Commentary
In an era where certain segments of the population have settled on the phrase “systemic racism” to describe all kinds of individuals, organizations, and even entire countries (some have called Canada itself systemically racist), it is hard to get any neutral, fact-based words in edgewise. That racism is an unfortunate part of our species, inherent in many people from many backgrounds (including different “racial” ones), is beyond dispute.
In recent years, however, the phrase has been applied to all kinds of situations where, after even a little bit of digging, it is not at all clear that it is appropriate. Take the ongoing lawsuit by five Ottawa Police Service (OPS) officers, all of the same ethnicity, who claim that the force took out wiretaps (i.e., intercepted their communications) out of sheer “systemic racism.” The case is still being argued and both sides will have their day in court….