I first read Daniel Quan-Watson's open letter (below) in November as I prepared to speak at a seminar on systemic racism organized by University of Ottawa's Certificate Program in Public Sector Leadership and Governance.

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Quan-Watson's letter hit a nerve.

I was floored.

I barely had time to gather myself for my presentation to senior managers of the public service.

It floored me because so many of Quan-Watson's experiences were my experiences.

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Quan-Watson and I are close in age. He calculates that he has faced upwards of 10,000 racist incidents in his life.

Until I read his letter, I had never thought to put a number on it.

10, 000.

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Quan-Watson and I both love Canada -- deeply. We occupy senior posts and are afforded opportunities to experience firsthand a lot of what our great country has to offer.

Yet, if he and I faced 10,000 acts of racism, what about those who are not as privileged?

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I have an unshakable belief that we, as Canadians, can fight systemic racism. We can and must do better.

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To quote Quan-Watson: "If there is one country on the face of this planet that can do it, it is Canada. We have more than 153 years of experience confronting very difficult questions and coming out the better for having done so...."

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"We have the values and the abilities to address this one too and to do it better than anyone else from what I have seen around the world."

The first step in this process is to recognize that systemic racism exists.

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Yesterday, an insightful interview with @fabricevil was published in Montreal's @LP_LaPresse. He said:

"Le risque de ne pas nommer l’aspect systémique du racisme est de le traiter sur le plan individuel seulement. On ne voit pas l’ensemble de l’opération...."

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"Le gouvernement a la responsabilité de bien nommer ce dont on parle et de prendre des mesures concrètes. Sinon, on dit qu’on prend des mesures sans savoir exactement de quoi on parle..."

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"Il est grand temps de se rendre compte que le racisme est beaucoup plus vaste qu’un crime. On utilise un langage qui limite le racisme à un crime et ça le rend tabou."

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We must work to eliminate systemic racism. It starts with naming the problem and facing its scope.

If we can build it, we surely can take it down.

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