Mr. Speaker, Martin Luther King dreamt of the end of racial discrimination. Nelson Mandela suffered years of imprisonment for it and hundreds of thousands fought for it in this century. Through their struggles they sought a world free of racial discrimination in which equality and harmony prevail.
Today, March 21, marks the United Nation's internationally designated day for the elimination of racial discrimination. While most governments are attempting to address this challenging issue, we continue to witness too much racism, whether it be in the workplace, the school yard or even our neighbourhood.
When former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau introduced the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms it was a bold step in an effort to combat racism and to ensure for all Canadians their fundamental rights and freedoms.
The challenge to eliminate racism is a great one but governments must remain determined in their effort to achieve this. As we mark this day I ask that all Canadians rise to the challenge by combating racism whenever and wherever it is witnessed.
As one authority once said, in the end you can only teach the things that you are; if we practice racism then it is racism that we teach.