'Time to go': Parliamentary Black caucus starts a new chapter as Greg Fergus leaves

Greg Fergus is stepping down from his dual roles as co-chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus and head of the Liberal Black Caucus groups whose advocacy has more than once turned into government policy.

Fergus departs both the PBC and the LBC after six years of representing Black MPs, senators and staffers on Parliament Hill. Fergus said he's makingroom for a new generation of Black parliamentarians.

"It was just time to go," FergustoldCBC News.

Fergus, a parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said he has a new role in government now one that involves working with experts and think tanks whichforecast trends tounderstand "where the puck is going" on issues like new technology, equalityand climate change. He said he'll present his findings to cabinet.

As Fergus departs, he leaves behind an entity whose work has moved the needle on government policy for Black Canadians but has alsobeen accused of being too status-quo.

How it began

In 2015, Fergus joined a wave of new Liberal MPsgoing to Ottawa for the first time.

"Well, the very next day, I was flooded with phone calls from Black Canadians across the country," Fergus said, adding that he wasn't considered "a star candidate."

He said he heard from people across the country telling him how "amazing" it felt to see a Black Canadian take a seat in the Commons.

Fergus said that experience was shared byother newly elected Black Liberal MPslike Ahmed Hussen andCelina Caesar-Chavannes, and by veterans Emmanuel Dubourg and Hedy Fry.

From there, the LBC formed to advocate for the needs of 1.2 million Canadians everyone from Black Nova Scotianswithroots in this country going back 400 years to West Africans recently arrived in Canada.

The Black caucuses welcomenon-Black parliamentarians and political staffers to join their meetings. Former Liberal staffer Allen Alexandre remembers a visit from U.S.President Barack Obama asa powerful moment.

"I think there was a sense of history weighing down on us," said Alexandre, who served in senior roles for several cabinet ministers and was a member of the LBC as a staffer.

Over time, a multipartisan and bicameral PBC was created to includeMPs and senators from multiple parties.

Black caucus finds its feet during scandal

The idea of a formal group of Black legislators is not new. The U.S. Congress has a similar body that started back in1971. It's committed to issues like criminal justice reform, fighting voter suppression and American foreign policy in Africa.

Its younger Canadian cousin lacks a social media presence, a website and stated public objectives. Canada's PBC also doesn't regularly report on the progress it has made in achieving its objectives.

The LBC, meanwhile, rallied support behind various causes getting the first Canadian banknote featuring a Black Canadian woman (Viola Desmond),getting theCanadian government to recognizethe United Nations Decade for Canadians of African Descent and praised Trudeaufor his statementsacknowledging anti-Black racism.

But Trudeauhimself had some explaining to doafter images of past appearances by him in blackface and brownfacemakeup came to light.Trudeauapologized for the photos, calledthem "embarrassing" and said he wasangry with himself for not recognizing the impacttheycould have.

Ferguswas criticized at the time forpublicly standing by Trudeau. "Fergus made himself an agent of colonialism," wrote Erica Ifill, aneconomist and one of Canada's few Black political columnists,"and allowed himself to be used as window-dressing, or the Black face of a scandal involving blackface."

Alexandre, a senior staffer to ministers, said he sawit differently. Although he and others were disappointed with Trudeau, he said,many still believed he genuinely cared about the problems Black Canadians face and saw the scandal as a moment for meaningful action.

"I do believe that had it not been for blackface, the acceleration that we saw in the pace of addressing issues would not have actually happened in such a short, short period," Alexandre said.

Immediately after the 2019 election, Trudeau appointed Bardish Chagger as minister of diversity and inclusion. Alexandre worked with Chagger.

In 2020, months after the blackface scandal, the Black Lives Matter protests exploded around North America. The murder of George Floyd distilled what racialized communities knew abouttheir experiences of violence at the hands of police. It also exposedsystemic racism in institutions including the federal government.

In response, the PBCissued morethan forty calls to action to the government, including diversifying the public service andpolice and justice system reform. Last year, a CBC analysis determined that the government had made progress on more than half of the calls to action.

Some mightsee this as a success, but it's one Fergus said doesn't belong to him alone.

"There's an old line: 'You can get anything done in Ottawa as long as you are not willing to take credit,'" Fergus said.

The next generation

At 27, Arielle Kayabaga made waves by becoming the first Black woman elected to London City Council. The bilingual millennial made the switch to federal politics after a late-night phone call fromFergus.

"He was like, 'Sister, I need to talk to you,"' Kayabaga said. "His words were so shocking to me that I was like, 'Let me call you back.'"

Kayabaga said Fergus urged her to run after the Liberal incumbent in London West stepped down and reminded her that such opportunitiesare rare.

"They say for women, you got to ask them seven times before they agree to run. Nobody is going to ask a Black woman to run seven times," Kayabaga said.

Now an MP in Ottawa, Kayabaga is following in Fergus' footsteps by taking over as chair of the LBC.

The PBC will elect its next House leader at its next meeting, which is not yet scheduled. Fergus leaves his post as the PBC's Commons chair; his counterpart, Rosemarie Moodie, remains the Senate co-chair while the caucus searches for a new House leader.

"There is nothing inherently sexy or powerful about [the job]," Alexandre said.

The role requires people whocan bear up under sometimes conflictingpressures, he said between party loyalty, government accountability and the high expectations held by the community.

But when those pressures are successfullymanaged,Alexandre said, caucuses like the LBC and PBC can exemplify how Parliamentought to work.

"It puts a little bit more power into the hands of caucuses, whether they are regional, whether they're issues-based, whether they're religious-based," Alexandre said. "I think the Black caucus really becomes a model that can be emulated."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.