OTTAWA — Black elected officials from across Canada have formally launched a national organization representing politicians from all levels of government, saying the new body will provide a non-partisan forum to advance issues affecting black communities.The Canadian Congress of Black Politicians announced Friday that it has officially incorporated after operating informally for more than a decade.The organization brings together black elected officials from municipal, provincial and federal governments across party lines.“This is significant,” chair Colleen James, a regional councillor in Waterloo Region, told a news conference on Parliament Hill.“We are the only national organization that represents black elected officials across this country.”James said incorporating the organization creates a permanent governance structure intended to ensure accountability and continuity for future generations of elected officials.“We want to make sure that there is accountability, there is sustainability for the organization,” she said. “There is a support system and there is an organization that is there for them now and going forward.”.Liberal MP Michael Coteau, who helped establish the organization more than a decade ago alongside then-Nova Scotia MLA Tony Ince, said the group has grown from about a dozen members at its first gathering to roughly 60 or 70 participants this week.Coteau said the organization was created to build relationships among black politicians regardless of political affiliation.“This organization was established to build a network across the country so black politicians from all levels of government and from all political stripes could come together and work on issues that impact the community the most,” he said.The group's executive said delegates spent the past two days discussing a range of issues affecting black communities, including education, artificial intelligence, sickle cell disease and what Coteau described as the growing issue of missing black boys in Canada. James said maintaining a non-partisan approach will remain central to the organization's work.“We have representatives from all across the country, from all parties, all levels of government that are having conversations,” she said. “It has been an absolute honour to work with this executive to get us to this point.”
