Mr. Speaker, Canada's legal system is as white as an Ottawa blizzard. Racism infects Canada's legal system and it is not getting any healthier.
A Nova Scotia study says that the chances of a person of colour being hired by the firm where they articled are virtually nil. As well, white men are twice as likely as women to be hired by the firm at which they articled.
How are visible minorities reflected in the number of judges appointed by this federal government?
The Canadian Bar Association admits that this plague of racism in our legal profession infects the whole system, from law school admission tests to hiring practices to appointments. Each and every member of parliament has both the moral obligation and political duty to fight racism in their own lives and communities and in all federal operations.
Our bill of rights outlines freedoms “without discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour”. Canada's legal profession miserably fails the test of our bill of rights.