The City of Calgary is conducting an on-line survey as part of its Anti-Racism program, to gather “recommendations that address and remove systemic racism for indigenous, black and diverse racialized communities in Calgary,” says the city on its website..“The focus of this work is on people-based public safety; making sure that all who live, work, and visit Calgary can access and enjoy public spaces free of harassment and discrimination.”.But, if you’re white, you are not allowed to participate in the survey..From a Q&A section of the survey details on the website: .“Is this survey for only indigenous, black or racialized communities?”.“Yes. Since this is an anti-racism project to improve the experiences and safety for indigenous, black and racialized communities we are seeking your opinions and perspectives. Often these communities have very few opportunities to shape public policies and offer perspectives to city initiatives.”. “Unfortunately, not all Calgarians treat each other with respect, and hateful behaviour and speech continues to negatively impact the lives of many Calgarians, especially indigenous, black and diverse racialized Calgarians,” says the city..“There is a need to understand the root causes of hate, racism, and discrimination in city services and public spaces. We need to work together to identify ways to make public spaces hate free environments for all Calgarians who work and live in these spaces.”.And there’s this: “Racial profiling is when an individual is subjected to differential treatment or greater scrutiny ... in particular, we are looking to hear from people whose voices have been previously missed, and people who have not shared before.”.“This work needs community involvement.”.But not the white community..The city promoted the survey on Twitter, and users participated in an unsolicited survey of their own, expressing their opinions..Replying to @cityofcalgary.I.G.: “This survey is written to justify the "Safe and Inclusive Access" bylaw that empowers the Mayor and certain Councillors to label certain speech as 'hate'. The survey is a post-justification tool for this horrible $10,000/1 year in jail bylaw. Stop dividing people.”.OG: “You are creating hatred where there was none. You are causing divide by radical policies.”.Larry: “So no white people in your society! Hypocrites to the core.”.Janelle: “Are there no white people in Calgary? Or are they just not welcome?”.Fred: “You are so mired down in your identity politics bigotry that you can't even see the blatant flaws in your "anti-racism" strategies. Flaws that will lead to any program you implement backfiring spectacularly.”.Gulag: “So no white people exist in Calgary or you pretend they aren't there? Sounds racist.”.Artist: “The optics here are terrible. You're trying to build an anti-racism strategy by being racist. Inclusivity according to you isn't for everybody. Funny that.”.Stacey: “Racism exists to some degree everywhere. Canada is one of the most diverse & inclusive countries on planet earth. This suggests you are fishing for racism & keeping it alive on life support.”.Steven: “What happened to the white people? Are they in the re-education camps, being forced to watch drag shows 24/7 until they break?”.Heather: “Why don’t I see myself represented in your picture? Don’t any white people exist in your utopia?”.Lincoln: “Jyoti Gondek is the Lori Lightfoot of Canada.”.Warrior: “It's interesting that in the spirit of inclusivity, you chose not to include 80% of your city population into your picture. Not enough space for Indigenous, East Asian or Caucasian people on the art board?”.Chiara: “Been in Canada for 27 years and haven’t faced any racism. You can be victim or victor but cannot be both. Shame on you for spreading hatred and division.”.In response, on Wednesday night, the city deleted its tweets encouraging people to take their survey.
