Saint John’s mayor says he was ‘disappointed, but not surprised’ to learn council doesn’t have the authority to punish racist acts.
Don Darling tabled a motion that would have created legislation to punish racism following the Saint John Black Lives Matter movement’s rally at King’s Square this past June.
At last week’s meeting, a city solicitor told council he doesn’t believe they have the authority under the Local Governance Act to enact such legislation.
Despite the setback, Darling says he will continue to look for ways to fight racism in the city.
“What policies can we put in place? What culture change can we make? We can talk about diversity, but our organization, city hall, does not reflect the diversity of our community. Those are all things that are within our powers.”
The mayor listed adjusting hiring practices, implementing diversity policies, and cultural bias training as ways the city can begin to combat systemic racism.
Part of the issue, Darling believes is there are holes in the authority municipalities are granted through the LGA.
“Municipalities are left often with gaps in their ability to manage sometimes very simple issues, and other times very complex issues.”
The mayor says he also plans to continue lobbying the province to create the legislation he put before council this summer.
Darling’s motion was influenced by Dr. Timothy Christie who spoke at last June’s Black Lives Matter rally.
He says meetings with Christie and Saint John Black Lives Matter Movement founder Matthew Martin helped open his eyes to what life is like for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour in the province.
“Call it white privilege, call it whatever you want, (I didn’t realize) how ingrained systemic racism was.”
The mayor also wants to remind residents the fight against racism isn’t about any individual person.
“It’s never going to be about a single person. It’s going to be about a community standing together arm in arm,” Darling said. “Yes, it’s policy setters, but it’s also about the community overall.”
Darling says it’s important that his colleagues not be satisfied by passing his original anti-racism motion earlier this summer.
“We need to continue to work with leaders within the community to explore opportunities to make a difference,” the mayor said.
“It’s not going to change overnight, but it can change over time.”
