Discrimination in Montréal-Nord: Christine Black gives an update
Rédaction Intexto ·
The mayor of Montréal-Nord answers our questions.
Exactly. The reports were finally released in mid-2021. I had just given birth, so I was not present when the reports were made public. Following that, there were findings — these were not allegations, they were facts — that revealed major issues within the borough regarding the allocation of promotions, work organization, sanctions that had been imposed on certain individuals, and so on.
A great deal of work then began — though it had already been underway, because as an administration, even when we request that a report be produced, when we issue the mandate, that doesn't prevent us from working in the meantime. We had already begun working from the outset on everything related to equity, diversity and inclusion. But it is certain that the reports confirmed elements that had been raised, put into words what had happened within our organization, and made it more concrete. Before, we were caught in a "he said this, we said that" situation, and so on. But when something is clearly written and stated in a report, there is no longer any going back to claim that it never happened.
In that context, I would say there were two parallel processes. The first: rebuilding, working on the aftermath, ensuring that those situations would not occur again. The second: everything related to reparations. So indeed, amounts were paid out through the union…