Edmonton Social Planning Council

Author: Sandra Ngo

Blog: Special Series — Using Race-Based Data as a Form of Transparency and Accountability
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The last in our series of blog posts on anti-racism focuses on race-based data, sometimes disaggregated data. Race-based data is used as an indicator to assess and understand the extent of racism and discriminatory practice. This data can be used to advocate for changes in practice, policies, and to substantiate (or refute) narratives around racism. Used properly, race-based data can increase transparency and accountability within institutions and systems to track discrimination and inequity (Nerenz, 2005; Owusu-Bempah & Millar, 2010; Hasnain-Wynia, Weber, Yonek, Pumarino, & Mittler, 2012).

Currently in Canada, racial and ethnic data is collected across various settings using differing methodologies. Examples of collection include, but are not limited to, the Census of Canada, provincial health care systems, immigration, crime and justice, and less often, social services, education, and social inclusion. Even within each sector, the collection and use of racial and ethnic data changes over time. Ontario, for example, recently created “Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism” as an extension of the Anti-Racism Act of 2017. In Canada, there is a lack of population-wide, disaggregated, high-quality race-based data (that is, rigorously validated, collected regularly, and appropriately used).

In order to better understand why this is the case, it is necessary to examine the history behind the use and collection of racial and ethnic data in Canada. In 1994, the Canadian Journal of Law and Society released a special issue that captured arguments against collecting race-based data, specifically within the context of crime and policing. These arguments can be briefly summarized as follows:
- Routine race-based data collection would normalize racism by creating and perpetuating artificial categories. The idea of “race” was not perceived to be based on sound biological research, and so race-based data would entrench social constructs that were inherently flawed (Johnston, 1994). In addition, researchers of the time be feared that data may be abused to further justify racist attitudes or beliefs, especially by media or members of the public.
- Without concrete recommendations, race-based data would not lead to actionable change in programming or policy (Hatt, 1994; Roberts, 1994). On its own, race-based data could not inform what new programs or policies would be needed.
- The creation of race classifications is a balancing act: too many racial categories can be confusing for participants and challenging to analyze and make sense of; too few categories, and the data may no longer be useful in specific contexts, or lack explanatory power to be meaningful (Gabor, 1994; Hatt, 1994; Johnston, 1994). Further challenges included how exactly to define each category, especially groups which included a complex diaspora. Debates persisted around using the different uses of Country of Origin, Place of Birth, Ethnicity, or even vague terms such as “African,” “Asian,” or “Mixed.”
Without clear evidence that the collection of race-based data would not be abused, or even provide insight, the consensus among academics was that it would be unethical (Johnston, 1994), in addition to unfeasible, to collect systematic and rigorous race-based data.

In the 25 years that have since elapsed, some of these challenges are still in play (Bhopal, 2006; Wolf, 2006; Aspinall, 2009; Derose, Contreras, Coleman, Koebnick, & Jacobsen, 2013; Charmaraman, Woo, Quach, & Erkut, 2014). However, critical pivots have altered the modern discourse. As outlined by Owusu-Bempah and Millar (2010), Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) activists and organizations have started to demand the systematic collection of race-based data. Racism and discrimination have persisted, and not collecting race-based data did not benefit marginalized communities of colour. Political discourse has also changed, with scholars and policy-makers in Canada, the United States (Derose et al., 2013), and the United Kingdom (Song, 2018) beginning to regularly collect and use population-wide and rigorous race-based data sets (Aspinall, 2018).

Closer to home, Black Lives Matter Edmonton, the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, and the Stolen Sisters Awareness Movement requested racialized data from the Edmonton Police Services regarding the practice of street checks (Wakefield, 2017). Most recently, Students4Change advocated for collection of race-based data at Norquest College (Norquest College, 2020). The Edmonton Public School Board has also voted to begin collecting race-based data in their school district, the first one in Alberta to do so (Junker, 2020).

On the one hand, collecting race and ethnicity data allows for breakdowns according to different populations and communities. On the other hand, race-based data needs to be collected in a way that is meaningful to the communities that the data is about, reflects their interests, and is not based on a racialized “essentialism” that is rooted in stereotypes and white supremacy. In order to move forward, it is important that all attempts to collect race-based data are tied to:
- The creation of an overarching national framework and strategy to address racism in Canada that would guide data collection practices (Hasnain-Wynia et al., 2012). Currently data practices are fractured (Millar & Owusu-Bempah, 2011), poorly examined for rigor and quality (Aspinall, 2018), and lack high-level goals that inform how the data is collected and used. This framework would also safeguard against racial and ethnic data misuse. The Anti-Racism Data Standards from Ontario provide one such starting point.
- Engagement of BIPOC communities so that they are looked to as leaders who inform the use and ownership of racial and ethnic data (Hasnain-Wynia et al., 2012; Owusu-Bempah & Millar, 2010). One example are the First Nations principles of OCAP (ownership, control, access, and possession), as outlined by Schnarch (2004), that provide a political response to colonial approaches to data collection.
Sources:

Aspinall, P. J. (2009). The future of ethnicity classifications. Journal of Migration and Ethnic Studies, 35(9), 1417–145. doi 10.1080/13691830903125901

Aspinall, P. J. (2018). What kind of mixed race/ethnicity data is needed for the 2020/21 global population census round: the cases of the UK, USA, and Canada. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(11), 1990–2008. doi: 10.1080/01419870.2017.1346267

Bhopal, R. (2006). Responsible use from epidemiological and public health perspectives. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, 34(3), 500–507.

Charmaraman, L., Woo, M., Quach, A., & Erkut, S. (2014). How have researchers studied multiracial populations? A content and methodological review of 20 years of research. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20(3), 336–352. doi: 10.1037/a0035437

Derose, S. F., Contreras, R., Coleman, K. J., Koebnick, C., & Jacobsen, S. J. (2013). Race and ethnicity data quality and imputation using U.S. census data in an integrated health system: The kaiser permanente Southern California experience. Medical Care Research and Review, 70(3), 330–345. doi:10.1177/1077558712466293

Gabor, T. (1994). The suppression of crime statistics on race and ethnicity: The price of political correctness. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 36(2), 153–163.

Government of Ontario. (2020). Ontario’s anti-racism strategic plan. Retrieved from https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontarios-anti-racism-strategic-plan

Hasnain-Wynia, R., Weber, D. M., Yonek, J. C., Pumarino, J., & Mittler, J. N. (2012). Community-level interventions to collect race/ethnicity and language data to reduce disparities. The American Journal of Managed Care, 18(6 Suppl), s141-147

Hatt, K. (1994). Reservations about race and crime statistics. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 36(2), 164–165.

Johnston, J. P. (1994). Academic approaches to race-crime statistics do not justify their collection. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 36(2), 166–174.

Junker, A. (2020, September 23). Edmonton Public Schools becomes first jurisdiction in Alberta to commit to collecting race-based data. Edmonton Journal. Retrieved from https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmonton-public-schools-becomes-first-jurisdiction-in-alberta-to-commit-to-collecting-race-based-data

Nerenz, D. R. (2005). Health care organizations’ use of race/ethnicity data to address quality disparities. Health Affairs, 24(2), 409–416. DOI: 10.1377/hlthfaff.24.2.409

Norquest College. (2020). NorQuest College takes steps to sustain success of black students. Retrieved from https://www.norquest.ca/media-centre/news/2020/norquest-college-takes-steps-to-sustain-success-of-black-students.aspx

Owusu-Bempah, A., & Millar, P. (2010). Research note: Revisiting the collection of “justice statistics by race” in Canada. Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 25(1), 97–104. DOI: 10.1017/S0829320100010231

Roberts, J. V. (1994). Crime and race statistics: Toward a Canadian solution. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 36(2), 175–186.

Schnarch, B. (2004). Ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) or self-determination applied to research. Journal of Aboriginal Health 1(1), 80–95.

Song, M. (2018). Why we still need to talk about race. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(6), 1131–1145. DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2018.1410200

Wakefield, J. (2017, June 27). Black people, aboriginal women over-represented in “carding” stops. Edmonton Journal. https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/black-people-aboriginal-women-over-represented-in-carding-police-stops

Wolf, S. M. (2006). Debating the use of racial and ethnic categories in research. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics (34)3, 483–486. DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720X.2006.00059.x

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December 21, 2020
Blog: Special Series — Racism in Canada
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We at the Edmonton Social Planning Council are often humbled by how much we are constantly learning about racism, while grappling with our complicity in racist systems. Racism is a devastating social ailment. Its effects span across sectors, with implications in housing, employment, health care, justice, education, and community building. Systemic racism is a network of policies, attitudes, and collective histories that actively harms Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC). In this upcoming series of blog posts, we will be exploring a variety of topics related to racism in Canada. This includes the history of Indigenous and Black movements in Canada, systemic racism in education and justice, and the role of disaggregated, race-based data.

Racism—and all its insidious complexities—is rooted firmly into the society and structures in which we operate. As a society, we must eliminate systemic racism in all of its forms, whether it be explicit (e.g. the Indian Act, violations of the Alberta Human Rights Act, etc.), or implicit (e.g. the centering of “white” voices, colour-blindness, and exclusion of BIPOC individuals in decision making at organizational and governmental levels within community, work, and social services). The non-profit sector has long championed the rights of marginalized or disenfranchised populations. There are numerous excellent organizations and individuals doing important work to eradicate racism, but, despite this, racism persists.

Long have we known that racism contributes directly to economic harm here in Canada. Recent data has shown that racialized individuals are more than twice as likely to be in poverty compared to their non-racialized counterparts, and almost one in five Black Edmontonians are low-income, compared to less than one in ten non-Visible Minority.¹ Racialized workers are also more likely to be unemployed (9.2% vs 7.3% as of 2016). This is despite the fact that racialized workers are more active in the labour force, either working or trying to find work. Since 2006, this trend has only gotten worse.

Another way of highlighting the impacts of racism and employment is to break down the effects of income disparity between different racialized groups. Black and Indigenous communities are still the more likely to be in poverty compared to their non-Black or Indigenous counterparts.² People are treated differently based on their skin colour, including tenants who are rejected by their landlords, applicants who are turned away from prospective employers, and those looking for acceptance in community programs.^3-5 These glaring disparities result in unacceptable gaps in health outcomes, educational attainment, and mental health challenges among racialized groups. We must work diligently to close these gaps so that our communities thrive in an equitable and just manner.

It is a myth that racism never existed in Canada or has been eradicated. Racial prejudices are reinforced by systems of power that actively harm Black and Indigenous individuals, families, and communities. It is not enough to focus on equity, diversity, or inclusion. Rather, we must become active participants in an ongoing and active process of fighting against individual, institutional, and systemic racism. It is about identifying, challenging, and dismantling structures that promote racism, and supporting ones that promote racial equity. This suite of activities is sometimes called anti-racism, and represents a transformative approach to combatting racism. On an individual level, being anti-racist means being “willing to admit the times in which [we] are being racist, [and] willing to recognize the inequities and the racial problems of our society, [and] willing to challenge those racial inequities by challenging policy.”⁶

We therefore invite all readers to join us in vulnerability as we become better allies, together. If you want to join the conversation, send us an email (info@edmontonsocialplanning.ca), follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or sign up for our newsletter.

Sources:
1. Ngo, S. and Kolkman, J. (2019). A Profile of Poverty in Edmonton. Updated May 2019. Edmonton Social Planning Council. https://edmontonsocialplanning.ca/a-profile-of-poverty-in-edmonton-may-2019-update-2/
2. Block, S., Galabuzi, G., and Tranjan, R. (2019). Canada’s Colour Coded Income Inequality. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/canadas-colour-coded-income-inequality
3. Edmonton Community Foundation and Edmonton Social Planning Council. (2015). Vital Signs: Edmonton’s Urban Aboriginal Population. https://edmontonsocialplanning.ca/vital-signs-edmonton-2015-2/
4. Edmonton Community Foundation and Edmonton Social Planning Council. (2016). Vital Signs: Immigrants. https://edmontonsocialplanning.ca/vitalsigns-2016/
5. Edmonton Community Foundation and Edmonton Social Planning Council. (2019). Vital Topic: Indigenous Women in Alberta. https://edmontonsocialplanning.ca/vital-topic-indigenous-women-in-alberta/
6. Kendi, I. X. (2020). The difference between being “not racist” and antiracist. https://www.ted.com/talks/ibram_x_kendi_the_difference_between_being_not_racist_and_antiracist/transcript
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November 2, 2020
Blog: Social Determinants of Health

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Canada has long been considered one of the healthiest countries in the world. However, within Canada certain groups tend to be healthier than others. These health inequalities can be partially explained by the Social Determinants of Health (SDH). SDH are socio-economic factors that positively or negatively impact health. The Government of Canada lists 12 SDH, that include income, gender, race and racism, childhood experiences, and education. These factors are all interlinked and speak to a complex web of factors that impact our health and well-being as individuals and as a community.

The most important SDH is income as it acts as a proxy for many other SDH, and can take into account education, age, and experiences of discrimination or racism. Our health can be impacted directly the struggles associated with being in poverty. Those in low-income households are less likely to participate in physical activity, use green-spaces, or be able to afford healthy or adequate food. Because people in poverty often lack the means to participate in society, they are often socially isolated. The stress experienced from poverty can lead to impacts on our ability to make decisions, and even degrade family or neighborhood cohesion. It comes as no surprise then, that Canadians in the lowest income group are three to four times more likely than those in the highest income group to report poor mental health.

Knowing the dire impacts that poverty might have on health, it is important to examine who is more likely to be low-income. According to the latest data released from Statistics Canada, you are more likely to be low-income if you are younger, live in a lone-parent household, or are a single adult. Doing a deeper dive, women are on average at higher risk of being low-income compared to men.

Another key SDH is the role of race, racism, and culture. A 2013 Canadian study suggests that experiences of discrimination increase the risk of poor health and chronic disease, and that Black and Indigenous Canadians are far more likely to experience discrimination. According to the 2016 Census, those who identify as “Aboriginal” are 2.1 times more likely to be low-income compared to those who are not. In the past decade, Indigenous groups have experienced worse labour force participation outcomes than those who are not Indigenous. Similarly, visible minority groups are 1.8 times more likely to be low-income, although prevalence decreases as immigrants settle, have children, and find work. In Edmonton, unemployment rates for Black women and men are nearly two times higher than the rates for their (non-racialized?) counterparts in the rest of the population. The gap in median annual wages between Black women and women in the rest of the population is under $10,000, whereas the gap between Black men and men in the rest of the population is over $22,000.

Untangling the social determinants of health and addressing their root causes requires a drastic reordering of how we govern and treat one another. Steps to decolonize our health care system and increase awareness and training on how to be anti-racist are critical steps in moving towards eradicating health inequalities. Government transfer programs, such as a Universal Basic Income, may have potential in addressing poor health as it relates to income. A basic income would guarantee that everyone, regardless of their work status, could meet their basic needs and live in dignity. The Canadian federal government has recently identified basic income as one of its top policy priorities. Stay tuned for more details closer to home via the Basic Income Campaign for Alberta.
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October 19, 2020
Blog: Food Security in the time of COVID-19: Thinking Long-Term
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You may have heard a recent ad on the local radio: struggling Edmontonians need food assistance after layoffs and fewer work opportunities. As a result, Edmonton’s Food Bank is trying to meet those needs and is looking for donations of all kinds.

Any time you have a shock to income, food is one of the first things to be given up. COVID-19 is such a shock, and it is an enormous one.

How a system reacts to shocks tells us a lot about how resilient it is. In 2008, when the recession hit, food bank use spiked by 28%, and it took years to for food bank use to decrease to pre-recession levels. To give an idea of the extent of the looming crisis, currently 4.4 million Canadians experience food insecurity. The World Food Programme predicts that unless action is taken, the number of people globally who experience short-term food insecurity will double. A poll conducted in April this year suggested that 65% of Canadians believe that hunger will be a serious problem as a result of COVID-19.

Rather than simply try to return to the way things were before, Food Secure Canada recognizes that these shocks can be an opportunity to create long-term, systemic changes. They explore how to build an equitable and sustainable food system for the country in a recent report.

Some of their recommendations are foundational for improving food security and are not new. They include:
- A universal basic income to ensure vulnerable populations have access to the food they want, not just the food they need.
- Indigenous food sovereignty, whereby First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples across Canada and in various settings are given the right to self-determination and governance within their food systems
- A national school food program, so that schools are equipped with the resources to provide adequate nutrition to all students.
This report also provides us with an opportunity to look deeper into agricultural practice and food systems in Canada. How these systems are set up influence our access to food, what kinds of foods we have, and the types of jobs available.

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June 29, 2020
Alberta Child Poverty Report – Edmonton Journal Op-Ed

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https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-ending-child-poverty-in-alberta-is-our-moral-obligation

Alberta Child Poverty Report Edmonton Journal Op-Ed

By Joel French, Sandra Ngo, and Ajay Hartenfeld Pandhi

Every night, 160,000 children in Alberta suffer the all-encompassing effects of poverty. They are more vulnerable to issues affecting mental health, educational attainment, cognitive development, housing, relationships, employment, and food insecurity throughout their lives. In a province as wealthy as Alberta, it is an outrage for child poverty to persist.

The Alberta College of Social Workers, Edmonton Social Planning Council, and Public Interest Alberta have recently released a new report on the state of child and family poverty in Alberta, “Invest in Families: Ending Child Poverty is Good for All.” Currently, one in six children live in poverty. While some, small progress has been made, poverty rates among children in single-parent households has actually seen an increase.

Children who grow up in low-income situations are more likely to remain in low income status into adulthood. Children living with a single parent are five times more likely to live in low-income households. Immigrant and Indigenous children are especially vulnerable. Furthermore, children who experience trauma, such as family violence, encounter poorer outcomes across all the factors of health.

Child poverty is especially persistent among Indigenous children. Nationwide, 47 per cent of First Nations children live in poverty while the rate of poverty for non-Indigenous children sits at 12 per cent. Due to this disparity, Indigenous children have higher rates of contact with child intervention services in Alberta. Sixty-nine per cent of children in government care are Indigenous, which has been on the rise. Due to a long history of discrimination, Indigenous children are more likely to be affected by trauma and mental health issues, low high school completion rates, unemployment, and homelessness. Ending child poverty is essential for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples for generations of harm.

What can we do to end child poverty once and for all in Alberta? The research shows that strong investments into Alberta’s families, including child benefits, nutrition programs, affordable housing, and subsidized, quality child care, are key to ending the cycle of poverty that block children from living lives of dignity where they’re able to thrive. To aid in reconciliation efforts, culturally responsive solutions that provide Indigenous governing bodies with oversight for the education and welfare of children on reserves is a necessity.

Child care is one of the biggest household expenses, which can be up to two-thirds of a low-income family’s monthly income. Access to high-quality, universally accessible, and affordable child care is a proven method for lowering child poverty and is an especially profound intervention for single mothers, who are among the most affected by poverty. Studies show that children in universal, low-cost child care have better physical health, developmental, and psychological conditions by age six. The $25-a-day child care program is under threat by our provincial government’s sweeping and cruel cuts to social programs. This is precisely the wrong direction for Alberta to solve the crisis in child and family poverty.

Investing in affordable housing is a necessity to prevent and combat child poverty. While multiple levels of government have created housing strategies to address homelessness and poverty, uncertainty persists on the province’s commitment to their share of affordable housing initiatives after the UCP took power. With a 24 percent cut to the Rental Assistance Program, the risk of eviction to low-income families and children will increase as a result.

What is sorely missing in the discussion surrounding the provincial government’s relentless “path to balance” is that even maintaining the status quo levels of social assistance would not be enough; yet the government has chosen to cut indexing of these supports, making life even harder for those in poverty. And if we are serious about ending child poverty, it is abundantly clear that vital public services Albertans rely on need to be strengthened, not cut. Cuts to public services hurt the most vulnerable in our province.

Our tax system raises significantly less revenue than any other province. As a result of this shortfall, our services are stretched thin and progress in tackling child poverty will continue to be stymied until significant revenue reform occurs. Alberta also remains the only province in Canada without a poverty reduction strategy, meaning we are sorely behind in setting measurable goals and tracking progress in these efforts. Without a robust strategy backed up with action, young Albertans trapped in poverty will only fall further behind.

We have a moral obligation to end child poverty in our province, and the result would be a more healthy and compassionate society for all of us.

Joel French is Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta.

Sandra Ngo is Research Coordinator of the Edmonton Social Planning Council.

Ajay Hartenfeld Pandhi is President of the Alberta College of Social Workers.

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February 10, 2020