Dan Philip, a pillar of Montreal's Black community, has died
Dan Philip, one of the pillars of Montreal's Black community, has died.
Philip served as president of the Black Coalition of Quebec for over 40 years before retiring in 2020. The coalition confirmed his death Monday on Facebook.
"He represented and exercised leadership that positively changed the face of the Black Coalition for several decades by championing the aspirations of the Black community," the statement read.
A staunch defender of human rights, Philip advocated for the Black community by speaking out against racism and discrimination.
"He has been and remains a source of inspiration and will remain in the collective memory, for his constancy and remarkable patience. Where others would have given up the fight for justice, Dan Philip was determined, convinced that he would carry out his mission to the ultimate sacrifice," the statement continued.
Philip was central to the fight to desegregate the taxi industry in Montreal and he fought to prevent discrimination in the rental market. He also called for more accountability for police brutality against visible minorities, including high-profile cases like the 1987 police shooting death of Anthony Griffin and the 1992 police beating of Richard Barnabé, who died after more than two years in a coma.
The coalition was also vocal in demanding more diversity on Montreal's city council.
Philip received the National Assembly Citizenship Medal for the D'Arcy McGee riding in 2019.
On its website, the Black Coalition of Quebec referred to him as "A passionate man of action… characterized by his fight for the disadvantaged, to ensure that justice prevails everywhere at all times."
Former city councillor Marvin Rotrand, who worked closely with Philip for many years, remembered him as someone who fostered relationships and supported other communities.
"Dan was very human. And he really believed in building bridges between communities. He was literally decades ahead of his time by saying things like 'Blacks and Jews need to work together. We need to help each other,'" he said.
In October, Philip was honoured by Jewish organization B'nai Brith for his lifetime of civil rights work.
Rotrand said after suffering a stroke, Philip spent his final years at St. Andrew's Residential Care, where he died on Monday.
Details of his funeral will be provided at a later time, the Black Coalition said.
- with files from CTV News Montreal's Angela Mackenzie
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
As Canada warms, infectious disease risks spread north
Cases of Lyme disease have now increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and risk factors northward.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Custom baseball card released of Blue Jays fan struck in the face with foul ball
Liz McGuire, the Blue Jays fan who was struck in the face with a 110 m.p.h. foul ball last week, has been pictured on a custom baseball trading card applauding her fandom to the game.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Experts seeing 'more and more' hate content created by artificial intelligence
B'nai Brith Canada flagged the issue of AI-generated hate content in a recent report on antisemitism.
The dreams of a 60-year-old beauty contestant come to an abrupt end in Argentina
A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history melt away in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.
Pro-Palestinian protesters expected to meet with U of T administration
Pro-Palestinian protesters who have set up an encampment on the University of Toronto campus are expected to meet with school officials today.
Are you a loud snorer? You could have sleep apnea
You'll have a lot more energy throughout the day if you get a good night's sleep, but not everyone does due to a medical condition.