(TORONTO) -- A week after the launch of a Task Force studying racism on Ontario campuses Task Force members came together again today at a news conference to condemn a racially motivated death threat that was sent to the Canadian Federation of Students and its members.

“The Ontario Federation of Labour continues to support and participate with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and faculty on this necessary and crucial Task Force,” said OFL executive vice-president Terry Downey. “The OFL is outraged and condemns these discriminatory and hateful actions.”

“The work of the Task Force and the CFS is to build an inclusive and educational learning environment for students and faculty. The reality is that many members of racialized communities face racism everyday of their lives,” Downey said. “As a Canadian-born citizen of African descent myself whose ancestors have lived and worked in this country for decades and as a labour leader who has worked for the last twenty years for human rights I know that Canadians are truly kind and want a society where we all treat each other with dignity and respect. Death threats and racial hatred are the extreme opposite of what we want for our society.

“The OFL will continue to stand by CFS and the Task Force working in our colleges and universities to condemn this disgraceful and hateful act and do everything we can and everything we need to do to promote a climate of dignity and respect.”

At the news conference Downey called on the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the McGuinty government to “publicly support the Task Force on Campus Racism and work with the CFS to promote a climate of dignity and respect in our province.”

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