Opinion: Naming of Tamara Thermitus to human rights post is welcome – Montreal Gazette

Lawyer Tamara Thermitus has been named head of the Quebec Human Rights Commission. Handout / Montreal Gazette

Its been a long time coming, but a change has finally come. The seemingly impossible became possible, right smack bang during Black History Month, almost like a long-awaited gift to Quebec blacks. Tamara Thermitus, an anti-discrimination lawyer of Haitian origin, was named head of the Quebec Human Rights Commission last week,with the unanimous support of the National Assembly.

Her appointmentwas not a slam dunk, however it may now appear; it was originally challenged by opposition politicianswho claimed that she was too multiculturalist and much too close for comfort to Dominique Anglade, a Liberal cabinet ministerwho also shares the same roots.

The Human Rights Commission is specifically mandated to ensure that Quebecs laws, bylaws, standards and institutional practices, both public and private, comply with the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which prohibits discrimination based on race, colour, ethnic or national origin and religion.

Hitherto, the commission lacked both anglophone and minority representation, and since its creation in 1976, Thermitus willbe the second woman and the first black to oversee the organization a situation that testifiesto the underrepresentation of black Quebecers in decision-making bodies.

Despite the fact that the appointment of Thermitus as head of Quebec Human Rights Commission is truly symbolic for the blacks and the Haitian community in Quebec, blacks should not be lulled into a false sense of complacency. We have made strides and advances, giving the impression that everything is resolved, but this is not the case. We must press on for diversity with the appointment of the other four remaining human rights commissioners. There is an urgent and ongoing need for public education to ensure that there is better awareness regarding the value of diversity to society as a whole.

According to Premier Philippe Couillard, the appointment of Thermitus sends a very strong signal about the place that people from diverse backgroundsmust occupy in our society. Strong words well spoken would be better if adhered to. Parti Qubcois then-leadership candidate Jean-Franois Lise in September 2016 pointed out the presence of systemic racism in Quebec, and called on the government to spring into action rather than hold public consultations. In response, Couillards government said it would soon announce a plan to look into the issue. Since the creation of the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal in 1990, the Human Rights Commission has never brought a case of systemic racism before the tribunal.The first court decision on systemic racism in Quebec was issued only in 2013 by the Superior Court. That case involved Olthene Tanisma, a Haitian-born urban planner who successfully sued the City of Montreal, after his case was stalled at the Human Rights Commission.

In order to cultivate an arena of legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, Couillard was repeatedly called upon when filling existing vacancies to give thoughtful and deliberate consideration to racial and linguistic diversity. At that time there was an unprecedented absence of black or anglophone commissioners in the current composition, which only served to further impair the decision-making process.

It stands to basic logic that in a world where perception can be as important as reality, it is critically important that visible minorities believe that the deck is evenly stacked, and that they have as much of a chance of being judged by someone who looks like them, as someone else.

The current appointment of Tamara Thermitus as head of the Quebec Human Rights Commission will go a long way toward allaying any fear and improving chances of a satisfactory resolution. But with her appointment,have black Quebecers seen the last of the past, and does this herald a new cast? Or willthis, as welcome as it is, be seen as a mere sop, an isolated gesture?

Yvonne Sam is a retired Montreal nurse and teacher.

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Opinion: Naming of Tamara Thermitus to human rights post is welcome - Montreal Gazette