Ottawa Board of Health reveals anti-racism plan

Racism and discrimination make people less healthy, Ottawa's Board of Health unanimously declared Monday, as it committed to stronger partnerships and better mental health support to try to fix it.

People who experienceracism, discrimination and stigma have poorer health, includinghigher chances of death,and the board said that makesit an important public health concern.

It notes the particular harm racism causesto the health of people from African, Caribbean and Black communitiesacross several sectors including health, education, justice and law enforcement.

The vote comes amid a growing public conversation about racism in society as people around the worldprotest police brutality and systemic discrimination.

"This is a difficult, emotional and vitally important discussion," said board chair Coun. Keith Egli, who presented the motion. "We wanted the motion to not only say something, but to do something."

To address this, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) wants to strengthen its relationshipwith African, Caribbean and Black communities through partnerships aimed at improving metal health.

OPH will also work withCoun. Rawlson King,recently appointed as the city's liaison for anti-racism and ethnocultural relations.

An OPH research studyon how racism affectsBlack people in Ottawa is due at the end of the month.

New OPH training

Monday's motion calls foranti-racism training for OPHstaff, board membersand volunteersto help them better understand how racism affects health.

"We want to be more aware of how our programs and services can be safer for people who experience racism," said Dr. Vera Etches,Ottawa's medical officer of health.

"We wanted to extend the ability to grow that insight right across the whole organization."

Etches,who has spoken about racism's effects on health in recent weeks, said some staff have already received such training and said it was helpful.

The motion also calls for an "evidence-based campaign" to raise awareness of the impactof racism and discrimination during theCOVID-19 pandemic and tell people what they can do about it.

Ottawa is one of the communities collecting race-based data on COVID-19.

Different Indigenous approach

The motion also calls forapartnership to help improve the health of Indigenous people in Ottawa.

"We need to go beyond counting and just numbers," said Etches.

"We need to build in learning through qualitative methods hearing the stories and peoples' experience to provide context, because there are many different reasons why numbers do not always tell the whole story."

• Racism is a serious public health issue, says Etches
• City must tackle systemic racism at its roots, King says

Board member Elyse Banham supported the motion, but questioned why it did not includehiring diverse staff and public health leaders.

"This talks a lot about partnership, but partnerships are outside relationships,"Banham said.

"For things to change you really need leadership on the inside of the organizationand you need those views represented."

Etches said OPH was working withthe city to improve diversity in its hiring practices.