Donovan Bailey

However, people of colour have to do more to fight the systemic racism that exists in his adopted country. Bailey was born in Jamaica but migrated to Canada in the early 1980s.

Speaking to CTV News on Sunday against the backdrop of the ongoing protests in the United States and across the world that were sparked by the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis a fortnight ago, Bailey mirrored the recent sentiments of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Prime Minister Trudeau while responding to questions from the media about the developments in the USA, said while he was concerned about the situation in the USA, Canada does have its own problems with racism.

On Sunday, Bailey explained.

“In Canada, it’s racism with a smile,” he said, adding that there, people of colour are invited into the room, to apply for jobs and so on but that the gestures were only for show, suggesting that diversity in Canada was only symbolic.

For that to change, people of colour need to do more to make themselves heard.

“One of the things that we certainly encourage is that you have to be able to vote,” he said. “You have to be able to own businesses, you have to be able to be in the boardroom … be a part of the decision-making process. You have to be entrepreneurs.”

The 1995 100m world champion said he was disgusted by what was had happened in the USA.

“The last two weeks -- I’m tired. Frankly, I’m numb. I really am. I’m emotionally exhausted. It appears way too easy for a police officer, that police officer, in particular, to snuff the life out of a man who seems to be very helpless. I thought it was probably one of the most despicable and disgusting things that I’ve seen,” Bailey said.