MEDIA RELEASE: Community to present Calls to Action Report to stakeholders in St. Paul to address hate, racism and discrimination

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Community to present Calls to Action Report to stakeholders in St. Paul to address hate, racism and discrimination

Edmonton, September 29, 2021− The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHC) invites media and community to read and engage with the Action Alberta St. Paul Calling Ourselves to Action and Justice Report.  The report will be released September 30, 2021 at 1:00 pm as part of a day of Truth and Reconciliation at Mannawanis Friendship Centre.

With the support of JHC and through a journey of five dialogue to action sessions, a team of diverse people from St. Paul, Alberta, USA and Ireland came together to reflect on racism, hate and discrimination. The team learned from each other, built relations and built a series of calls to action to affect change in and around St. Paul Alberta. Participants including members from the RCMP, town of St. Paul, local library, Friendship Centre and community members.

“The report shares the learnings and calls to action from the gatherings. Our hopes are that these calls to action can move towards implementation in St. Paul and area as well as act as a tool for education, dialogue and community engagement.” said Renée Vaugeois of the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. “St. Paul carries a deep and difficult history and by taking the time to unpack it and reflect on how it presents itself today is important for all to find common ground to move forward.”

A sample of some of the learnings and calls to action from the gatherings includes:

  • “Language is powerful. With intentions of building respectful relations, we call on all to know that while the term Aboriginal was the given term written in the Canadian Constitution (Section 35) we must stop using the word Aboriginal. The Ab in aboriginal means “not” which is the opposite of the intent of the word.”

  • Review the current newcomer information kit provided by Immigration Canada and consider providing a supplemental newcomer information toolkit for the town of St. Paul and area which provides the history of the area.

  • We call upon the RCMP to engage communities when investigations in the area are taking place and provide space for local Indigenous community members to provide counsel and support as much as possible.

  • We call for a community campaign to lift the spirits and educate the community on the experiences and challenges of Indigenous women.  This campaign should call out the names of missing, murdered and exploited indigenous women, girls and two spirits.

  • We call on those working in the health system to recognize and acknowledge the intense level of racism being faced and the sheer lack of awareness of prejudice, yet the intense defensiveness and response when one tries to point out or call this in. We call for the recognition that people who are dealing with long term entrenched racism are dealing as well with some level of PTSD as a result.

  • We call for teachers and schools to bring in knowledge keepers to help with education. It is critical to educate at a young age and to create connections with people.

The September 30th event, in line with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, will also include a pipe ceremony at 10:00 am, a feast at noon, the release of the report at 1:00 pm, a community special announcement at 2:00 pm and Indigenous Teachings at 3:00 pm.

The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights prides itself on building spaces for courageous, challenging and constructive dialogue on pressing human rights issues. Over the years, JHC has built numerous processes and tools to facilitate dialogue to action in the community. The desire is to affect positive and inclusive change. Working in partnership with the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee and REACH Edmonton, Action Alberta is working to create these spaces in various communities across the province. 


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The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights works to advance dignity, freedom, justice, and security through collaborative relationships and transformative education on peace and human rights.

For additional information, contact:

Renee Vaugeois, John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights

E:   renee@jhcentre.org

T:   780 975 1116

Jim White, Mannawanis Friendship Centre

E: jimbobwhite1948@gmail.com 

T:  780 614 0377

Neximar Alarcon