Systemic racism commission not a replacement for Indigenous inquiry, commissioner says

New Brunswick's systemic racism commissioner, Manju Varma, says her work is not a replacement for the inquiry Indigenous people want into the justice system, but it's still a valid way to address and make recommendations about  systemic racism in the province.

On Wednesday, six Wolastoqey chiefs said they would not participate in the commission because it's an "ill-equipped and ineffective alternative" to an inquiry into systemic racism in the justice system.

They've been calling for such an inquiry since the deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi at the hands of police in June 2020. 

Premier Blaine Higgs said no and instead appointed Varma to review systemic racism facing all people subjected to it, including Black people and immigrants as well as Indigenous people.

She is to make recommendations by September 2022 that address barriers to opportunity, equitable access to programs and services, and systemic racism in health care, education, social development, housing, employment and criminal justice.

The chiefs said having a catch-all commission for all people of colour is a form of systemic racism.

"Dr. Varma and her team are being set up to fail from the outset by a disingenuous, disrespectful provincial government and we have no faith that the government will take the commission's findings seriously," the chiefs said in a news release.

Varma, the head of the inclusion, equity and anti-racism office of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, said that when she saw the job posting, she felt "jaded" and did not consider applying. 

She thought, "Here we go again ... another government attempt to do something, and then the report's going to go on the shelf," she said in an interview Thursday.

"I fully was not planning on participating, let alone applying for the job."

But after speaking to colleagues, she realized the commission would be a way to formally reflect the experience of marginalized communities that have not been put on record yet. If her recommendations are not followed, it would be a way to hold governments to account, she said.

"[My colleagues] said, 'If you don't participate, then you can't say anything about the recommendations … You are essentially saying, I don't want to have a voice in this.' And that really hit home."

When she took the job she, she immediately heard from different people and organizations who want to see everything from a curriculum overhaul to more access to job opportunities. 

"This is not an opportunity to be part of some useless exercise. This is an opportunity to maybe lead a very fruitful exercise."