CANADIAN ANTI-RACIST RESEARCH PROJECT

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

At present, the racist extremist movement in Canada is a murky web of interconnections and entanglements known only to racists themselves. Researchers interested in this topic must jumble through hundreds of government reports, academic articles, media clippings and databases of dozens of anti-racist NGO's in an attempt to unravel the racist extremist network in this country. There is no centralized and comprehensive database of information pertaining to the racist extremist movement in Canada. Any researchers seeking information on the topic must negotiate an uncertain and confounding terrain of sources without any gauge as to what constitutes reliable information and what does not.

This situation works to the advantage of racist extremists themselves. Take the case of Joseph Quesnel. Posing as a member of a fictitious student group, Mr. Quesnel attempted to infiltrate the FTAA-Alert coalition under the pretext of concern for the free speech implications of FTAA security arrangements. When McGill Anti-Racist Action (ARA) informed the FTAA-Alert coalition as to Mr. Quesnel's associations with the Heritage Front, CAFE and the Canadian Heritage Alliance (all of which could accurately be described as racist extremist organizations), Mr. Quesnel loudly proclaimed his innocence of the charges. Due to their own research efforts being supplemented by that of the Guelph Multicultural Center, McGill ARA was able to substantiate their charges against Mr. Quesnel, who then found himself compelled to withdraw from the FTAA-Alert coalition. Had there not been an existing relationship between McGill ARA and the Guelph Multicultural Center, Mr. Quesnel's true nature may not have been exposed and his attempt to co-opt the anti-globalization movement may have been successful.

I propose to establish a central body to facilitate the processing and sharing of information regarding the individuals and organizations that comprise the racist extremist movement in Canada.

NEEDS ADDRESSED BY THIS PROJECT There is a clear need for a central database documenting as many individuals and organizations belonging to the racist extremist movement in Canada as possible, as well as their associations, interconnections and activities. This project will, for the first time, attempt to establish a national network of organizations that collect information on the Canadian racist extremist movement, thereby facilitating cooperation between a diverse group of agencies and organizations from across Canada. The creation of a national database on the Canadian racist extremist movement will greatly assist the efforts of researchers, academics and activists alike by improving the accuracy, comprehensiveness and availability of information pertaining to the Canadian racist extremist movement.

?2 The availability of complete and up-to-date information on the Canadian racist extremist movement will equip anti-racists with a valuable tool to curtail the efforts of racist extremists in Canada.

HOW THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS QPIRG'S MANDATEThe project will empower anti-racist activists by facilitating information-sharing and cooperation between them, thereby laying the groundwork upon which to build further collaborative efforts. By laying bare the connections between racist extremist individuals and groups in Canada, the database will act as a powerful weapon to combat the encroachment of racist extremist activities in communities across the country. The project will further act as a nation-wide audit of the information-gathering efforts of the Canadian anti-racist movement, setting via consensus the protocols and standards by which information should be obtained and handled; stimulating renewed information-gathering efforts of anti-racist organizations. The existence of a comprehensive database will make attempts by racists to move into more mainstream groups and movements that much more difficult, as evidence concerning their activities will be made readily-available to reporters, researchers, academics and activists alike. By making this information more consistently available to more people, the project will have a democratization effect on the anti-racist movement as a whole by leveling the informational playing field.

WHY I CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS PROJECT

As an anti-racist activist in Canada for the past fifteen years, and as an academic with an interest in studying racist extremism in Canada, I have established contacts with a large and varied assortment of anti-racist agencies and groups from coast to coast who will prove invaluable to the successful completion of this project and crucial to its early stages.

I have presented a paper entitled "Unjustifiable Force: Violence and Racist Extremism" at the 2000 Eradicate Racism: Activism for the 21st Century conference in Vancouver, B.C. I am currently finishing a final draft of a paper entitled "'Do You Know This Nazi?' A Case Study of Racist Extremism and Disintegrative Social Sanctioning," which I hope to present in the coming year.

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At 17, I was the youngest member to sit on the board of Edmonton's Citizens Against Racism and Apartheid in the late 1980's. In the early 1990's, I was a founding member of the Edmonton Anti-Fascist League (not to be confused with the League Anti-Fasciste du Monde), which later evolved into the Edmonton chapter of Anti-Racist Action. I am also a founding member of Anti-Racist Action MontrZ˙al and have been the president of McGill Anti-Racist Action for two years now. Part of my duties in Anti-Racist Action has been information-gathering and I have collected much valuable street-level information concerning racist activities in communities where ARA chapters are present - material that could get this project off to a good start.

One of my main responsiblities at the Canada-South Africa Education Management Project was designing a database and archiving over 5,000 articles in order to establish the CSAEMP library, a task I am pleased to say I completed.

My research background combined with my long-standing and well-establishment commitment to combating racism ensures the successful completion of this project.

TIMELINE

May 2001 - Establishing Contacts and Liaising

- Compiling a list of all agencies and organizations in Canada that may gather information concerning the racist extremist movement in Canada and establishing contact and good relations with each of these.

- Determining who in these organizations are responsible for information gathering activities.

- Determining what kind of information each organization collects, how it is maintained, and who is permitted access to it.

June 2001 - Proposal Development

- Deciding upon what format the document or database will take and developing a mock-up.

- Conferring with agencies and organizations as to what forms of security clearances and precautions should be taken concerning the project.

- Drafting a formal proposal to invite the participation of each agency and organization.

- Following-up with each agency and organization in order to secure letters of agreement from them.

- Determining with each agency and organization the best means of data transfer to the project.

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July 2001 - Data Sorting and Entry

- Receiving information from each participating agency and organization.

- Reviewing information for overlapping and contradictory content.

- Inputting all information in a standardized and agreed-upon format.

- Sending completed information files back to agencies for editing, particularly in regards to informational accuracy.

- Completion of revisions.

August 2001 - Project Unveiling

- Establishing the access protocols for the database or document.

- Announcing the existence of the project to the outside world, particularly to the academic world and to the activist community.

- Processing initial requests for access to the project.

- Troubleshooting.

- Working with involved agencies and organizations to secure resources to ensure the project's continuance.

Beyond August 2001

By this point in the project the range, depth and quality of information available via the project should readily convince all of the project's worth. Given the multitude of agencies and organizations that will be involved in the project, funding will be secured to establish a part-time archivist position. The archivist will continue to update and edit information in the database to maintain its currency and accuracy. The archivist will also facilitate access to the information and handle security concerns surrounding the information. The duties of this position will ensure that the project remains an invaluable anti-racist resource for hundreds of people for years to come.

In addition, it may well be both useful and prudent for the project to publish an intelligence quarterly. This publication could take a form similar to that of the Klanwatch Intelligence Report, published by the Southern Poverty Law Center in the United States. The purpose of such a publication would be two-fold: it would ensure that the latest and most relevant information got into the hands of those most interested in it and most able to put it to good use; it would also help ensure the longevity of the project through subscription funding and through its evidencing of

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tangible benefits of the project's continuance (e.g. in seeking further funding from anti-racist and multicultural bodies).

ESTIMATED BUDGET

$3,000 - computer w/ database, word processing, internet, fax, and encryption software, modem and scanner w/ character recognition capabilities.

$1,000 - transportation expenses

$250 - long-distance charges

$200 - publicity

$200 - phone line and rental

$200 - courier expenses

$150 - mailing expenses

$120 - server space rental

$100 - photocopies

$55 - domain name registration

$5,275 - TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET

REFERENCES

Dr. Morton Weinfeld

Chair

Canadian Ethnic Studies Program

McGill University

201, 3463 Peel, MontrZ˙al, QuZ˙bec, Canada H3A 2T7

Tel. (514) 398-6853

email: mweinf@po-box.mcgill.ca

Dr. Claudia Mitchell

Program Director

Canada-South Africa Education Management Program

McGill Univeristy

3724 MacTavish, MontrZ˙al, QuZ˙bec, Canada H3A 1Y2

Tel. (514) 398-1318

email: cycm@musica.mcgill.ca

Kris Schwarz

Organizer

Toronto Anti-Racist Action

P.O.Box 291 Stn.B

Toronto, Ontario

Canada M5T 2T2

Tel. (416) 631-8835

email: ara@web.net

McGill QPIRG Summer Stipend Proposal:

The Creation of a Central Research Resource for Information on the Canadian Racist Extremist Movement

Todd Ferguson

414 Mont Royal Est, #8

MontrZ˙al, QuZ˙bec

Canada H2J 1W1

(514) 573-7867

toddismycopilot@hotmail.com

March 14, 2001