International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
February 18, 2010
Mrs. Forsyth: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. March 21 has been declared the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. As many members of this Assembly will know, Canada was one of the first countries to sign on to the United Nations declaration, which was established to commemorate a dark day in history. On March 21, 1960, 69 peaceful protesters, including 10 children, were horrifically gunned down as they protested in Sharpeville, South Africa. Since the Sharpeville massacre the world slowly came together to not only demand an end to apartheid but to root out racial discrimination and heal the divisions that exist in our society.
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, racism and discrimination rear their ugly face from time to time. We all know someone who has suffered at the hands of another, whether it is because of our gender, our race, our sexual orientation, our religion. I could go on and on. While our society is built upon the principles of tolerance for different ways of doing things, different approaches to solving issues, or different perspectives based on our human uniqueness, we cannot and should not tolerate racial discrimination. People have lived and died for the freedoms that we enjoy, people have lived and died to change the way society works, and people have lived and died to be treated with dignity and respect.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the day when racial discrimination is a thing of the past. As we near the international day to end racial discrimination, I encourage all Albertans to reflect on what they can do to help build stronger relationships with one another that are based on human dignity and respect.
Thank you.
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