First Session, 42nd Parliament

(2021) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Monday, March 22, 2021

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 36

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

Temporary foreign farmworkers’ working conditions

M. Starchuk

B. Banman

Farmers markets

I. Paton

B. D’Eith

Racism and technology

B. Bailey

B. Stewart

Children’s education

J. Tegart

J. Brar

Private Members’ Motions

Motion 6 — Systemic racism

N. Sharma

T. Wat

A. Singh

C. Oakes

H. Yao

M. Lee

R. Singh

K. Kirkpatrick

J. Sims

T. Halford

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021

The House met at 10:03 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: T. Stone.

Orders of the Day

[N. Letnick in the chair.]

Deputy Speaker: I understand the member for West Vancouver–Capilano has an introduction to

make.

[10:05 a.m.]

Does the House give leave for the member for West Vancouver–Capilano to

make an introduction?

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

K. Kirkpatrick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate it. I am very proud and excited

today to introduce you to my daughter, Kaelan McKechnie, who has joined us

here today. Like many young people in their last year of high school, Kaelan

has had a very unusual grade 12 year, but I’m very proud of how dedicated

she’s been in school.

I remember that school was hard enough in our days, but throw a

pandemic into the mix and I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been. Kaelan’s

smart. She’s very kind. She’s a great athlete. I learn from her every day.

She has a sense of maturity beyond her years. I’m so very grateful for her

and grateful that she can be here today to see what we do. I, of course,

have absolutely no bias in my description of her.

Please join me in welcoming Kaelan to the House and wishing her

happiness as she moves into this next phase of her life.

Private Members’ Statements

TEMPORARY FOREIGN FARMWORKERS’

WORKING

CONDITIONS

M. Starchuk: During my four years on council with the city of Surrey, I was the

chair of the agriculture advisory committee, and during that time, I

acquired a good working knowledge of the problems and difficulties of

our local area farmers.

In my riding of Surrey-Cloverdale, there are 2,440 hectares of

land inside of the ALR. To put that in context, the ALR lands in my

suburban riding are six times the land mass of Stanley Park. In 2019, I

was asked to assist with a farm in my riding, Green Leaf Farm, with

upgrading and modernizing their production and housing for temporary

foreign farmworkers. We were working towards a gold standard dormitory

for temporary foreign workers that was not only spacious and safe, but

environmentally friendly, with solar panels, green roofs and green

walls.

While assisting Green Leaf Farm, I was asked by the Mexican

consulate to meet with them, to see if we could find a solution to some

of the living conditions their Mexican temporary farmworkers were

dealing with. I was provided with some insight as to the living

conditions which some temporary foreign farmworkers were living in

across the province. To be clear, the majority of the farm operators

were providing safe, clean and spacious housing conditions.

The standards for these temporary foreign farmworkers are

regulated by a federal guideline that ensures the provisions of space

for sleeping, space for cooking and space for recreating. The issue with

these federal regulations was providing annual follow-up inspections to

ensure that these workers are residing in safe living and working

conditions.

With my background in the fire service as a chief fire prevention

officer, conversations began with various fire departments throughout

the province of B.C. to try to identify a solution. I personally felt

that the temporary farmworker living spaces needed to be inspected at

least once a year, at the beginning of the growing season, to ensure

that the building and fire code requirements were well

maintained.

When COVID-19 struck, the project with the Mexican consulate

stopped. But I’m proud to say that the B.C. government continued their

work to protect these workers, who are vital to the production of food

across the province of B.C. Our government is committed to protecting

the foreign workers who are working in our province and supporting our

economy. We’re recognizing the importance of foreign workers.

Our government has established a government-run isolation program,

where we provided support to workers while they completed their 14-day

isolation. We welcomed over 7,600 foreign workers through this program

and supported 102 of those who tested positive for COVID. To further

support the foreign workers, the B.C. government has conducted over

1,200 inspections of farms since the beginning of the pandemic. These

inspections are to ensure that the on-farm accommodations are compliant

with COVID protocols.

Temporary foreign workers deserve to be treated fairly while

working in B.C., with protection that ensures that their rights are

protected. That is why we put the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection

Act in place. This act protects the workers from unfair recruiters and

employers and illegal practices, such as an employer or a recruiter

taking a foreign worker’s passport, or misrepresentation of the job

opportunity.

[10:10 a.m.]

We can now also hold recruiters and employers ac­countable

when there are violations. We are working across government to make sure

that these vulnerable workers are protected, especially during the time

of COVID-19. In 2019, we established a licensing requirement for

recruiters of foreign workers, and 162 recruiters are now licensed and

in good standing in B.C. Certain employers who wish to hire temporary

foreign workers in B.C. are now required, by law, to be registered with

the province, and we have over 3,000 employers registered. This registry

will truly make a difference.

Our government can now identify and track employers who hire

vulnerable temporary foreign workers, and we’re able to inspect these

employers. We also prevent employers who are not complying with B.C.

legislation from hiring temporary foreign workers through the new

registration process. This means people who come here from abroad are

paid for the hours that they work, for the job that they were hired for,

and their rights and safety while on the job are protected. Temporary

foreign workers deserve to be treated fairly while working in B.C., with

protections that ensure their rights are protected.

These are what should be considered basic rights for any

farmworker across B.C. and across the world. These are many of the same

issues that face Sikh, Punjabi and Indian farmers that are fighting from

halfway around the world against the Indian government. Much like the

struggles of temporary farmworkers here in British Columbia, we see

similar echoes halfway across the world in Punjab and India, with a

struggle that deeply resonates with my constituents in my riding of

Surrey-Cloverdale. I am referring to the ongoing farmers protest

movement against the injustices faced by the Sikh, Punjabi and Indian

farmers.

In September 2020, three farm bills were passed by the Indian

government without adequate and meaningful consultation or debate. The

targets of these laws? The farmers. They’ve decried them, not only to

their existential rights and to their livelihoods but, especially for

Sikhs and Punjabis, for their very way of life. Therefore, the peaceful

movement that first spearheaded in Punjab marched and set up camp on the

borders of Delhi to become what has been dubbed the largest protest in

history. That was 116 days ago.

As we enter the seventh month of this movement, almost 300

farmworkers have died. The response from the Indian government is

characterized by violence, disinformation and prohibition of access to

essential resources. Among regularly occurring arbitrary arrests, not

only journalists but even writers of popular protest songs have been

picked up and subject to violence.

We need to amplify our collective voice against the socioeconomic

injustices and discrimination faced by farmers, whether they be here at

home in British Columbia or abroad in Punjab. I encourage all members of

this House to show solidarity with the collective struggles of both our

temporary farmworkers alongside the Sikh and Punjabi farmers, as well as

the latter’s democratic right to protest.

B. Banman: I rise in the House today to speak in response to the member for

Surrey-Cloverdale’s motion on temporary foreign farmworkers’

conditions.

Over the past year, many members in this House have risen to talk

about the stoppages and disruptions our many businesses and industries

have experienced since March 2020. There are not enough hours in the day

for us to thank the many different workers in the many different sectors

of our economy that have faced incredible challenges and gone above and

beyond to deliver the goods and services to British Columbians, in their

day-to-day lives, throughout the pandemic.

While the spotlight has been shone on many of our essential

workers serving the front line in our fight against the pandemic, our

neighbourhoods never banged pots and pans for the thousands of British

Columbians who have ensured that even when we closed up our offices and

worked from home, our grocery stores and restaurants could still stay

stocked and operational.

[10:15 a.m.]

I grew up on a farm, and I know all too well that, even in the

best of times, the work of a farmer is no easy job. It requires you to

be up at the crack of dawn and often working into the late hours of the

evening. It requires skills in a wide variety of fields. A farmer’s life

isn’t an easy one, but you’d never find a better group of people who

uphold the values of family, friendship, community and kindness, all the

things that make our province one of the best places to call

home.

I would like to thank the member for bringing to light the

struggles of Punjab. We share many of the same Sikh farmers from Punjab,

and I stand with those farmers as well.

I’d like to thank the member for bringing forward this motion. It

is fitting that today — the day we acknowledge the International Day for

the Elimination of Racial Discrimination — we remember the diversity and

inclusiveness that define our province’s agricultural industry. Whether

they’re first generation or have been farming for generations, our

farmers come from all cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities — from South

Asian to Japanese, Chinese, Latin American, European and, of course,

many of our Indigenous groups, including the Sema:th and Matsqui in my

own region of Abbotsford South.

Abbotsford has one of the largest and most diverse agricultural

operations anywhere in British Columbia, if not Canada, growing

everything from potatoes, carrots, hops, barley, blueberries,

raspberries, cabbage, broccoli, apples, nuts, mushrooms, dairy, beef,

chicken and other livestock, and that’s just to name a few. The cultures

that make up our agricultural industry are as rich as the soil they work

on and as diverse as the crops they grow. Bottom line. Abbotsford knows

a thing or two about farming, backwards and forwards.

Of course, our appreciation for farmers must extend even beyond

our own domestic farmers. The phenomenal agricultural output of our

province would not be possible without the incredible work of temporary

foreign workers.

To meet our ever-growing demand for food and produce, British

Columbia depends on more than 11,000 foreign workers from countries

around the world, who come to Canada to assist our farmers in the

busiest parts of the season. These workers come to British Columbia to

work on farms across the province, from tree fruit to greenhouses,

berries, livestock and every other form of agriculture. These workers,

as well as temporary foreign workers in other industries, help fill

vital labour gaps in our province and help drive our economy

forward.

Among the many challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic was

ensuring temporary foreign workers could safely return to work in Canada

to carry out their vital roles and bring the wages and support they earn

back to their families. It became absolutely vital.

I think everyone in the House can agree that all workers in this

province deserve to have a safe workplace. Thanks to the diligent work

of countless administrations, as farmers around the province, we have

found a way to do so.

This process is not perfect. We must continue to find ways to make

it more cost-effective and efficient for our farmers and as safe as

possible for our temporary foreign workers. We must remember and honour

the magnitude of this undertaking over the past 12 months.

I would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all our farmers,

who took the necessary steps to ensure the agricultural industry could

once again become a home for our temporary foreign workers. I know there

are many farmers in Abbotsford and across the Fraser Valley and the

province that have gone above and beyond to ensure we can still count on

our agriculture industry to carry out its vital role, in what has

undoubtedly become one of the most challenging years in recent

history.

M. Starchuk: I concur with the member for Abbotsford South. Farming is

important to our economy. I often say I didn’t get to this size if I

didn’t like to eat. If it wasn’t for our farmers, I wouldn’t be here

where I am today.

I’m the first generation non-farmer in my family. My mother was a

farmer. My grandmother was a farmer. My great-grandmother, who is known

to the west coast of this island as Cougar Annie, was a farmer as well.

For me to stand here in the House…. It is an honour to talk about my

riding of Surrey-Cloverdale, which at one time was referred to as the

“salad bowl” of British Columbia.

Temporary foreign farmworkers are an essential part of our economy

and our agriculture, and we need them. We’re standing here today to talk

about their rights that they should have, the dignity that they should

have. The jobs that they’ve been brought here to do are the work that

they’re actually here to do.

[10:20 a.m.]

Too many times, we hear the story of the bad employer and the bad

conditions which they’re working in. And we understand that. What our

job is, is to ensure that when these workers come up here, they’re

protected, first and foremost, during the pandemic, from COVID-19, but,

secondly, from those employers that are less than scrupulous. We want to

make sure that all of the workers’ protections are there so that they

can do a good job that they come up here to do.

In a farm that’s just around the corner from my riding, Evergreen

Herbs, they have temporary foreign workers that come up every season.

They look forward to the work that they do. They are great workers and

they provide a great service. That’s why we stand here collectively

supporting this motion to ensure that our temporary foreign workers are

treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve.

FARMERS MARKETS

I. Paton: It’s always a pleasure any time I’m able to speak about one of my

great passions, and that is B.C. agriculture. Specifically, I want to

talk about some of the prime venues for helping people to access the

fresh, local, in-season foods that they desire. I’m talking about B.C.’s

farmers markets.

These markets serve as an important way for local farmers and

makers to showcase their goods to British Columbians, who increasingly

show a preference for buying local. In choosing to buy locally made and

locally grown items, visitors are supporting farmers and other local

businesses in strengthening the local economy. In my riding of Delta

South, the Ladner Village Market will be marking its 25th anniversary

this year.

The McKnight family has done a wonderful job in creating one of

western Canada’s largest open-air markets. It’s not only a special

gathering place for friends, family and the community; it has become a

destination outing for visitors from across the Lower Mainland and

beyond.

I’m always amazed at the popularity of the Ladner farmers market

on Sundays, where people come from all over B.C. just to act as vendors,

whether they’re from Vancouver Island or from Merritt or from Kamloops

or from Princeton, to sell their goods that are made locally. I’m always

amazed at how many people attend Ladner Market from throughout the Lower

Mainland. When we get them into the village of Ladner, they also get to

see the wonderful restaurants and small shops that we have. We get them

back on future weekends to come and enjoy some of the great things we

have in our town of Ladner, and also Tsawwassen.

This market is guided by the make it, bake it, or grow it

philosophy in Ladner and helps connect consumers to the individuals who

work hard to grow and create their products. It also ensures that the

goods and merchandise at the Ladner market are quality goods, homemade

and home-crafted, rather than cheap trinkets and goods imported from

overseas. Market vendors are vetted to be sure their products are of

excellent B.C. quality and craftsmanship. I know I love to head there to

purchase locally raised beef or poultry and fabulous home-baked pies

loaded with B.C. fruit and berries, so that I can enjoy a lovely summer

dinner with my wife, Pam, with the knowledge of how that food got to our

plates.

The B.C. Association of Farmers Markets notes that the fresh

produce usually travels less than 300 kilometers to get to you. Contrast

that with the average North American meal, which travels about 2,400

kilometres to get to your plate. The offerings to B.C. farmers markets

are so varied, from meat and eggs to fruit and vegetables to artisans,

cheeses and beverages. I could go on and on.

This reminds me of my private member’s bill of July 2020, known as

the Home-Based Craft Food Act. As we have all witnessed the effects of

COVID-19 on large-scale, multinational packing and processing plants and

interruptions to incoming food products from the south, it is vitally

important to offer up exciting new opportunities for B.C. farmers, large

and small, to make and bake locally grown meat, fruit and

produce.

But farmers markets are not just about fresh produce and edible

goods. Visitors also have an opportunity to peruse non-farm items.

Unfortunately, due to public health orders, which are important to keep

all British Columbians safe and protected from COVID-19, there was an

interruption in their availability at markets over the past year.

Non-food vendors simply weren’t able to take part and share their wares.

This was devastating to many artisans and crafters, whose income and

livelihoods depend on that participation.

[10:25 a.m.]

That’s why I joined numerous community members and stakeholders to

make the case to government that non-food vendors should safely sell

their goods by abiding by the same health and safety measures utilized

by food vendors. While we are fully supportive of measures to keep

people safe during this global pandemic, we knew that non-food vendors

would follow the same guidelines around mask wearing, physical

distancing and hand sanitizing that we were already seeing at the

markets and larger stores in our communities. Organizers of farmers

markets held outdoors, I should add, have been diligent in implementing

the health measures needed to keep shoppers and vendors safe.

We made the case again and again that non-food producers should be

able to return to the markets to sell goods like flowers, clothing,

beauty products, jewelry and home decor items as they have done safely

and successfully in the past. These crafters have produced goods

throughout the winter and were eager to share them with consumers this

coming season. I would also add that many of these vendors likely do not

qualify for the government small and medium-sized business recovery

grant program. So participating in this year’s farmers markets would be

vital for these artisans to stay in business.

Additionally, the Vancouver Farmers Markets organization notes

that many markets rely on non-food vendors to remain viable, thanks to

the stall fees they pay that offset operating costs. Non-food vendors

make a substantial contribution to our markets and our communities, and

to our local economy as well. So I’m absolutely thrilled with the good

news that our voices were heard and that they will be able to

participate this year.

However, just this morning the B.C. Association of Farmers Markets

were on CKNW saying: “What’s happening? What’s gone haywire now? You’re

telling us we have to be two metres apart. We could simply put in

plexiglass between the vendors.” These farmers markets need to get as

many as they can in there to make it profitable, and suddenly there’s an

announcement that they have to be two metres apart.

I mean, if we’re going to encourage British Columbians to buy

local, you certainly cannot get more local than a farmers market. Summer

farmers markets are about to get underway in numerous communities across

B.C. in April, which is just a couple of weeks away. Many others will

commence in the coming months. I know we all look forward to purchasing

and enjoying the plentiful offerings of these hard-working

folks.

Thank you, and I look forward to the remarks by the member

opposite.

B. D’Eith: Thanks to the member for Delta South for bringing forward this

statement today on farmers markets. I’m actually lucky to have two

farmers markets in my riding: Haney Farmers Market and the Mission City

Farmers Market. The Haney Farmers Market is run by the Fraser North

Farmers Market Society. Melissa Maltais is the executive director, and

Sophie Towne the market manager, and Meg Railton is the online farmers

market manager. It’s held in Memorial Peace Park in Maple Ridge on

Saturdays from July to October, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Just like the member opposite, I have incredible, fond memories of

visiting farmers markets with my family and with the MLA for Maple

Ridge–Pitt Meadows and grab­bing a coffee from Candace Gordon, who

is one of our biggest champions for farmers markets, and listening to

local music from local performers and purchasing amazing food, locally

sourced, and crafts from vendors.

It’s so important; it’s such an important part of Maple Ridge and

the community on Saturdays. It gives people a chance to meet and support

farm products and local crafts. The same can be said for the Mission

City Farmers Market, which is held at…. Now it’s at 7337 Welton Street

in Mission. It’s usually from Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Karen

McDiarmid is the manager, and the president of the society is Michael

Gildersleeve.

I’m always honoured to open the market every year and share the

stage with local Indigenous Stó:lō leaders and the mayor, who now

happens to be the member for Abbotsford-Mission, to celebrate locally

sourced food and locally produced arts and crafts. It’s wonderful to

visit the Seasonal Canvas Farm, Mandep Boulder farm, Georgia Belle All

Natural Soap and Skin Care, and many other booths.

If you go to the farmers market in Mission, you will always see

Sherry Edmunds at Emma’s Acres booth. Emma’s Acres provides a very

unique service through the LINC Society, which helps prison inmates near

release to integrate back into society by providing work for them on the

farm. In turn, they provide produce for those impacted by crime, free of

charge, at the market.

[10:30 a.m.]

Now, during the pandemic, farmers markets were la­beled as

essential service last year, because they provide food and help feed our

communities. Decisions around public health orders like the ones

currently in place are made by the public health officer and are always

made with public health and safety at the forefront.

In addition, recognizing British Columbians’ reliance on farmers

markets for fresh food and other products, the government was a quick

partner with the B.C. Association of Farmers Markets, early in the

pandemic last spring, to help them pivot to the online model. We saw

over 70 farm markets launch online virtual stores. They sold over $2.5

million in online sales, including non-food vendors, which is wonderful.

Right now you can go to farmersandmore.org for the Haney Farmers Market

and buy online. You can pick that up on Saturdays at the Golden Ears

United Church in Maple Ridge. It’s wonderful to have that service, in

addition to the in-community service.

We continue to listen to feedback from stakeholders and respond.

One of the things I’ve always loved is the coupon program that actually

helps get nutritious food to people who are in need of a little help.

This year I’m once again happy to be supporting the coupon program

across my riding, joining the members for Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows and

Abbotsford-Mission in supporting this great cause. I challenge all

members to do the same in their ridings.

If you want to, you can go to bcfarmersmarket.org/coupon-program,

and you can participate. Farmers markets are so important to our

community in bringing people together, supporting local food and crafts

and providing some help to people in need, with healthy food. I can’t

emphasize how important they are to supporting food security and our

local food markets.

Thanks again to the member for Delta South for bringing this

important statement forward today. Of course, I think we and all the

members in this House share an affinity for our farmers markets and how

important they are for our communities. We all support them.

I. Paton: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought numerous challenges for business

owners of all kinds. Luckily, farmers markets are one way that B.C.

farmers, ranchers, fishers, producers and processors are still able to

share their food products with British Columbians, who increasingly want

to purchase local goods. I want to reiterate my excitement and relief

that the non-food vendors, the growers, crafters, artisans and makers

will be able to join them once again. Now that they will be back in the

fold, British Columbians can enjoy their products and support these

makers in B.C.’s economy at the same time.

As we tour this province of ours, it is important to understand

the vast difference between rural life and urban life. As farmers

markets are part of the vital economic and social fabric of small

communities, so too are annual events such as rodeos, country fairs,

equestrian events, tractor pulls, ploughing matches and farm auctions.

These events, along with farmers markets, are so important to small

towns in B.C. that depend on one or two of these events each year to

draw in the outsiders, the city folk who load up the camper and motor

home and head off on their favourite summer vacation, possibly decked

out in their Wrangler jeans, their western boots and their cowboy

hats.

Rodeos and farm fairs are near and dear to my background and

upbringing. They provide economic input to stock contractors, motels,

campgrounds, RV parks, restaurants and coffee shops. They also provide

excellent opportunities for local vendors to offer their artisans’ goods

for sale. Best of all, these events offer the excitement and competitive

juices to our young folk, who look forward to the summer 4-H show

circuit. I’m urging this government to move forward quickly with

urgently needed answers for rodeos and fairs, whose organizers need to

know as soon as possible if they can get plans in place for this

spring’s, summer’s and fall’s rodeo circuit.

As I close out my remarks, I want to touch on another important

facet of B.C.’s wonderful farmers markets. It’s a program that our B.C.

Liberal government funded through grants to the B.C. Association of

Farmers Markets. I’m pleased to see it continue under our current

government as well. It’s called the farmers market nutrition coupon

program, and it provides coupons each week for participants to spend

like cash at their local farmers market. This program supports

lower-income seniors and families, providing them access to healthy,

nutritious ingredients. The association also pairs up with its member

markets, with one or more community agencies that operate a cooking and

skill-building program. The farmers market nutrition coupon program

helps build healthier communities.

[10:35 a.m.]

It’s a fantastic initiative that I support wholeheartedly, and I

certainly hope that we see this program continue well into the future. I

also hope all members will think about how they can support their local

farmers, ranchers, fishers, processors, crafters and artisans. As the

farmers market season kicks into high gear, I urge all British

Columbians to visit your local farmers market so that you can enjoy the

wide variety of locally made goods they will be selling.

RACISM AND TECHNOLOGY

B. Bailey: Artificial intelligence relies on massive amounts of data in order

to be trained to identify and learn. But where that data comes from and

who it represents leads to the learning and the ability for the AI to

become what the designers intended.

An easy example of this going spectacularly wrong occurred in

2015, when Microsoft launched Tay, a Twitter bot that the company

described as an experiment in conversational understanding. The more you

chat with Tay, said Microsoft, the smarter it gets, learning to engage

people through casual and playful conversation. This was a

machine-learning experiment, where the AI learned in real time by

engaging with humans on Twitter. The experiment lasted less than 24

hours. Tay began by greeting humans and engaging playfully, but it

didn’t take long before it began to spew racial hatred, misogynistic

drivel and Nazi propaganda.

Like many B.C.’ers, I love technology. I love the capacity to

create human connection, watching a grandparent and a child connect over

their iPads, sharing across distance and the generational divide. I live

in awe that while we’re here, videoconferencing, the Mars rover

Perseverance, nicknamed Percy, is collecting data 250 million kilometres

away, and I can watch it on YouTube. I love that once difficult-to-teach

manoeuvres in surgery can be taught through virtual reality, and that

protective equipment can be printed on 3D printers. But despite these

incredible advances, technology also poses serious risks to our well

being, one of which is the perpetration of racism.

Technology is not dispersed equally, nor are the negative

consequences of our errors in how we create technology. When we consider

the question of race and technology, there are a number of different

ways to look at it. We could talk about intentional racism, despicable

behaviour that occurs online, often anonymously. We could look at the

fact that much of our technology is created by a very specific

subsection of society and that there are inherent consequences to who

writes our code. But this morning, I’d like to speak about unconscious

bias and the nondeliberate racism in technology.

One hundred years ago one’s tools were inherently non-biased.

One’s plow or hammer didn’t come with particular values, although

left-handed people might take issue with this characterization. We think

of technology as providing us with new tools. But the difference is that

technology — in particular, digital technology — is value-laden. Let me

give some examples to explain. Most people today see resource allocation

by algorithms as fair and objective. After all, digital technology is

just applied science, so how is it racist or sexist? We assume that

computers do not bring their own intentions into decision-making and are

free from emotion. But is this true? Let’s look at two recent examples,

both out of the U.S.

A large corporation created AI to assist in hiring the best

possible candidates. By electing to remove individual humans from the

review of résumés, the company assumed that they would also remove

racial and gender bias in hiring, assuming that a computer does not

be­have in a biased manner. The program crawled current employee

data to assess the traits that were associated with the top performers

in the organization. By identifying these traits, the software would

then comb applicants’ résumés for like traits. It seems reasonable. AI

can do this all very successfully and very quickly, speeding up the

entire hiring process.

It was an unmitigated failure, because the data collected included

inherent bias. The company, like so many of our workplaces, included

many years and layers of preference for white male employees. These

employees had similar traits, exactly the traits that the software then

learned and was trained to search for in new candidates, thus ensuring

homogeneity and that people of colour and women would not be included on

the list of recruits.

[10:40 a.m.]

In this case, the error was obvious, and the program was scrapped.

But often these types of outcomes are more subtle. They’re not overt,

and they’re not scrapped. The issue is that racism exists in our

institutions, in our history, in our communities and in our social

interactions. As we design technology and write algorithms, the people

who most understand the complexity of racism and how it lives in our

institutions are not the same people who are writing the algorithms. One

does not go into computer science and become trained in the history of

racism, nor study critical race theory.

Another area ripe with difficulty is facial recognition. We unlock

our iPhones with a glance and wonder how Facebook knew how to tag us in

that photo. But facial recognition, the technology behind these

features, is more than just a gimmick. It’s employed for law enforcement

surveillance, airport passenger screening, employment and housing

decisions.

Despite widespread adoption, facial recognition was recently

banned by police and local agencies in many U.S. cities. Why? Of the

dominant biometrics in use — fingerprints, iris, palm, voice and face —

facial recognition is the least accurate, and it’s rife with privacy and

racism concerns. Facial recognition algorithms boast high classification

accuracy, over 90 percent, but these outcomes are not shared equally

across the board.

In the landmark 2018 gender shades project, which applied an

intersectional lens of analysis, it was found that algorithms performed

the worst on darker-skinned fe­males, with error rates of up to 34

percent higher than for lighter-skinned males. These compelling results

have prompted immediate responses, shaping an ongoing discourse around

the equality in facial recognition software. Both IBM and Microsoft

announced steps to reduce bias by modifying testing cohorts and

improving data collection on specific demographics. Improvements have

been made. However, Amazon’s response was defensive, al­leging

issues with the auditor’s methodology rather than addressing the racial

bias. As Amazon has marketed its technology to law enforcement, these

discrepancies are very concerning.

Companies that provide these services have a responsibility to

ensure they’re equitable, both in their technologies and in their

applications. They have a moral obligation to ensure that the data used

to create AI is not skewed. We need social scientists working alongside

our technologists to create the AI of the future. As policy-makers and

legislators, we too must consider these issues and rid ourselves of the

incorrect notion that technology is race-agnostic. It is not.

B. Stewart: It’s a pleasure today to rise in this House. Thank you to the

member opposite. Those remarks were very well researched and

intriguing.

You know, on this day, the day after we recognize the

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we need

to acknowledge the continued existence of racism in our society and take

steps to combat it.

During my time as the Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism, I

visited many communities across B.C. It reminded me firsthand of what it

was like in the diverse and multicultural province that we live in,

having grown up in the Okanagan on our farms — of diversity with

Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch, Germans, Hungarians, South Asians

and local First Nations all working on these farms and of how important

it is to celebrate that fact. In government, I was passionate about

taking steps to ensure that everyone in B.C. feels comfortable and safe,

celebrating their heritage and culture, while working to create a more

inclusive society.

I fondly remember the 2010 Olympics, when we welcomed people from

around the globe to our beautiful province. It was amazing to play a

role in an event that so clearly celebrated diversity and people having

pride in their culture. It reinforced the importance of people having

the freedom to embrace their culture and heritage without fear of

discrimination or abuse. There should be no tolerance for racism in our

society. I know that later this morning we’re going to hear from other

members of this House to speak to this in more detail.

This past year has shown us that racism still exists in our world,

but hopefully, it has also encouraged each one of us to work harder and

fight discrimination and hate. I know that every member of this House is

committed to combatting racism in all of its forms. That includes when

technology is involved.

[10:45 a.m.]

Over the past two decades, our world has become much more

dependent on technology, particularly the Internet. Increasingly, we

spend more time in online spaces. That means many of the problems

British Columbians en­counter in their day-to-day life are

mirrored in online interactions. Racism is a problem online, as it is in

the rest of society. Bullying and harassment are all-too-frequent

efforts to combat racism do not leave out the Internet.

This kind of online safety was something that we began to think

about when I was the Minister of Citizens’ Services. It was a time when

people were demanding more speed and rapidly embracing technology and

access to the Internet. We had to think constantly about the government

perspective and how we could protect British Columbians

online.

We know that technology is a tool that can be both helpful and

hurtful. Recently I had the opportunity to hear Telus talk about its

anti-bullying program specifically targeted at ending online bullying,

something that currently impacts more than one million Canadian kids

every month. They want to educate parents, students and teachers on

cyberbullying, providing them with resources to empower kids to drive

change and to bring an end to bullying online.

One aspect of their program is their anti-bullying pledge, which

they invite everyone to take on their website. It’s a commitment to

being kind and respectful online and stepping in when others are being

bullied. We need initiatives like this which seek to make online spaces

safe and inclusive, to teach us to be more aware of the way that we

treat people and to intervene when people are being treated badly.

They’re absolutely vital in changing the way that people interact on

more compassionate and equitable world.

I hope that in this House, we can continue to have conversations

on important topics like this which force us to take a look at our world

and what we need to do to improve the lives of British Columbians. As

elected officials, we have a responsibility to look out for the safety

of everyone in our province, whether it’s when they’re online or walking

down the street. This year has reminded us all that we have much more

work to do, but I know that we are up for the challenge.

B. Bailey: I thank the member for Kelowna West for his thoughtful comments,

in particular in regard to the challenge of cyberbullying.

Congratulations to his region for their continued excellence in the tech

sector.

As we consider the future of technology in British Columbia and in

Canada, we must do so with a lens that pays attention to racism and

other prejudices within the very technology that we are creating here in

this province. TikTok, the immensely popular video platform that our

teens spend so much time on, is one example of algorithmic gatekeeping

of content. Your teen is going to see images and videos from people who

are most like themselves and less and less content from those who are

different than themselves.

This is a problem. We know that sameness leads to a lack of

empathy for difference. This simple marketing decision can have

consequences on a teen’s perspective of otherness. In this way,

algorithms powerfully shape development, and they’re socializing a

generation. This isn’t even considering deliberately racist content

online, which is a huge and different problem outside the scope of this

statement.

So where do we go from here? We cannot and should not accept the

naive view that digital technology is agnostic. It is not. The data is

not, and the resulting AI is not. Assumptions move from analog to

digital and are often, in fact, sometimes worsened in the digital realm.

However, there’s some important and exciting work happening here. As

policy-makers and legislators, we should stay abreast of it.

The AI Now institute in New York University and the Algorithmic

Justice League — great name — are two new sources of research and

exploration into racism in AI. I think we should be looking to them for

guidance in policy components so that we can be on top of this issue and

not playing catch-up and creating yet another situation of endemic

racism, particularly as it affects Indigenous, Black and people of

colour here in British Columbia.

[10:50 a.m.]

As AI continues to become an everyday part of our lives, we need

to develop guidelines for ethical AI algorithms that prevent and not

embed racism. It’s also imperative that we diversify our workforce in

the technology sector. This work is happening now, and we should do all

we can to support this diversification, creating opportunities for

Indigenous creators, women, people of diverse abilities and people of

colour to develop the skills needed in the sector is key. These skills

are broad — coding, yes, but also digital art, project management, HR,

marketing, business development, accounting, and so on.

More diversity is an integral solution to the problem of racism in

tech, but not the only solution. It’s on all of us to address this

problem. Recognizing the international day for the elimination of

racism, I call upon members of this House to consider the complex issues

we need to understand and to mitigate racism in technology.

CHILDREN’S EDUCATION

J. Tegart: It is a pleasure to rise in the House today to speak on education

— the need for a comprehensive education plan to continue our children’s

growth and development. This is not the first time that I’ve risen on

this issue. This is not the first time that the House has heard these

remarks.

It should be stated that teachers, support staff and parents have

done incredible work to preserve our kids’ education through what has

undoubtedly been one of the most undeniably challenging years in recent

history. While many school boards and school districts have implemented

their education plans to great success, some have left our students with

fewer instructional hours than other school districts.

Unfortunately, I’m hearing from many of those parents in the

Vancouver school board whose children are currently receiving a quality

of education that parents are concerned about due to the lack of

instructional hours. The Vancouver school board has been offering less

than the required hours of instruction to their students. Today I want

to share some of the stories I’m hearing. I think it’s important, when

we talk about these issues, that we actually talk about the impact that

they’re having on individuals.

I recently heard from a parent who spoke of their 17-year-old

student dropping out of school for good due to the social isolation he’s

experienced in the last six months — how he’s happier at a minimum-wage,

part-time job where he interacts with real people rather than sitting at

home all day with a mountain of homework. Another parent shared that her

son is now drinking and shoplifting during all his free hours. Another

parent spoke of her daughter sitting at home all day in her room, with

the door closed and the blinds drawn. Another parent said her son has

quit taking his ADHD medication. Since he’s not in school much anymore,

he can’t be bothered.

Another parent’s story:

“By the end of November, our daughter was struggling with migraine

headaches. We took her to Children’s Hospital. She had a full

neurological evaluation, a CT scan and an MRI. The diagnosis? Depression

and anxiety. A psychiatrist told me we needed to lock up all the

medication in our house — that we could not leave our daughter alone.

This is the single worst moment I have ever experienced as a parent.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death in youth in Canada. I

would, a thousand times, rather that she had COVID.”

This is written by a grade 11 student.

“Pandemic precalculus 11 has been the most challenging course I’ve

ever had to complete in my high school education so far. The abbreviated

timeline of the course required a marked degree of self-discipline in

order to attempt to complete the work accurately and on time. We

covered, in ten weeks, a course that is designed to be taught over 40

weeks. Needless to say, there was little time to fully absorb the

material.

[10:55 a.m.]

“I found the work extremely overwhelming and time-consuming, but I

made every effort to succeed in my course. I spent an average of five

hours every day doing math, and more than 80 percent of that time was at

home. My teacher posted online videos and PDFs that were helpful, but

without a private tutor, I struggled to learn the material.

“I met with my tutor at least five days a week. I’m a very good

student. I try my best. I found the material just too challenging to

teach myself. I did everything I could to learn, including all sorts of

online extra work. This degree of commitment required that I forgo

essentially all other activities. Not only did the lack of adequate

instruction lead to increased anxiety with respect to my ability to

succeed, but also left me with no time to do anything that might

otherwise improve my mental health.

“Overall, the experience was extremely demanding and demoralizing

and required great sacrifice to reach a moderate level of

success.”

Here’s a story from a parent of a grade 8 student.

“My daughter has a learning difference and has had to work twice as

hard as her peers to achieve good marks. My wife and I never imagined

school would be 1.5 hours of in-person teaching per day. Each day has

created anxiety for all of us: how to get her to school and back at

random hours in the middle of the workday, and who can supplement her

teaching?

“My otherwise social and happy child has become isolated, sad and

stressed out. She goes into a building for one class a day and comes out

after an hour and a half. She’s not made any friends. She doesn’t know

the building, the staff, her teachers or the school culture and values.

She spends hours every day trying to understand the complex assignments

that have been posted on Microsoft Teams and then struggles to teach

herself the material while she waits for us to finish work. For a child

who has high expectations of herself, she is anxious and

worried.

“My grade 11 is currently trying to get into university. She’s a

very determined girl. I have encouraged her to look at many

universities, and frankly, I’m worried that this gap in instruction may

seriously affect her chances at getting into any of them. I just cannot

see how she can be getting all of what needs to be done as a registered

class in an hour and a half.”

Those are just a few of the stories of the young people who are in

our schools today.

Deputy Speaker: Recognizing the member for Surrey-Fleetwood.

J. Brar: Thank you, hon. Speaker, and good to see you in person

today.

I’m pleased to stand up in this House today to respond to the

statement made by the hon. member for Fraser-Nicola regarding our

children’s education. The troubling stories the member has shared tell

us that we are going through troubling times.

There’s no doubt that the past year has been one of the most

challenging for all of us, and there were and still are unique

challenges for students, K-to-12 teachers and staff, and for our

families.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

One year ago the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to make a monumental

shift in teaching and learning in order to effectively respond to the

pandemic. We do have a plan. To ensure that students and staff could

continue learning safely, we built a five-stage framework to operate

schools.

In the spring of 2020, while most students were learning remotely,

5,000 students of essential service workers and students who needed

extra support were in classrooms, with strict health and safety

protocols in place. During this time, we also provided 75,000 meals a

week to help 16,000 families, and 23,000 technology loans were arranged

for students.

[11:00 a.m.]

Our June restart saw almost 2,000 students safely returning back

to the classroom. By September 2020, we were able to safely reopen

schools, maximizing in-class learning while providing families with the

flexibility to choose transitional programs for their children until

they felt safe returning to the classroom. None of this was easy for

anyone, so we are grateful for the tireless work of our teachers, school

staff, administrators, parents, families and others who have exemplified

compassion and professionalism in our education system.

We have invested $288 million in one-time K-to-12 provincial and

federal funding to support student and staff safety. School districts

are using this money to hire additional staff, make improvements to

ventilation, support remote learning and increase cleaning protocols. We

have also provided $900,000 for six regional COVID response teams, one

for each health authority and one for independent schools.

With strict health and safety protocols in place at our schools,

the majority of families have felt confident enough sending their

children to school. In fact, 90 percent of students are now in class,

connected to their community’s school. This tells us that our guidelines

are working.

To further support students, our government released a new mental

health in-school strategy in September, aimed at finding new ways to

support students who need help. Building on the ERASE and Pathway to

Hope initiatives, the new mental health strategy embeds a positive

mental health and wellness program for students in all aspects of the

education system.

We have also hired 257 additional teachers, psychologists and

counsellors since 2017 and more staff later to support students’ mental

health across the province. In addition, we have opened eight more

Foundry centres throughout the province, as well as virtual primary care

services so that young people can access these one-stop shops for

wellness, in person and virtually.

The vaccine rollout brings renewed hope, and with more and more

vaccine doses arriving in B.C., we have added education staff to the

list of essential workers getting priority vaccines in April. Thanks to

the hard work of our health officials, community leaders and volunteers,

B.C.’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout is ahead of

schedule and gives us hope

of better days ahead.

The health and safety of students and staff is a top priority for

our government, and that’s why we will continue to follow the directions

of public health officials in making fact-based decisions when it comes

to our school system. I appreciate the member for raising this important

issue. Thanks for the opportunity.

J. Tegart: Thank you for the member across the way to outline the commitment

that government has made to education, which is so critically important

during this COVID year. But I think it’s important also that we actually

take a look at those programs and look at how they’re hitting the

ground.

These are stories from parents. These are students who are

struggling. I want to share one more story. This is a grade 8

child.

“Prior to this school year, my daughter didn’t have anxiety. The

pressures of social isolation and teachers trying to squeeze in as much

of the curriculum as possible into a ten-week period has certainly taken

its toll. Tears are an everyday occurrence in our house, and my

daughter’s self-esteem and confidence have paid the price. She

experiences nausea and headaches almost every day. Getting a call at

work that your 13-year-old daughter is at home having a panic attack is

not a nice feeling.

“I do believe that short-term challenges help children build

resilience. However, a full year of daily stress and pressure is beyond

building resilience. It is affecting our children’s mental

health.

[11:05 a.m.]

“As a parent, knowing that children in the Vancouver school district

are the only ones suffering like this and that they are now at an unfair

disadvantage academically compared to students in other districts in our

province…. It is hard to take. And I have yet to see any scientific

evidence that this model has led to a decrease in the number of

exposures or transmissions of COVID-19 per capita.”

Our students are paying the price of a complicated teaching model

that is also tremendously stressful for our teachers and administrative

staff. So as we look at our public education system and where we’re at,

parents in the Vancouver school district are asking for changes. I think

it is incumbent upon us, as we look at how many dollars we’re putting

into school systems, to support programs that we hope will assist

students, parents and staff with this kind of anxiety.

It is incumbent upon all of us in this House to ensure that when

those programs hit the ground, they make a difference. What I’m saying

is, when I asked parents for experiences, I got more than 60 stories

within a week. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Those of us in this chamber have more work to do. It is incumbent

on us as the adults to ensure our future generations do not suffer

unnecessarily.

Hon. J. Whiteside: I ask that the House consider proceeding with Motion 6,

standing in the name of the member for

Vancouver-Hastings.

Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, unanimous consent of the House is required to

proceed with Motion 6 without disturbing the priorities of the motions

preceding it on the order paper.

Leave granted.

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 6 — SYSTEMIC RACISM

N. Sharma: It’s my honour to bring forward the following motion:

[Be it resolved that this House recognize the historic and

present-day acts of structural, systemic and institutional racism

perpetuated against racialized people and reaffirm our commitment to

combatting racism in all forms.]

March 21, 2021, was the international day to eliminate racism. On

this day every year, we stand in solidarity against racism. But that is

not enough. Last year, like many times before, people filled the streets

in a collective outcry against racism. Indigenous, Black and people of

colour marched like they’ve done for centuries, their bodies and their

spirits tired of carrying the burden of oppression and the racist

systems that work against them.

How many times, and when will it be enough? The answer to that

question continues to elude us even till today, as we stand here a few

days after eight people, including six Asian women, lost their lives,

their lives and their families destroyed while a local police officer

characterized the shooter as having a “bad day.” We continue to mourn

these lives and the countless others lost. We ask: when will it be

enough?

There is no more important place to ask these questions than these

halls and this chamber. Over the 150 years since B.C. joined Canada,

these walls have hosted hundreds of MLAs, witnessed countless debates

and passed many pieces of legislation. For many decades, the

re­sources and power of this chamber were fully devoted to one

mission. As former Premier Sir Richard McBride stated: “British Columbia

shall be a white man’s province.”

MLAs, our predecessors, were ruthless in their pursuit of this

mission. There is too much legislation to name it all. In fact, in order

to limit Asian and South Asian immigration to Canada, from 1872 to 1928,

MLAs in these chambers passed 89 separate bills, 49 resolutions, seven

reports and much more. There are no Hansard records that

recorded it, but I want you all to imagine the debate that occurred in

these walls when this legislation was passed.

[11:10 a.m.]

There is no shortage of examples of the impact of these actions:

Indigenous people dispossessed of their lands, the full force of the

colonial structures against them and their bodies, unable to fight for

their rights in court; the Chinese head tax passed against Chinese

immigration, $40 per year, termed a breathing tax; order-in-council 469,

authorizing the dispossession of all the property of Japanese Canadians

in this province and relocating them away from their homes; Komagata

Maru , South Asian immigration and hundreds of South Asians

fighting for their rights over decades just to be treated equally;

former Black slaves that fled the States to Canada, only to face

discrimination and laws that were operating against them. There is also

no shortage of heroes who took on this place and never gave up their

fight for equality, and they continue to come to us today.

We, as MLAs in the 42nd parliament, now inherit this history fully

and completely with the obligation to make this right. Every mandate

letter issued by this government puts as a priority antiracism. Because

it is not enough for us to condemn racism, we must use our position to

dismantle the systems that were created within these very walls and tear

down the barriers that were deliberately put in place to repress

Indigenous, Black and people of colour.

There is still so much more work to do, whether it’s racism in our

health care system, police reform, combatting the rise of anti-Asian

hate or true reconciliation with Indigenous people. Just a few short

days ago anti-Semitic posters were found plastered all over Kelowna. One

day, it must be enough. We must be able to conquer hate and racism in

all its forms. I hope that all of my colleagues will join together in

this work so we can make this province better for all people.

T. Wat: I rise in this House today to speak to the motion: “Be it resolved

that this House recognize the historic and present-day acts of

structural, systemic and institutional racism perpetuated against

racialized people and reaffirm our commitment to combatting racism in

all forms.”

It is important to rise in this House and speak on this crucial

topic once again. Although we, as British Columbians and as Canadians,

embrace our identity of multiculturalism, tolerance and acceptance, this

pandemic has shed a dark light on how deeply rooted racism remains in

many levels of our society. This pandemic has also revealed how quickly

racism and intolerance can take hold and spread throughout our society.

It’s truly important that we speak about it and continue this

conversation as often as possible.

In many ways, intolerance takes hold faster than tolerance and

acceptance, because to strengthen our openness and tolerance, we must

constantly learn and revalue our own history, culture and society. We

must talk, and we must listen. To promote intolerance, we simply have to

become ignorant.

I have spoken many times, both in this House and outside of it, on

the horrendous spike in racism and hate crimes against Asian Canadians

that has occurred throughout the pandemic. But we must not forget that

it’s not just Asian Canadians who have been subjected to racism and

intolerance. Religious intolerance can take hold as quickly as racial

intolerance. For nearly a decade, Canada saw an increasing number of

incidents of racism and hate crimes perpetuated against our Muslim

communities. The same can be said about anti-Semitism, which for years

saw an increasing number of incidents in Canada. We must strive every

day to eliminate any and all forms of religious intolerance in our

province.

We must also be conscious of the challenges our South Asian

communities face and raise awareness on any incidents of racism toward

them.

[11:15 a.m.]

Recent events have shed a horrific light on the prejudices many of

our people and institutions perpetuate against our Black Canadians. Our

Indigenous communities continue to feel the pain of our province and our

country’s dark history on a daily basis and continue to face a

disproportionate amount of the economic and social inequalities that

persist in our society.

I would also like to take a moment to reflect on my own

experiences. Of course, I have many personal experiences because of my

have always been quick to label me as a foreigner, despite the fact that

I’ve called B.C. home for more than 30 years. There are other personal

experiences I could share, as I know others can as well.

I would like to reflect on the incidents of institutional racism I

have witnessed. I remember, in my early days working in media, being

shunned by my former bosses while trying to promote my colleagues’

better understanding of Cantonese, Mandarin and Punjabi television;

being told that they were only interested in “mainstream

media.”

I have dedicated much of my career to promoting multiculturalism

in this province. It is these incidents that sit the heaviest with me,

because they are a reminder that there are thousands of people in this

province who will continue to share similar stories of racism, while our

institutions have yet to change from the inside. I know many of my

colleagues have their own experiences to share.

I would like to conclude by saying that although we have much work

to do, it is days like this, where all sides of the House engage in this

open dialogue and discussion, and commit to the same shared mission of

eliminating racial discrimination, that I’m reminded of the many good

reasons I’m proud to continue to serve this amazing province and call it

home.

A. Singh: I want to thank my friend from Vancouver-Hastings — and I, of

course, wholeheartedly support this motion — and the member for Richmond

North Centre for her words as well. This affects so many of

us.

Yesterday, as has been spoken, was the International Day for the

Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We observe that day worldwide on

the day of the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, where 69 people were

murdered in South Africa at a peaceful demonstration against

apar­theid.

I want to speak about another number though: 717 percent. That’s a

number I want you to have in mind. That’s the increase in the number of

anti-Asian hate crimes reported to the Vancouver police department last

year since COVID. B.C. leads the country in anti-Asian sentiment and the

number of reported incidents. That’s a shame. I stress reported

incidents. For a community that already feels over a century of

oppression, and carries a sentiment that reporting it to the police may

do nothing, the actual number, I surmise, is much, much higher than

that. This has always been unacceptable and is still

unacceptable.

We’ve seen where this leads to: verbal assaults on transit, to

random attacks on elders in grocery stores, to the killings that we all

witnessed in Atlanta last week. It all starts with seemingly minor,

innocuous activities: comments about others taking over their

neighbourhoods, comments on driving habits of Asian-Canadians, to

fetishization of women, to mocking of accents. That othering and

belittling — let me spell it right out — is the oldest trick that white

supremacy has. The extreme, vitriolic hate and killings like we saw last

week are the natural progression and result of that othering.

Our province’s history has unfortunately — as my friend spoke so

eloquently — always had a close relationship with white supremacy and

racism, from the displacement and terror rained upon Indigenous people,

to the anti-Chinese riots of 1907, to the Komagata Maru , to the

internment of thousands upon thousands of Japanese Canadians, to attacks

on mosques, to the hate we see today. Just over the weekend in Kelowna,

anti-Semitic posters were put up all over the city. There is a steady

thread. We as a society and our institutions are riddled with systemic

barriers that bow to entrenched privilege.

[11:20 a.m.]

I want to be pointed. Racism is not a two-way street. When I say

racism, I mean white supremacy. Sexism is not a two-way street. When I

say sexism, I mean patriarchy and male privilege. It’s steeped in power

dynamics. The oppressed cannot oppress. We have to get past that point

if we as a society are going to grow.

Unfortunately, we have not come a long way. We should be much

further along this path in 2021, but here we are. A person much wiser

than me once said: “What matters is not to know the world but to change

it.” We have much work to do. I find solace that the Premier and this

government recognize that this racism and the many other -isms are

systemic and that there needs to be a coordinated and thoughtful

approach to making B.C. a better and a safer place for all to call

home.

That’s why our government is committed to tackling racism and

discrimination in British Columbia. We’ve taken some solid steps to try

to tackle it, but our collective work is far from over. I again find

solace that our government has appointed B.C.’s first Parliamentary

Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives. I’m heartened and full of hope to

see my colleague already moving things forward in this role.

We’ve taken other incredible steps, like reinstating the B.C.

human rights commission. The revival of the B.C. human rights commission

in 2018 is a major positive step forward. The Office of the Human Rights

Commissioner investigates the way that discrimination is rooted in our

attitudes, our behaviours, our systems and our laws. It also educates

and provides guidance to British Columbians on human rights. The

commissioner is a completely independent non-partisan officer of the

Legislature. That means they can investigate discrimination wherever it

occurs, including with us. It also means they can monitor and assess the

performance of our government and our compliance with the human rights

code, to ensure public confidence.

We also launched Resilience B.C., B.C.’s new antiracism program.

This is a provincewide network to increase capacity to challenge racism

at the community level, and address systemic and institutionalized

racism across the province. In 2020, we stepped up even further in

response to the steep rise in hate during COVID-19, with $1.9 million in

new funding, new recovery money, to support more antiracism

work.

The ultimate goal of the network is to improve community capacity

to respond to incidents of racism through better coordination. We’ve

also committed to cross-ministry actions and commitments in antiracism

reconciliation by implementing a gender-plus-based analysis.

Much-needed police reform is around the corner. We’ve taken

positive steps in that direction as well. As I said earlier, a person

who is much wiser than me once said: “What matters is not to know the

world but to change it.” I really find solace that we now have a

government that is committed to changing things.

C. Oakes: I want to start by thanking all the members speaking today. Having

the opportunity to listen to your experiences, I certainly recognize how

privileged I am.

On behalf of my constituents of Cariboo North, I am incredibly

proud to support this important motion. I understand the extraordinary

power of words and the importance of taking action. Over the last many

days I have struggled to ensure that we approach this motion with the

appropriate path. Words that will somehow move this legislation to

answers on how we can best combat racism in all its forms…. And to be

honest, I’ve rewritten these comments more than once.

To search for some kind of answers, I’ve reviewed research of our

historical acts, many that were mentioned today, just trying to express

what is needed to be said. In moments like this, I think the most

important starting point is just to speak from my heart. This heart

feels very heavy right now. I struggle to find answers that I know so

many people are searching for.

Watching the news this past week about the horrible massacre of

Asians, particularly targeting women, in Atlanta…. All this, and then

the world was shaken, of course, by the recent killing of George Floyd.

The worldwide protests that followed his death are now serving to

highlight the racism that Blacks, Indigenous, Asians, South Asians —

anyone, from anywhere — sadly endure on a daily basis.

Like most people, I have been shocked and outraged to witness

recent events in our province. We’ve seen such a horrific spike over the

pandemic in hate crimes, racism and intolerance of every form right here

in British Columbia. We bear witness toward our Chinese-Canadian

communities that have been recently targeted.

[11:25 a.m.]

I ask: how can anyone think that pushing down an elder — or other

physical and/or verbal acts of violence — is okay? Where is the

accountability for such terrible acts? I think making this more

difficult are the enormous sacrifices that have been made by our

Indigenous Peo­ple. As a province, thanks to previous governments,

British Columbia can now build a foundation for a stronger future.

Because of this, we are now in a position to implement recommendations

and new groundbreaking approaches to put British Columbia on a pathway

towards reconciliation and healing with every single First Nation in

this province.

We are all British Columbians. We are all proud of where we have

come from, no matter where. When my grandmother’s family, the Muffords

and the Tims from Fort Langley, B.C., came to homestead in the Cariboo,

they moved to Moose Heights in 1936 on September 29. That same day,

winter arrived with a force, their small cabin not set up for winter.

They had uprooted their family, and I imagine how scared they

were.

Well, Mr. C.D. Hoy —— a local grocer in Quesnel who has now been

recognized in the last decade around the world for his photography from

that era —— helped my family survive that first winter. Another

Chinese-Canadian businessman, Mr. Sing, who owned a very successful

market garden, generously provided my grandmother and her siblings a

place to work in exchange for produce. This establishment of a

successful relationship has lasted generations, with successful

Chinese-Canadian business owners living in the Cariboo long before my

family came to homestead in the 1930s.

I’m currently reading a book by Isabel Wilkerson entitled

Caste: the Origins of Our Discontent . It looks at the

foundation of an old house and how we can look at the foundations. It

could be generations ago. “Live with it long enough, and the unthinkable

becomes normal. Exposed over the generations, we learn to believe that

the incomprehensible is the way that life is supposed to be.”

What do we do? We can’t fix the problem unless we see it with all

its ugliness. We need to wake up the consciousness of our society. We

need to speak up. We need a K-to-12 education that teaches our history.

We need a strong post-secondary system that recognizes the need for

education and research into social and humanitarian science. We need to

invest in arts, culture and museums. I believe we can ignite a positive

spark of light in our consciousness when we come together. That is the

pathway to move forward.

H. Yao: Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the private member’s

motion on the necessity to combat racism in all forms.

I acknowledge that I’m speaking from the traditional and unceded

territory of the Musqueam and Coast Salish peoples. I thank them for

allowing us to live, work and play on ancestral land.

On behalf of my riding, Richmond South Centre, I’m proud to

support — and ask every member in this House to support — the motion

introduced by the member representing Vancouver-Hastings. I also want to

thank all the members who spoke before me and who will speak after me.

It truly warms my heart to witness a collective condemnation of racism

in our Legislature.

It angers me to read reports of antiracism violence around the

world. I ask the House to take a moment to remember the untimely loss of

lives due to senseless violence. We need proper policies and

countermeasures to combat systemic racism. Racism continues to

deteriorate the fairness, trust, sense of safety and cooperation, and it

cannot go unchallenged. While it is important to address observable

racism, we also need to acknowledge the existence of hidden racism as

well. Systemic racism can be hidden and invisible to individuals who are

not impacted by racial discrimination.

I would like to share an example from my past. I still remember,

vividly, my frustration yet powerless realization from my past

employment in Richmond. Diversity never seemed to be an issue for

front-line or low-paid positions. Instead, many of my past colleagues

and I had to report to a management team that reflected neither the

diversity of the population we served nor the staffing. It is difficult

to feel Richmond as a community where such divisions exist. According to

the 2016 census, Richmond has approximately 76 percent of residents who

identify themselves as either Indigenous, Black or people of

colour.

[11:30 a.m.]

As a person of colour, it is discouraging and disheartening to

acknowledge how often we’re asked by management to do translation,

engagement dialogue, program design, promotion to diverse communities,

and multicultural practice and understanding.

Too many who work in the farmland of Richmond, and why Richmond

has one of the least popular responsiveness rates…. Together we need to

shatter the invisible glass ceiling often too easily felt by Indigenous,

Black and people of colour. We can do better, and we need to do

better.

Obviously, racism experienced by people in Richmond goes beyond

employment. In December 2019, while most of British Columbia lived their

lives in normalcy, many Asian-Canadians recognized the trouble brewing

in Asia — a pneumonia-like illness that was identified in China, Wuhan

region. The disease awoke a memory from a time in the not-so-distant

past: SARS. Many countries and global citizens paid a hefty price, and

the survivors walked away with valuable lessons.

Chinese Canadians were vigilant. We shared our learning from the

global fight against SARS with our communities. We promoted the need and

importance of face-mask wearing, handwashing, systematic testing,

restricting movements, maintaining self-distance, and so

forth.

Many Chinese Canadians in Richmond led the way in the fight

against the spread of the virus. Yet, however, before March 2020, we

were often met with ridicule and mockery. Several types of mockeries

were calling us ill-informed, scaredy cats, stupid, paranoid and crazy.

Ridicule continues, although public health validated a strategy

recommended by Chinese Canadians in our community.

Chinese Canadians could and wanted to be an exceptional and

effective ally in the fight against COVID-19 for our community. However,

the opportunity was minimized by racial tension and distrust. While many

Chinese-Canadian groups were fighting to help British Columbia find ways

by donating personal protective equipment, anti-Chinese racism

experienced an exponential growth. Unprovoked violence resulted in

tragic loss of life. Not just Chinese, but individuals with Asian-based

ethnicities.

Racism is blind and despicable. Racism has stolen our community’s

opportunity to work together to minimize the damage done by COVID-19.

Racism further sows distrust and reduces our society’s ability to all

cooperate and collaborate in this pandemic. Worst of all, racists

somehow found the determination and devotion to these skewed and

self-justifying views that lead to unprovoked violence, broken families

and lives lost. Racism cannot turn off those problems without challenge.

We, as a province, must stand up against racism.

Today, I’m proud our government has a majority of MLAs who are

women, and over a quarter of our MLAs are persons of colour. Our

government has also re-established the B.C. Office of the Human Rights

Commissioner to further combat racism. Of course, with the appointment

of our first Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, our

government’s direction and diversity policy has truly reflected our

government’s commitment to embrace multiculturalism and combat

racism.

M. Lee: I rise in support of the motion before the House. British Columbia

regrettably has had a history of structural and institutional racism,

the impacts of which can still be seen and felt today.

Even with the progress and changes we’ve made, racism still exists

in our society. I’m grateful that all members of this House are

committed to combatting all forms of racism. Our province and our

country have had a history of systemic racism towards people of Asian

descent, and I’ve seen evidence of it over the course of my own life. In

the late 1980s, I worked as a volunteer in Vancouver’s Chinatown with

the human rights committee of the Chi­nese Benevolent Association

of Vancouver, interviewing payees and their families about the head

tax.

Under the Chinese Immigration Act, the head tax was imposed in

1885 to discourage Chinese immigration after the completion of the

Canadian Pacific Railway, the very nation-building infrastructure that

many of these men helped to build and lost many of their

lives.

Chinese immigrants also worked on farms and logging operations and

as store owners at a time when many white Canadians were openly

discriminatory to­wards Chinese immigrants.

[11:35 a.m.]

After some provincial governments, especially British Columbia,

pressured the federal government, a new Chi­nese immigration act,

commonly known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was enacted in 1923, which

banned nearly all Chinese immigration to Canada for years, separating

many families.

The exclusion act was repealed in 1947 after the Second World War,

when Canada became a signatory to the United Nations charter of human

rights. This was just six years before my father came as a student to

B.C. from Hong Kong in 1953. For another 15 years after that,

immigration restrictions on the basis of race and national origin were

still in place until 1962, which is the year that my mother came to

B.C.

This period demonstrates the importance of education in our fight

against racism in realizing that we are not far removed from the darker

periods of our history. Over the past year, we’ve seen a stark increase

in hate crimes and overt acts of racism in our province. The rise in

racism has come in the form of anti-Asian hate in British Columbia, with

the Vancouver police department reporting a staggering 717 percent

increase in reported incidents in 2020. Acts of violence, in the form of

verbal and physical assaults and other hate crimes, have all increased

dramatically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Vancouver constituency I represent, we recently had two

incidents of racism, one at

c̓əsnaʔəm, an ancient Musqueam

village and burial ground that was vandalized, and the second at

Riverview Park, where eight trees were defaced with anti-Semitic

symbols, swastikas and the words “white power.” These terrible acts of

hate are sad reminders that we have still so much more work to do to

fight racism in our society.

I know that all members of this House want to build a more open

and inclusive British Columbia. It’s why we sought to address the

impacts of institutional racism towards Indigenous peoples within B.C.

We need to continue to raise public awareness and educate people about

residential schools and other forms of racism towards Indigenous peoples

in our province’s history.

We’re committed to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation

Commission and to act on the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous

peoples in our collective decision-making moving forward

together.

As evidenced by the incident in Vancouver-Langara last month, and

more recently with anti-Semitic posters in Kelowna last Friday, there

are further steps we also need to take to address anti-Semitism in our

province. Canada and Ontario have adopted the International Holocaust

Remembrance Alliance’s, IHRA’s, definition of anti-Semitism as part of

their anti-racism strategies. Here in British Columbia, I believe we

should also adopt similar legislation to strengthen the tools that we

have to fight racism.

We must continue to work to increase the diversity of perspectives

and be vigilant in addressing any bias and racism in our institutions

and our communities and to find ways to foster greater empathy towards

others. We also need to be united in our work to build a more open and

inclusive society in British Columbia and not stoke division between

communities.

Let’s not be discouraged, but instead emboldened to push forward

to make real and lasting change to the benefit of everyone in our

province. I believe the diversity of British Columbia is a great gift.

We have an amazing opportunity to show the world that living with

respect for one another is possible. Let us all be strong and firm,

standing up against racism.

R. Singh: It is such an honour to be standing here today and talking in

favour of this motion. I really want to thank my colleague the member

for Vancouver-Hastings for bringing this motion. We all know that racism

has been part of our history, not just in British Columbia but Canadian

history. Racism has always existed in Canada. But what we have seen, the

global events that we have seen in the last year — with the Black Lives

Matter movement; with the anti-Asian, anti-Indigenous hate crimes in the

wake of COVID-19 — talk of racism has come to the forefront.

Talking about racism is not an easy task. It is very

uncomfortable. It is challenging. I’m really glad for this opportunity

in the House to talk about this issue, hearing my colleagues from both

sides of the Legislature talking about their commitment, talking about

the need to put in the resources to fight racism every day.

I’m so glad. I’m so proud to be part of a government that is

taking this issue very seriously — the number of anti-racism initiatives

that have been launched by our government.

[11:40 a.m.]

We have reached this point not just like that. It didn’t happen

overnight. It has been with advocacy. It has been the work of the

grassroots organizations, the community organizations, the voices and a

lot of advocacy that they have done for British Columbia and the

government to take this stand and also to roll out the initiatives that

will be coming out.

I just want to mention a few of the things that the government is

planning to do. There have been a lot of calls about collecting

race-based data. We are taking that very seriously. We know this is an

important thing to find the barriers, the gaps, and to bring in the

policies that can help the racialized communities, help our Indigenous

and Black communities.

Also, bringing for the first time ever…. British Columbia is going

to introduce anti-racism legislation. So a lot of consultation will

happen for that, but also, I think governments will do their part. They

defer to the communities. They will do the part. But it is, I think, the

allyship — all the communities coming together and needing to talk about

racism. That’s what we are doing here today.

This is what I have seen in a number of organizations that I’ve

had the opportunity to connect with. They are doing that, whether it is

happening in our schools, whether it is happening in our non-profit

sector, whether it is happening when we are talking to our younger

generation — talking about the need to create an inclusive and diverse

society that we all belong to. That’s what we all deserve.

I really want to just give one example of one organization,

especially one person that I had the opportunity to talk to in the last

few weeks. Her name is Hailey Chen. Hailey is working with youth all

over Canada to bring out awareness about racism. It was so great to talk

to her about this thing when she was talking about the need to educate

our youth and to bring the talk about racism, making a space to talk

about racism. That is extremely important.

I know that, as I mentioned before, this is a topic that brings a

lot of pain. It brings a lot of trauma, even for a person like me who is

a racialized person. If somebody asked me to talk about my experiences,

talk about examples of how I have faced racism…. I have a lot of

difficulty. And for the person who is hearing it, it is creating a lot

of trauma for them as well. So we really want to create the space, and I

really want to applaud people like Hailey for creating that

space.

I also really want to thank the initiative, especially, that was

just launched this Friday — the anti-racism campaign that is coming out

of the Ministry of Attorney General. That campaign is asking all of us

to do some introspection — to look within ourselves, look at our own

privileges, look at the barriers people are facing, look at what is

stopping us from talking about racism — but also, creating an

opportunity to have that dialogue, because that is important. Starting

the conversation, continuing that conversation, will really help us to

create a society that we are all striving for.

K. Kirkpatrick: Thank you to the member opposite for the introduction of this

motion. As we reflect on the meaning of the International Day for the

Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we should feel concerned —

concerned that this past year has led us backwards to a place where we

have seen more hate and more distrust of each other. Or perhaps, as it

happens in crisis, this has simply brought these things into the

light.

When we feel angry or frustrated as individuals, we look around

for someone else to blame for our own problems. As a community, we do

the same thing. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to our looking

around for that blame. It has intensified the pre-existing inequities in

Canadian society, and it has taken a toll on many Canadians. But for

Asian Canadians, the impacts have been magnified by racism aimed at both

individuals and businesses. This has been spurred on by misinformation

and the seriously incorrect conspiracy theories.

[11:45 a.m.]

As previous members mentioned, the Vancouver police have reported

a large surge in anti-Asian crimes. This is just what’s being reported

to the police. It doesn’t include the rude comments, the innuendos, the

verbal threats, graffiti and the physical assaults. The majority of acts

of violence towards Asians have taken on the form of microaggressions,

verbal abuse and harassment, including racial slurs, threats and

derogatory remarks. We try and make sense of this world by trying to

understand why things happen and, again, who to blame.

The pandemic has allowed us to mask our own fear by pointing the

finger, unjustifiably, towards those we want to hold responsible. In

today’s world, messages of hate and fear are all too easily spread

the…enemies of correct understanding.” That’s attributed to Mahatma

Gandhi. We already know that everyone — regardless of their colour,

ethnicity or country of origin — deserves to be treated with respect.

People are people. We are good; we are bad. We struggle; we thrive. But

there are no biological differences between us, just perceived

differences born out of ignorance.

So many of our attitudes were shaped when we were young. When our

family members or friends express racist opinions, it’s common that we

take on those views as our own. We take cues from our parents and the

adults around us. Even a joke at the dinner table, which may feel

innocuous at the time, gives the signal to a young person that it’s okay

to laugh at the expense of others. The problem is that unless we do

something about it, these thoughts and beliefs can stay with us for a

lifetime.

Just as a person can be raised to believe that they hold a special

position of privilege over others, a person of colour can be raised to

believe that they do not. This impacts what someone believes they can

and cannot do, and it impacts our views of each other. As parents, we

need to be aware to lead by example. It’s not what we say; it’s what we

say and what we do that demonstrates to our children what is acceptable

and what is not.

Children learn hate from those around them. They model what they

see. They can also, though, learn to be accepting, to be interested in

and respecting of differences, and how to love. We all have an

obligation to speak out when we see something: when someone is being

treated poorly, when they’re being teased, or when they’re being hurt.

Sitting on the sidelines and watching is simply cowardice. “If you are

neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the

oppressor.” That’s attributed to Desmond Tutu.

Last year the B.C. Liberals put forward substantive suggestions to

help combat the rise in hate crimes, increase funding to the

multiculturalism and antiracism programs, and develop more educational

tools and resources for the K-to-12 education curriculum. I would also

suggest that we demonstrate our commitment by providing investment and

support for Vancouver’s Chinatown, in which businesses have been

dramatically hurt by the pandemic. This is after years of development

and lack of mental health supports have encroached on this once vibrant

and historically relevant community.

The fight against racism, prejudice and inequality must continue.

As individuals and as a society, we need to step up and condemn racism

in all of its forms. I want my young, strong and talented

Chinese-Canadian daughter to grow up in a safe and inclusive

society.

J. Sims: I want to commend my colleague, the member for Vancouver-Hastings,

for bringing forward a motion that allows all of us to speak about

racism and the need for all of us to do more about this whole area. As

other colleagues have said, this area is very difficult to talk about

for many, but let me start off by saying how heartwarming it is to look

on the screen and see the diversity being reflected in the faces I see

on here.

Let me say…. Many of you might know my history. I was born in

India, but I got to England at a very young age. That’s where I grew

up.

[11:50 a.m.]

It’s when I became a teacher that I chose Canada to be my home. I

chose Canada to be my home because of its multiculturalism. We fell in

love with the geography. We fell in love with the people. We decided to

make this home.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

I’m in a cross-cultural marriage, an interracial marriage. My

husband is Caucasian. I was brought up in a Sikh family. He was brought

up in a Roman Catholic family. He’s got Irish-Scottish roots, and I have

my roots in the Punjab in India. So in many ways, a lot of the

conversations we have are very much like the United Nations, with the

diversity that is reflected there, over the years.

But racism, when we talk about multiculturalism…. I’ve listened to

all the wonderful speeches made by each and every one of you. For me,

yes, speeches are great. It is great that we’re getting together to have

this discussion. But I think there is time now for more concerted

action. Where does that start?

Multiculturalism, for me, is not about eating a samosa, eating pho

or eating sushi and putting on a garment. It is not. That is not

multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is not when we tolerate each other or

we put up with each other. It’s when we celebrate our

diversity.

I think that when we talk about racism, many of us felt that in

the ’70s and ’80s, we had done with racism. We put a check mark, and we

moved on. But I really want to take today to recognize the pioneers who

— in the ’60s, ’70s, ’50s, ’40s, ’30s, for the whole century — have been

fighting racism. I think it’s a conversation that is an ongoing

conversation that we’ve got to have, no matter how difficult it

is.

One of the places that conversation has to start is in the home.

We’ve got to make it safe for people to have that conversation — not

through blame, but that it’s okay to have these conversations. When we

look at our systems, our public school systems play a critical role in

this. Our curriculum has to reflect our diverse history, but it also has

to reflect, in a celebratory way, the contributions of the different

groups that came into this country. Yes, we have a very colourful

history, whether it was Japanese internment or to stop the Chinese from

coming here with the head tax or the Komagata

Maru .

Today I would say racism is real. It hurts, and it’s very painful.

We have to start tackling it in a multi-pronged way. There is lots we

can do as legislators, but there is a lot that institutions need to do

and lots that needs to be done in our communities and in our families.

But for me, how do we allow that conversation to happen? Many people

think: “Racism? That doesn’t exist anymore.” But those are the people

who have never faced it or experienced it. They’ve placed that check

mark and then gone on.

At this time, I do want to do a huge shout-out to the B.C.

Teachers Federation. One of my first forays into the union, into the

federation, was through the women’s committee and then later through the

anti-racism committee. Even today, the materials they have on their

website are absolutely amazing.

Let me tell you, having lived here all this time, I was thinking I

was immune to the hurt that racism can cause. I was in a car accident

last week. When the gentleman came out, the only thing he kept yelling

was: “Guess you don’t want to work. You people are all like this. All

you want to do is collect money from ICBC.” I stood there speechless. I

never thought I could become speechless like that. I just didn’t know

what to do. I was shell-shocked.

Racism is real. It’s part of life. But we have an opportunity to

take action and to change so that other people, our children, our

grandchildren, can live in safe communities.

T. Halford: Thank you to all the prior speakers before on this important

motion. I just want to actually highlight and touch on the words that my

colleague from Surrey-Panorama just mentioned. She gave an example there

that is probably, horrifically, too common.

[11:55 a.m.]

I think it’s absolutely horrendous that she had to go through

that. I am hoping that one day we get to a point where we don’t have to

hear those stories because they’re not happening. But we’re not there

yet, and we’ve got a long way to go.

I’m a father of three kids. I can say that in my house, we’ve had

conversations on what racism is. They were much different than the

conversations I had in my house when I was growing up. That’s a good

thing. But as I just said, we’ve still got a long way to go.

I’ve got a six-year-old daughter, and she finds it absolutely

puzzling that we have these conversations because she doesn’t understand

them. She has, in her class, a very diverse class. That’s something that

she actually just does not pay a lot of attention to. She does not

really concern herself with what people bring for their lunches, what

religions they celebrate in their homes or what the colour of their skin

is. That’s a good thing.

But as we’ve seen from what the member for Surrey-Panorama just

said — and we’ve seen the horrific examples such as last week in

Atlanta, Georgia, where Asian women were targeted and killed — we’re not

there yet. We’ve got a long way to go. So I absolutely stand in

solidarity with the members of this House and the member for

Vancouver-Hastings on this important motion.

A couple of things that I will say is that we, as a society, have

to ensure that we realize that there is so much work that needs to be

done and so much work that needs to be continued in our nation to make

sure that we are laying the pathways to get to a better place and to

eliminate racism.

That work needs to be done every day. It needs to be done in this

House. It needs to be done in our schools. It needs to be done in our

workplaces. We can never take a day off because people are watching, and

they need to watch. My children are watching. Their friends are

watching. Our parents, our grandparents are watching. We need to ensure

that we are doing everything on our part to end racism.

I’ve never experienced racism. I haven’t. But I know what it is. I

know the hurt and the pain that it can cause. I know how one joke can be

construed and can light a match to hate. I think that we all have to be

aware of that, especially people in my background, where there is a

certain level of…. I’ll say it. I think because you don’t experience it,

you just don’t really see it. We need to stop that, because what it does

is it just manifests.

I can say that I am proud to come from the city of Surrey, where

we have such diverse backgrounds. As the member stated before, it

shouldn’t be…. We’re speaking about people of backgrounds and colour and

everything like that and tolerating people. We need to celebrate people

and celebrate those backgrounds, because it’s all of us. We need to

ensure we’re doing everything in our part to teach and to learn and to

love. Thank you.

T. Halford moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. J. Whiteside moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:59 a.m.

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