Nine Burnaby organizations are among 68 around B.C. getting money to engage community members in crafting new anti-racism legislation.
"Too many people in B.C. experience systemic racism everyday,” said Mable Elmore, parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives, in a news release.
Elmore said part of how we will become an anti-racist society is by centring the lived experiences of those who have been marginalized by the harms of racism when we try to address it.
For that purpose, 68 organizations across British Columbia are receiving more than $300,000 in grants to give racialized people an opportunity to share their perspectives and engage in culturally safe spaces to develop the province's new anti-racism legislation.
Nine are from Burnaby, including Afrika 21 Cultural Centre Association, Burnaby Family Life and the Culture Chats BC Association.
Members of racialized communities, as well as racialized people from faith-based and 2SLGTBQIA+ communities, are encouraged to come forward and share their perspectives to ensure that upcoming anti-racism legislation will make a “meaningful difference in people’s lives.”
"These grants will give front-line organizations the opportunity to amplify the voices of the communities that will be most affected by our new anti-racism legislation," Elmore said.
These are the Burnaby organizations that have received the grant from the province:
- Afrika 21 Cultural Centre Association, Burnaby
- British Columbia Federation of Labour, Burnaby
- Burnaby Family Life, Burnaby
- Canada Committee 100 Society, Burnaby
- Canadian Women and Art Society, Burnaby
- Culture Chats BC Association, Burnaby
- Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens' Association, Burnaby
- Korean Evergreen Seniors Society of Canada, Burnaby
- Pakistani Canadian Women's Society, Burnaby
According to the release, more than 100 organizations from across B.C. applied for the grants and 68 have been approved. Engagements will run between July and the end of September this year.
B.C. is also calling on all residents to give their input on how they think the government should address systemic racism — by completing an anti-racism questionnaire by Sept. 30.
The Anti-Racism Act will be introduced in 2024 and is being co-developed with Indigenous Peoples; First Nations and Métis partners have received a separate $450,000 to facilitate the process, noted the release.
