GC45 YCOM02 Racial Equity Fund for Summer 2025

Origin: Dorcus Annika Yohan, Joshua Bell, Thea Sheridan-Jonah [Youth Leadership Animators of the United Church of Canada]

1. What is the issue? Why is it important?

Our society is in the midst of overlapping crises, the impacts of the housing crisis cannot be separated from the increasing anti-immigrant and racist discourses and behaviours prevalent in Canada. As young people, we notice in our communities especially the impacts of lack of affordable housing and racist housing policies and practices especially on Racialized international students. As a Church we are called to notice and respond to injustice, as young people we are tasked with fighting now for a better world for us and for future generations to inherit. This proposal is important because it contributes to United Church’s goals and commitments to being and creating a diverse and just society. Housing inequality is a social justice issue and as such, the church should continue to respond in creative and meaningful ways.

2. What is happening now?

The strategic plan, under supporting priorities, in the justice section explicitly names “Advocate in robust, creative, and effective ways to advance Indigenous justice, equity in housing for Racialized communities, and Two Spirit or LGBTQIA+ refugee rights”. The priority of ensuring housing equity has already been named, this proposal responds by creating a long-term funding strategy, built on the concept of reparations, to ensure that there can be meaningful and tangible impacts felt by Racialized peoples affected by housing inequality.

A similar practice exists to date, in how the United Church of Canada has responded to Call 8B of the Caretakers Calls to the Church that “A policy be developed that would ensure there is a percentage of the proceeds of property liquidation allocated to Indigenous ministry and justice work”. This policy recommends that between 10% and 20% of such proceeds be designated. This proposal creates a fund that would operate similar to this.

A similar practice exists to date, in how the United Church of Canada has responded to Call 8B of the Caretakers Calls to the Church that “A policy be developed that would ensure there is a percentage of the proceeds of property liquidation allocated to Indigenous ministry and justice work”. This policy recommends that between 10% and 20% of such proceeds be designated. This proposal creates a fund that would operate similar to this.

3. What is the recommendation?

That the General Council create a recommended minimum, similar to the response to Call 8B of the Calls to the Church, that requires 5% of all United Church property sales be contributed to a National Fund for Racial Equity. That the mandate of this fund be supporting the existing strategic priority of equity in housing for Racialized communities. The use of funds should focus on practical solutions that address the ongoing overrepresentation of Racialized individuals and communities in the housing crisis. The fund is not meant to do the job of the government by providing housing, nor is it meant to replace ongoing advocacy to pressure governments to take more meaningful action. Advocacy for affordable and equitable housing, as an existing priority, should be included in the mandate of this fund.

That

Possible uses for the designated committee to consider:

• Provide short term grants for housing or education needs for Racialized domestic and immigrant students, especially in light of heightened anti-immigrant policies at government and educational institutional levels. [not restricted to students studying to become ministers].
• Funding programs to support Racialized folks experiencing mental health and substance use disorders.
• Creating programs to support food security and sovereignty initiatives.
• Supporting programs to support Racialized youth empowerment, professional and leadership development.
• To provide grants to new affordable housing projects that support Racialized communities.
• To expand existing programs that aid Racialized people in accessing housing and combatting racism in the housing market.
• Creating a safety net fund to make available to congregations for short term support for individuals for example supporting rent payments for a month in lieu of getting evicted.

4. Background information:

We listed the justice principles from the strategic plan on a blackboard and voted. Lots of follow up discussion occurred to reach this place.

We identified that equity in housing for Racialized communities is one of the justice principles listed on the strategic plan. Upon further research we discovered that while the Church is taking action, the action taken is mostly in an advocacy role. This proposal was created for the church to take more practical and immediate action on this justice principle.

As youth and young adults in the world, we are often faced with the reality that we overwhelmingly lack the prerequisite disposable income to personally fund initiatives we care about. Due to this reality youth and young adults are rarely given space to participate in conversations surrounding financial decisions and are frequently expected to make themselves heard through their own individual forms of advocacy (ex: protests, boycotts, petitions, etc). This proposal is an opportunity for us as young people to use our voices within the church to advocate for more practical, real time solutions to be offered in addition to continued advocacy.

5. How does this proposal help us to live into our church’s commitments on equity?

our equity commitments in particular to Racialized and Indigenous communities. With our