BlackNorth Initiative hosts inaugural gala

Ontario Court of Justice appointee, Justice Donald McLeod has raised concerns about a report that reveals that blacks living within certain Toronto postal codes are at a disadvantage by how funds are disbursed to the communities for police services.

He explained that under the justice system, funds allocated for individuals who were incarcerated were based on their postal code. This also determined the police expenditure for the area.

“When you’re incarcerated there is an actual amount of money that you can pay per person … The information gives us, not only how much you pay per day, but where those individuals are from. We can’t tell if they are black or if they’re white, but we can tell based on their postal code. So, this is the postal code that I know well; it’s M3N.”It is the postal code for North York’s Jane and Finch community. He notes that there 50 per cent of males under 30, are incarcerated. He lived for 26 years in a government-funded Ontario Housing.

He compared this to neighbourhoods like Rosedale’s M4T postal code, where no one has been incarcerated.

Justice McLeod was the keynote speaker at the inaugural BlackNorth Initiative Excellence gala, held January 21, at the upscale Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, in downtown Toronto. Addressing stakeholders, media, community and business leaders at the swanky affair, he cited the results of a 2011 census.

He said the data were very disconcerting as the percentage of families who are one-parent families in that neighbourhood is 39 per cent, which is 22 per cent over the national average of the total population.

“That M3N postal code is 47 per cent and it means that almost every other person has not graduated from high school. It’s 47 per cent above the unemployment rate, it is 12 per cent below the medium income and the median income in this area is $37,000. The incarceration rate for the M4T postal code is zero and it means that nobody went to jail. Absolutely nobody, not just maybe one person, not just perhaps one and a half. This number says nobody, not one person went to jail.’

He said people should however be encouraged by the progress of the communities.

“I think it’s important that we know our ‘then’ and our ‘now’ … as a community we stand proud.

“I will be bold because of what I went through. I will be strong for what I went through, but if you judge me on my right now, you might make a big mistake. You better know my back then …

“I believe that we should be able to acknowledge ourselves, but I need to do it in a context that allows you to see that not only should it be acknowledged but you should understand why…,” McLeod said in his address.

UNDERLYING CHALLENGES

According to BlackNorth Initiative’s founder and chairman of the organisation, Dr Wesley J. Hall, “since its launch in 2020, the BlackNorth Initiative has worked alongside black communities across Canada to address the underlying challenges and hurdles faced in identifying, uplifting, and retaining black talent. Funds raised at the gala and throughout the year work to create generational change and empower black communities. Addressing anti-black barriers ensures that black people are afforded equal opportunities to succeed.”

Several people were also honoured at the event which celebrated stories of individuals overcoming daunting odds to succeed.

Donald H. Oliver, Q.C., who received a Lifetime Achievement Award, retired as a member of the Senate of Canada in 2013 after 22 years of service. Jane Omollo, an active community leader, and a founding member of the African Caribbean Canadian Association, was also honoured with a Lifetime Award.

Community and Entrepreneurship Awards were presented to deserving recipients.