Item - 2020.EC17.3

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council receive the report (October 28, 2020) from the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, for information.

The Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, gave a presentation on Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism Year 2 Update.

On December 5, 2017, City Council unanimously adopted the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism which outlined 80 actions and 22 recommendations for the City to implement over five years to address anti-Black racism in Toronto.

Anti-Black racism is a historic, pervasive, and systemic issue in Toronto. Anti-Black racism includes policies and practices embedded in Canadian institutions that reflect and reinforce beliefs, attitudes, prejudice, stereotyping and/or discrimination that is directed at people of African descent and is rooted in their unique history and experience of enslavement and colonization here in Canada.

The legacy and pervasiveness lies in the current social, economic, and political marginalization of Torontonians of African descent. This is evident in Toronto's increasing levels of geographical racial segregation and the intensifying poverty, food insecurity, unemployment and poor health in neighbourhoods with high Black populations. It is further evidenced in the persistence of disproportionately high rates of racial profiling and police use of force against Black Torontonians. Toronto's growing levels of income inequality and other forms of intersecting precariousness and marginalization make neighbourhoods with high populations of Black residents more susceptible to societal disruptions like COVID-19. 

The 2018 establishment of the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit in the Social Development, Finance and Administration Division, and the over $17 million investment in Black communities since the Unit's inception demonstrate the importance of a continued and dramatic scale up in investment and policy transformation aimed at improving the life outcomes of Black communities. The City's increased investment in Black communities built the foundation that enabled a strong multifaceted and coordinated response to COVID-19 given its disproportionate impact on Black communities. The established levels of collaboration between City staff created through the Action Plan's cross divisional approach and training mandate heightened staff's ability to prioritize an anti-Black racism analysis in their respective areas of focus. Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for a continued scale up in the City's support, prioritization, and investments in the Action Plan's key intervention areas: staff learning, collaborative service planning, policy development, community investment, staff recruitment and advancement, race-based data, public education, youth mentorship and employment, and Intergovernmental advocacy. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the equal importance of investing in staff resources that can actively and effectively respond to the increasing, complex demands.

The Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism is the result of a collaborative effort between multiple divisions and agencies of the City of Toronto and Torontonians of African descent to take corrective action that addresses anti-Black racism in the most diverse city in the world. In the past two years of implementation, this plan has been seen and used as a model to address anti-Black racism across Canada. 

The Action Plan makes intentional contributions to advancement of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-2024 goals of Justice, Recognition, and Development for people of African Descent across the world. Year Two coincided with the midway point of the International Decade for People of African Descent. As such, the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit focused much of its efforts on supporting the vision to create legacy projects/initiatives in honour of the Decade.

In Year One, 28 percent of the 80 actions in the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism were implemented. After completing Year Two, 50 percent of the Actions in the Plan were implemented, despite the significant disruptions of COVID-19.

This report is recommended to be received for information. It includes:

- A progress update on key priority areas in Year Two (May 2019 to August 2020) of the Action Plan led by the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit with further details provided in Appendix A. Key learnings, challenges, and opportunities identified in the efforts to address anti-Black racism in Year Two are also highlighted.

- Progress on the Partnership and Accountability Circle, composed of 12 Toronto residents, including their report on the Year Two work plan (attached in Appendix B).

- The Year Three Work Plan Priorities to be implemented from January 2021 to December 2021, with further details outlined in Appendix C.