Black Judge Added Following Representation Concerns

The federal government has appointed retired Nova Scotia judge Corrine Sparks to its Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, responding to criticism that the newly established body lacked Black representation when its initial membership was announced.

Canadian Heritage confirmed Sparks’ appointment on Friday, saying she will help guide the council’s efforts to combat racism and hate across Canada. The announcement came days after Black community leaders and advocacy organizations criticized Ottawa for excluding Black voices from the council’s original roster.

Sparks made history as the first Nova Scotian of African descent appointed to the province’s judiciary and later became Canada’s first Black woman judge. She retired from Nova Scotia Family Court in December 2021 after serving for more than three decades. On the same day her council appointment was announced, she was also named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

The advisory council was created after the federal government dissolved the Offices of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia and the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced the council while speaking about rising antisemitism, saying its initial focus would address increasing anti Jewish hatred.

The absence of Black representation drew immediate criticism.

Former Member of Parliament Jean Augustine said Black Canadians were frustrated at repeatedly being overlooked.

“We’re tired of being an afterthought, tired of having to raise our voices to be heard and seen fully,” Augustine said.

Amnesty International Canada’s English speaking representative Ketty Nivyabandi argued the omission weakened the council’s credibility and suggested fighting racism had become a lower priority.

Following the criticism, the government said consultations on the council’s membership were continuing and that its composition had not been finalized.

Friday’s announcement also added Regina Archbishop Donald Bolen to the advisory body.

Nicholas Marcus Thompson, co chair of the National Employment Equity Council, welcomed Sparks’ appointment but said the council’s mandate still fails to explicitly recognize anti Black racism.

“Anti-Black racism shouldn’t be hidden behind a hyper link to another strategy,” Thompson said. “It belongs in the council’s mandate in plain language.”

Although the government’s announcement does not specifically reference anti Black racism, it states the council will use Canada’s Anti Racism Strategy and the Action Plan on Combatting Hate as guiding documents. The action plan notes Black Canadians accounted for 37 per cent of all police reported hate crimes targeting a race or ethnicity in 2023.

Thompson said Black advocacy groups will spend the summer consulting communities before determining their next steps while continuing to press Ottawa for a mandate that explicitly addresses anti Black racism.

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