Black Canadian politicians and their counterparts around the globe.
The group’s other co-chair, Independent Sen. Rosemary Moodie, said the long-anticipated trip finally offered a chance to “deepen the social and economic ties between our two countries.” On Thursday, they also met with the leaders of five legacy Black civil rights organizations on the grounds of Washington’s Howard University, a historically Black research institution. It was there that Canadian parliamentarians discussed the role Black politicians could play in strengthening civic engagement between the two nations — and took a moment to honour the third anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.
Moodie said that because of the Congressional Black Caucus’s storied history, the group has had more success than Black politicians in Canada in making headway on issues of systemic racism experienced in both countries. But she isolated police brutality as one issue the U.S. has failed to eradicate.There was one area of progress the Canadians were able to share with their U.S. counterparts during the visit: the depiction of Black civil rights activist Viola Desmond on Canada’s $10 banknote.
But NDP MP Matthew Green said there is much for the Canadian government to learn from the Congressional Black Caucus, particularly about improving the resources allocated to the Canadian group. The Parliamentary Black Caucus is not a formal parliamentary association, which means it does not receive similar levels of funding or support.
Green was stepping off an elevator Wednesday to meet U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar for a discussion on threats to democratic institutions when he encountered a man who initially appeared friendly.
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