5. Conclusion

To combat discriminatory attitudes and behaviours, it is critical for Ontario’s institutions to show strong leadership and take action. Overall, the Commission is pleased that many organizations, municipalities and government ministries responded positively to this challenge and are planning steps to address racism and hate activity in their future initiatives. These actions are a step in the right direction. The commitments obtained, while aimed at alleviating discrimination experienced by Asian Canadians, provide the opportunity to open dialogue more broadly about racism in cities, towns and institutions across Ontario. On a broad level, success in this area is realized when immigrants and people from racialized groups experience a sense of inclusion in all communities across Ontario.

It is with continued commitment and collective effort that organizations and municipalities can become proactive in acknowledging and responding to human rights concerns. More work is required on the part of all institutions to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive response to discrimination and hate activity. The Commission will continue to work with the organizations that participated in the Inquiry to support them in fulfilling their commitments, and will continue to report on this progress. The Commission will also continue to encourage building partnerships between institutions and community organizations to further facilitate this work. It is the Commission’s expectation that implementation of these plans will result in increased safety and access for people of all backgrounds who enjoy recreational fishing.