I want to acknowledge the hurt, frustration, anger and emotional fatigue many people are feeling across North America including in our own city.

While we are shocked at what we see happening in the United States, we must acknowledge that we are not immune from some of those very same issues here. Anti-Black racism does exist in our city and in our country.

Today, thousands of people marched peacefully in our city to register a total rejection of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism. This is a cause shared by all of us and the answer to the march will come through our collective actions to combat this racism.

We have taken some important first steps in the City of Toronto by establishing North America's first anti-Black racism unit which is hard at work on this issue.

Those marching today also reflected our shared need for answers in the tragic death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet. The family and all of us need answers on what happened to Regis.

An independent investigation is being conducted by the Special Investigations Unit and I repeat my urgent request for this investigation to be conducted on an expedited basis.

The investigation itself must be thorough and transparent and must include frequent public updates, not usually a feature of SIU investigations. The results of that investigation will tell us exactly what happened.

Today's march indicates a genuine desire of people to be heard on these issues. Current events, particularly in the U.S., will cause some people to feel hopeless and think we should give up. Please do not give up. We must all remain committed to Toronto’s values.

The fight for justice and equality and the fight against racism and discrimination is one all Torontonians support. So now, we must step up our efforts and renew our dedication to this cause like never before.