A petition calling on the federal government to formally apologize for the transatlantic slave trade has been filed as the opening petition of the 45th Parliament. New Democrat MP Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni, BC) sponsored the petition without providing additional commentary, reports Blacklock’s Reporter.
Petition E-6484 states that “Black Canadians have endured centuries of systemic racism beginning with transatlantic slavery followed by legalized segregation and ongoing institutional discrimination in policing, education, employment, housing, healthcare, and the justice system.” The document notes that “the Government of Canada has yet to formally apologize.”
