Dear Concordia University students,

The CSU wishes to express its solidarity with Black Lives Matter movements across North America and Minnesota university students currently fighting racist police violence, including the recent killings of multiple Black and Indigenous people at the hands of police officers both in Canada and in the United States. Systemic racism is a monumental problem within society, and we recognize, among thousands of others, the following victims that have been recently targeted by police violence:

• Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Toronto – Fell off her balcony when police were present at her apartment.
• Bony Jean-Pierre, Montreal – Shot in the head while trying to flee from police.
• George Floyd, USA – Murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by a white police officer kneeling on his neck while he said, “I can’t breathe.”
• Breonna Taylor, USA – Shot in her own home by Louisville, Kentucky police conducting a search intended for another person.
• Tony McDade, USA – Fatally shot by a police officer in Tallahassee, Florida.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, the world as we know it has changed. Despite this, racism and systemic discrimination are still very much present and continue to affect multiple marginalized communities, including those of many of our racialized students.

In 1971, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) was created as a result of students protests against university racism during the Sir George Williams Affair and taught our community that students have a powerful voice when it comes to standing up against racism and hate. Considering our history, it is only right that we speak out when injustice is perpetrated against racialized people today as well. As such, we cannot stay silent when we bear witness to such acts of racist violence.

Along with the condemnation of police violence and expression of solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the Minnesota Student Association, the CSU is demanding:

• The City of Montreal to stop delaying and immediately implement measures by the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) that could be used to document and reduce discriminatory police stops of Indigenous and racialized persons.
• The SPVM to reform their training and implement mandatory anti-racist training to educate ALL law enforcement within the City of Montreal.
• The SPVM to collect race-based data for all stops of pedestrians and drivers, and on charges that may result from such stops, as well as for all situations involving the use of weapons.
• The City of Montreal to set up an advisory committee on racism, to be made up of police officials, experts, and community members, to work on a new policy on race-based data collection.
• The Quebec Government to acknowledge systemic racism and make racial profiling illegal in Quebec legislation

We are also pledging to reform our own Bylaws and Standing Regulations to provide concrete support to minorities and to fight racism and systemic discrimination within our own campus communities. Historically, the CSU has inspired and supported significant social change, both within and outside of Concordia. It is vital that we (the CSU) ensure that reforms pertaining to racism and systemic discrimination are established within our own community.

Stay safe and stay informed,

Your 2020-2021 Executive Team