The Alberta government announced a new Anti-Racism Community Grant Program July 3 at a press conference in Calgary.
According to a press release, the province said the new $2-million grant will support initiatives that raise awareness and understanding of racism, as well as its impact on Albertans.
In the press release, culture and tourism minister Ricardo Miranda said one of Alberta's greatest strengths is its diversity.
"Our government is committed to making life better for all Albertans by working to combat racism," Miranda said in the release. "With the Anti-Racism Community Grant, non-profit organizations can focus on educating, informing and engaging community members to take action against racism in a way that works well for all communities."
"In my position as Minister of Indigenous Relations, I have visited to lots of communities, including Athabasca," Minister Richard Feehan said. "I have been to 46 out of the 48 First Nations reserves in Alberta, and I discussed with each of them what the issues were. And now, we are taking action on racism by helping communities build projects to ensure this issue is addressed right away."
Feehan said they had been looking to do something like this for along time now. He added there are two streams attached to the grant.
"One focus is on First Nation, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) communities within the province," Feehan said. "The other is focused on everyone else, including immigrant populations and other communities. There are lots of organizations around who could apply for this grant."
Feehan added the province is looking to ensure that all of those people have a good life within Alberta.
"In terms of the FNMI communities, we are looking at community organizations which can do a whole variety of things," he said. "Whether it be training workshops, educational roundtables, conferences, or even working with youth groups, we hope to look at ways where they can be part of the community in a good way."
He added that reconciliation had to be on the forefront on what they are doing.
"The only way we can work on proper reconciliation is if we increase our understanding," Feehan said. "The best way we can do that is if we have people get together, tell their stories and talk about how they can proceed."
In an email, Athabasca University (AU) president Dr. Neil Fassina said they applaud the province for this initiative to fight racism.
"As a university, we understand the important role education plays in building solutions and bringing people together," Fassina said in the email. "There is strong alignment between this new grant, the mission of AU, and our strategic plan, called Imagine: Transforming Lives, Transforming Communities."
Fassina added that everyone, including governments, community groups, schools, universities and individuals must be part of conciliation.
"We each need to do our part," he said. "We are exploring an application to this new fund, and more importantly, we will continue to work on bringing people together in meaningful and respectful partnership because it’s the right thing to do.”
Feehan said the government wanted each community to decide on what the biggest need is within any local area.
"If it fits the criteria, we will support that with a matching grant of up to $25,000," Feehan said. "As well, for non-matching funds, up to $5,000 could be available for eligible organizations."
According to the press release, an applicants's matching funding may be in the form of cash, donated labour, donated materials and services, or even a combination of all of them.
To be eligible for this program, Feehan said there are some requirements in order to apply.
"Each applicant has to be a community non-profit organization," he said. "They can be an agricultural society, a library, or any type of non-profit society. Applicants can also be universities, colleges and institutes, as well as a FNMI settlement within the province."
To apply for the grant, Feehan said they can apply online at https://www.alberta.ca/anti-racism-community-grant-program.aspx. The deadline for the first intake is Aug. 1. The deadlines for the second and third intakes are Nov. 1, 2018 and Jan. 1, 2019, respectively.
