To the editor,
The recent pilot project proposed for six Northwestern Ontario LCBO locations is an example of systemic racism in our society, and a lack of understanding of our communities’ histories and current needs.
The demographics are important in this event. I would like to speculate that these six test locations chosen for the pilot project have some of the highest Indigenous-to-colonialist customer ratios in the province. While the argument is that these locations can act as a control in the data set since these are the only LCBO locations available in the three cities, it is very clear that this choice will disproportionately impact Indigenous people.
This choice demonstrates a lack of understanding of both historical and present-day implications with regard to the process of decolonization. What is even more troubling about this event is evidenced in the media and the public discourse where there is very little attention paid to the idea that the choosing of these six specific locations is a choice that hurts Indigenous people. These public reactions shed a light on the level of systemic racism and overt racism that Indigenous populations face every day.
A system on a path to making a choice that hurts Indigenous people is a clear example of systemic racism.
Cory Bagdon
