Gwend Johnson "Retires"

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Honouring Our Past. Advancing Justice. Building Our Future.

On August 1, 2026, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Canada proudly joins Black communities, trade unionists, and Canadians across the country in commemorating Emancipation Day. This year carries special significance as CBTU-Canada also celebrates its 30th Anniversary—three decades of advancing racial justice, equity, and dignity for Black workers throughout Canada.

As we celebrate this milestone, we honour those whose struggles made our progress possible while recommitting ourselves to the work that still lies ahead.

Emancipation Day marks the coming into force of the Slavery Abolition Act, which took effect on August 1, 1834, abolishing the legal enslavement of Africans throughout most of the British Empire. While this legislation represented a historic step toward freedom, it did not erase centuries of injustice or their enduring consequences. To the contrary, the Act compensated slaveholders for the loss of their property while peoples of African descent around the world continue to advocate for reparatory justice almost 200 years after the passage of the Act. 

Few Canadians realize that the enslavement of Africans existed on Canadian soil for nearly 200 years before the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act. Enslaved African men, women children and peoples of African descent were bought, sold, inherited, and forced to labour in French and British colonies across the country. Their lives, labour, and humanity were treated as property under Canadian law. The abolition of slavery ended a legal institution, but it did not end the discrimination and inequality that had been built upon it.

For Black Canadians, Emancipation Day is therefore much more than a celebration of freedom. It is an opportunity to reflect honestly upon our history, recognize the extraordinary resilience and courage of our ancestors, honour those who survived unimaginable injustice, and recommit ourselves to addressing the inequalities that continue to be shaped by that history.

This year's Emancipation Day carries even greater international significance.

On March 25, 2026, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution declaring the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans (slavery) a crime against humanity. The resolution passed with 123 Member States voting in favour, three voting against, while Canada abstained.

For many Black Canadians, Canada's decision to abstain was deeply hurtful and cast doubt upon the government’s commitment to reparatory justice for our community.

Canada often speaks proudly of its commitment to human rights, equality, and justice. Yet when presented with an opportunity to stand with the overwhelming majority of the international community in recognizing one of history's greatest crimes against humanity, Canada chose not to support the resolution.

The time for Canada to fully confront its own history is long overdue.

Earlier this year, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister Mark Carney reminded the international community that "the power of the less powerful begins with honesty." He further stated that countries have the capacity to build a future grounded in respect for human rights, solidarity, and justice, and that we must strive to build a world that is "better, stronger, and more just." Those principles speak directly to the purpose of Emancipation Day and to Canada's responsibility to confront the history of the enslavement of Africans within its own soil..

CBTU-Canada demands a formal federal apology acknowledging Canada's role in the trafficking of enslaved Africans (slavery) as an essential first step toward reparatory justice.

An apology alone cannot erase history.

However, an apology can acknowledge historical truth, recognize the dignity of those whose humanity was denied, and demonstrate a national commitment to ensuring that such injustices are neither forgotten nor repeated.

A federal apology should also serve as the beginning—not the end—of a meaningful national conversation about reparatory justice. The United Nations has started such a worldwide consultation process toward reparatory justice as part of the International Second Decade of Peoples of African Decent. Canada should be leading the way not abstaining. As trade unionists, we understand that social progress has never occurred by accident. Every significant advance in human rights has required ordinary people to organize, educate, advocate, and persist.

That understanding has led CBTU-Canada to launch its Campaign for a Federal Apology for Canada's Role in the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans (slavery). 

The campaign calls upon the Government of Canada to formally acknowledge its historical role in the enslavement of Africans, explain its abstention at the United Nations, issue a formal federal apology, and begin a national dialogue on reparatory justice. This campaign is about accepting historical responsibility, honouring truth, and building a Canada that more fully reflects the values of justice, equality, and human dignity that we proudly proclaim.

As CBTU-Canada celebrates thirty years of advocacy for Black workers and communities, we remain inspired by those who came before us and encouraged by the generations who continue this struggle today.

On this Emancipation Day, we remember the lives stolen by slavery.

We honour the resilience of those who survived.

We celebrate the achievements of Black Canadians who continue to shape this nation.

And we recommit ourselves to the unfinished work of justice.

Only by honestly confronting our past can we build a future worthy of the generations yet to come.

Let freedom reign on Emancipation Day.

In solidarity, 

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Canada
August 1, 2026