The Coalition of Francophone Black People of Ontario (CNFO) is still in its establishment phase. In the middle of a provincial tour, representatives of the young advocacy organization stopped in Sudbury on September 18. The main goals of the visit were to raise its profile, recruit members and gather feedback on its mission and vision.
The CNFO was created in 2018 with the goal of increasing the political weight of Black people in Ontario in order to get help where they need it. It held its first annual general meeting in February 2021.
One of the CNFO representatives in Sudbury, Gouled Hassan, believes Northern Ontario must be part of the Coalition. "We have particularities in Northern Ontario. If we are not at the decision-making table, all we will experience is what happens in other regions, and our particularity will never be taken into account."
According to him, the Black community in the North is smaller and very young, yet it has good resources. "We are either people entering post-secondary institutions, who will become future professionals, or who are already professionals in the region."
As a result, their economic weight is greater than their demographic weight, argues Gouled Hassan. "For example, our needs will not be minimum-wage jobs."
New representation
The first years were mainly devoted to setting up the CNFO's governance systems so that it is "able to strengthen the capacity of associations from countries of origin and of organizations founded by people from Black communities," says president Julie Lutete.
The board of directors has already held four working sessions to define the organization's mission and vision. It was time to validate this work with those most concerned, she says.
Ms. Lutete confirms that the realities and needs of the South and the North, for example, are not the same. "For example, in St. Catharines, there is a Haitian community that is still speaking out about the racism they experience." Job opportunities can also differ from one region to another.
The fight against racism will be part of the CNFO's actions, including by raising awareness among government bodies. Julie Lutete also applauds the establishment of the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat and its first initiatives.
She hopes these investments will lead to financial stability for many organizations. "Funders often judge, or analyze applications, based on financial stability, which our organizations lack." The pooling proposed by the Coalition could eventually give its member organizations a better chance.
The Coalition is not there to replace the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario (AFO), Julie Lutete clarifies. It can simply take charge of certain things for which the AFO does not have the resources. "For certain particularities we experience, it would be better to have a structure that represents only that community." The Coalition is a member of the AFO and will continue to work with it.
The CNFO will travel across Ontario until October 9. After starting with St. Catharines and Sudbury, they will be in Cornwall and Ottawa next weekend, followed by London, Windsor and Toronto.
