Val d’Or residents celebrate its annual anti-racism week
This year’s anti-racism activities in Val d’Or began with major victory for the city’s Native Friendship Centre. Just as the event was kicked off March 17, the municipal government announced it would fund the Kijaté, a social-housing project that will now see the construction of a 24-unit building for Aboriginal families.
After almost five years of fighting for the project, Val d’Or Friendship Centre Executive Director Edith Cloutier said she cried out in delight upon hearing the news.
“I don’t know if the announcement was meant to coincide with the anti-racism week but the mayor and council did mention this fact when they made the announcement at a public assembly where the resolution was adopted,” said Cloutier.
The city of Val d’Or will provide the land for the project as well as a 35-year tax exemption, a yearly participation in the Rent Supplement Program (RSP) and a $100,000 investment. The project will also receive Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) subsidies along with funds raised by the Friendship Centre.
The good news set the tone for a successful week, featuring a wide variety of activities that culminated in the annual Gabriel-Commanda Walk. The march down Val d’Or’s main street March 21 drew about 1800 people of all ages, races and walks of life come together to stand together against racism.
Under a sky of bright sunshine and warmth for so early on in the spring, buses arrived bringing Elders and other participants from Lac Simon, Kitcisakik and Pikogan to march alongside people from all walks of life in Val d’Or, including the sweet and smiling faces of many of the city’s daycare and school children.
The presence of these children has come to be expected at the march. Since the event was first started, the week of activities has also become part of school curriculum throughout the city.
Hosting the event this year were Val d’Or Mayor Pierre Corbeil, NDP MP Romeo Saganash and PQ MNA Elizabeth LaRouche, who was also Quebec’s Aboriginal Affairs Minister before the current election campaign was called last month.
“We chose people who represented the citizens for this year’s campaign because our message was to see how we could increase citizen involvement in changing our society and bringing down the walls of racism in our society,” said Cloutier.
The Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) also hosted anti-racism events largely geared at its student population. This year UQAT invited Innu singer/songwriter Florent Vollant to participate and perform at the conference.
“We had a traditional show that featured traditional drummers, dancers and a protocol with our spokespeople and Elders. Florent Vollent came out and sang with a group of women doing hand drumming. It was just so beautiful to start out everything,” said Cloutier.
She described the event as a coming together of Nations, with participants walking hand in hand, respecting each other’s differences and acknowledging that racism has no place in Val d’Or. There are now just as many non-Natives as Natives who attend the event, walking strong and harmoniously together.
At one point during the walk, Cloutier said Vollant told her how amazed he was because when that many Natives are out marching in the streets, it is usually because they are protesting.
