1 00:00:12,929 --> 00:00:15,239 My name is Mei Chiu, professionally 2 00:00:15,239 --> 00:00:18,599 I'm a lawyer. So that's my paid work. But 3 00:00:18,599 --> 00:00:20,729 in terms of unpaid work, I've been an 4 00:00:20,759 --> 00:00:23,549 activist for social justice, almost all my 5 00:00:23,549 --> 00:00:26,309 life. I'm 55 years old so that's like 6 00:00:26,309 --> 00:00:29,789 several decades of activism. I would say 7 00:00:29,789 --> 00:00:31,829 right now, I'm mostly involved with the 8 00:00:31,829 --> 00:00:34,709 Progressive Chinese of Quebec, which is an 9 00:00:34,709 --> 00:00:37,799 organization that fights anti-Chinese 10 00:00:38,069 --> 00:00:41,399 racism. And in the past two years, I've 11 00:00:41,399 --> 00:00:43,559 been very involved with Extinction 12 00:00:43,559 --> 00:00:47,219 Rebellion Quebec, in their climate 13 00:00:47,219 --> 00:00:49,829 justice Committee, which is trying to 14 00:00:49,829 --> 00:00:54,509 advance climate justice as the spearhead 15 00:00:54,509 --> 00:00:57,089 of the struggle to save the world, to save 16 00:00:57,089 --> 00:01:04,319 the climate. Well, being a minority in 17 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,809 Quebec, I think that we've been forced to 18 00:01:07,289 --> 00:01:11,159 fight racism, just through being who we 19 00:01:11,159 --> 00:01:13,019 are. So we've been fighting racism, I've 20 00:01:13,019 --> 00:01:15,509 been fighting racism all my life, just as 21 00:01:15,989 --> 00:01:19,529 a lot of minorities in Quebec. And 22 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,200 being also a woman, being a single mom, 23 00:01:26,250 --> 00:01:29,910 I have had to live in the intersection of 24 00:01:30,390 --> 00:01:35,040 several forms of discrimination. And so we 25 00:01:35,310 --> 00:01:37,410 so that, I would say that would be my main 26 00:01:37,410 --> 00:01:39,690 connection to the anti-racism project. And 27 00:01:39,870 --> 00:01:42,930 for me, anti-racism has to be 28 00:01:42,930 --> 00:01:45,030 intersectional as well. So it's not just 29 00:01:45,030 --> 00:01:48,300 purely fighting racism, but fighting class 30 00:01:48,300 --> 00:01:50,040 discrimination, fighting gender 31 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,320 discrimination, etc. 32 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,860 What the COVID-19 crisis has shown us is 33 00:02:01,860 --> 00:02:04,950 that it's revealed, it's lifted the cover 34 00:02:04,980 --> 00:02:08,190 on so many failings of our social economic 35 00:02:08,190 --> 00:02:12,240 system. So in Quebec, the biggest crisis 36 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,610 that it lifted was the healthcare crisis, 37 00:02:15,210 --> 00:02:20,130 the cuts and underfunding of our public 38 00:02:20,130 --> 00:02:22,860 healthcare system, and the damage that 39 00:02:22,860 --> 00:02:26,700 that has inflicted was a bit much, very 40 00:02:26,700 --> 00:02:29,400 much revealed through the COVID crisis. 41 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:31,260 And at the same time, the COVID crisis 42 00:02:31,260 --> 00:02:37,290 revealed to us the extent of the grievous 43 00:02:37,290 --> 00:02:39,000 human rights violations of migrant 44 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,690 workers, the right of all Quebecers to 45 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:47,190 housing rights, the rights of every person 46 00:02:47,190 --> 00:02:49,770 to a decent income, to decent standard of 47 00:02:49,770 --> 00:02:53,010 living, the rights of Indigenous peoples. 48 00:02:53,370 --> 00:02:55,740 And I would say that for the Chinese 49 00:02:55,740 --> 00:03:00,450 community, it also revealed the simmering 50 00:03:01,980 --> 00:03:05,010 anti-Asian racism that exists in society. 51 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:12,180 So for those of you who are not familiar 52 00:03:12,180 --> 00:03:15,390 with Chinese Canadian history, the first 53 00:03:15,390 --> 00:03:17,490 the earliest Chinese immigrants to Canada 54 00:03:17,490 --> 00:03:20,190 were brought in to work on the railway 55 00:03:20,250 --> 00:03:23,940 and in 1887, after the railway, the 56 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:26,490 Canadian Pacific Railway was built on 57 00:03:26,490 --> 00:03:30,990 which the country of Canada was founded. 58 00:03:31,860 --> 00:03:34,770 The government decided that they didn't 59 00:03:34,770 --> 00:03:36,510 need any more Chinese people. And so in 60 00:03:36,510 --> 00:03:38,790 order to discourage Chinese immigration, 61 00:03:39,330 --> 00:03:45,240 the government passed the first tax on 62 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,220 every new Chinese immigrant wanting to 63 00:03:47,220 --> 00:03:49,920 come into the country. And at that time, 64 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,920 it was a very huge amount for the average 65 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:57,240 person to pay. And despite various efforts 66 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:01,200 to increase the amount of taxes, Chinese 67 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,480 people were able to get their money 68 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:05,670 together, pool their money together to 69 00:04:05,670 --> 00:04:07,860 continue to bring in their family members. 70 00:04:08,190 --> 00:04:11,340 And this is so the government continued 71 00:04:11,340 --> 00:04:13,620 to increase the head tax for all Chinese 72 00:04:13,620 --> 00:04:18,120 immigrants until 1923. And on July 1 1923, 73 00:04:18,150 --> 00:04:20,580 which is also known as Humiliation Day in 74 00:04:20,580 --> 00:04:22,500 the Chinese community. The head, the 75 00:04:22,500 --> 00:04:24,630 Canadian government passed the Chinese 76 00:04:24,630 --> 00:04:27,930 Exclusion Act, which forbade all Chinese 77 00:04:27,930 --> 00:04:30,000 immigrants, with very few exceptions 78 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,840 period. And of course, this devastated and 79 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:35,370 stunted the growth of the Chinese 80 00:04:35,370 --> 00:04:38,790 community in Canada for over a decade. And 81 00:04:38,790 --> 00:04:41,190 the Exclusion Act was not appealed until 82 00:04:41,190 --> 00:04:46,260 1947. Still in the 80s, after the Canadian 83 00:04:46,260 --> 00:04:48,570 Charter of Rights and Freedoms was passed, 84 00:04:48,900 --> 00:04:51,570 a head tax payer said well, oh, 85 00:04:51,630 --> 00:04:54,090 now the charter means that I'm an equal 86 00:04:54,090 --> 00:04:56,580 citizen. I'm an equal Canadian, I have 87 00:04:56,580 --> 00:04:59,070 equal rights. So he went to his deputy and 88 00:04:59,070 --> 00:05:00,960 said: "Can I have that money back that I 89 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,140 paid for the head tax?" And so this 90 00:05:04,470 --> 00:05:06,600 galvanized the entire Chinese community 91 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,660 across the country to begin a movement for 92 00:05:09,660 --> 00:05:13,560 redress and reparations. And finally, it 93 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:18,570 was won in 2006 when Stephen Harper gave a 94 00:05:18,570 --> 00:05:21,300 partial redress and official apologies to 95 00:05:21,300 --> 00:05:24,060 the Chinese community, for the head tax 96 00:05:24,060 --> 00:05:26,550 campaign. And so you know, the community 97 00:05:26,550 --> 00:05:27,090 was - 98 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:30,360 people who were cut out of the deal were 99 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:32,460 disappointed, but I think by and 100 00:05:32,460 --> 00:05:35,310 large, the, the community saw that as a 101 00:05:35,310 --> 00:05:41,370 victory. And, and, and so activism dwindled down 102 00:05:41,370 --> 00:05:45,420 a little bit. However, this only 103 00:05:45,420 --> 00:05:49,020 meant that explicit direct discrimination 104 00:05:49,020 --> 00:05:52,740 was redress in part, and like any other 105 00:05:52,740 --> 00:05:55,320 minority intended in Quebec, of course, 106 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,810 systemic racism, statistic after 107 00:05:57,810 --> 00:06:02,100 statistic, continued to show that if I'm 108 00:06:02,100 --> 00:06:04,500 talking about the Chinese community, in 109 00:06:04,500 --> 00:06:09,660 general, that we suffer larger percentages 110 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:13,920 of poverty, of exclusion of right to 111 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:20,250 health care of income, incomes, etc, etc, 112 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:24,570 of housing rights, etc, etc. And so, in 113 00:06:24,570 --> 00:06:27,420 order to deal with systemic racism, in 114 00:06:27,510 --> 00:06:29,910 2017, when the Liberal government 115 00:06:29,910 --> 00:06:32,880 announced that they were going to conduct 116 00:06:33,060 --> 00:06:34,800 a public consultation of systemic 117 00:06:34,860 --> 00:06:37,260 discrimination, the Chinese community 118 00:06:37,260 --> 00:06:40,530 along with many Asian communities, and a 119 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,290 broad cross-section of I think there were 120 00:06:43,290 --> 00:06:48,210 over 160 organizations in Quebec, which 121 00:06:48,750 --> 00:06:51,630 decided that they would participate in 122 00:06:51,630 --> 00:06:54,750 this consultation. And so in terms of 123 00:06:54,750 --> 00:06:56,580 addressing systemic discrimination, the 124 00:06:56,580 --> 00:07:00,360 need was still very much alive. And what 125 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,420 happened with the COVID crisis is that the 126 00:07:03,420 --> 00:07:07,830 anti-chinese racism that had always been 127 00:07:07,890 --> 00:07:12,210 simmering for over a century continued to 128 00:07:12,210 --> 00:07:16,740 exist, and the COVID crisis, just, it 129 00:07:16,740 --> 00:07:19,140 was like, what do you call it piercing a 130 00:07:19,140 --> 00:07:23,430 wound, and Chinese, not just Chinese, but 131 00:07:23,460 --> 00:07:26,940 Asians across Canada and including 132 00:07:27,420 --> 00:07:29,790 Indigenous people who sometimes were 133 00:07:29,790 --> 00:07:32,340 mistaken for Chinese were attacked, 134 00:07:32,340 --> 00:07:37,170 insulted, humiliated. And so this is, this 135 00:07:37,170 --> 00:07:42,660 is what happened. But again, the Chinese 136 00:07:42,660 --> 00:07:44,520 community, the Asian communities across 137 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:46,890 the country, were very quick to try to 138 00:07:47,730 --> 00:07:53,760 reignite a concertation. They tried to, or 139 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:55,770 actually not, not just that they tried, 140 00:07:55,770 --> 00:08:00,960 but they did create a pan-Asian coalition 141 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,590 in order to share experiences. The 142 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,650 Canadian National, the Chinese Canadian 143 00:08:07,650 --> 00:08:09,750 National Council, social justice committee 144 00:08:09,750 --> 00:08:13,290 in Toronto, did a poll, which revealed the 145 00:08:13,290 --> 00:08:16,890 extent to which anti-racism existed across 146 00:08:16,890 --> 00:08:20,610 the country. The there's a, there was an 147 00:08:20,610 --> 00:08:23,250 organization called: Act 2 End Racism, 148 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,460 initiated by organizations in the western 149 00:08:26,490 --> 00:08:33,540 Canada, which denounced racist 150 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:39,060 declarations against (Dr.) Theresa Tam, by I 151 00:08:39,060 --> 00:08:44,370 think it was a conservative candidate for 152 00:08:44,370 --> 00:08:47,010 the conservative, conservative leadership. 153 00:08:47,340 --> 00:08:53,940 And so so, you know, the obligation to 154 00:08:53,940 --> 00:08:56,730 always be on guard always be ready to 155 00:08:56,730 --> 00:08:58,860 defend ourselves and always and always be 156 00:08:58,860 --> 00:09:02,700 ready to fight back and to claim our place 157 00:09:03,060 --> 00:09:06,510 in society is always there. But, you know, 158 00:09:07,020 --> 00:09:10,440 what I really would like to also mention 159 00:09:10,470 --> 00:09:13,860 is the challenges and building coalition 160 00:09:13,860 --> 00:09:16,650 and building networks, not just in the 161 00:09:16,650 --> 00:09:19,200 Asian community, but I think across 162 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:21,840 minority or racialized communities. 163 00:09:23,250 --> 00:09:27,180 Because actually, the coalitions were, 164 00:09:27,210 --> 00:09:30,690 have has always been fragile. If you I 165 00:09:30,690 --> 00:09:32,940 would highly recommend a book by William Dear 166 00:09:32,940 --> 00:09:35,220 I have in the back of me sitting on 167 00:09:35,220 --> 00:09:37,950 the table, back with me. And he goes 168 00:09:37,950 --> 00:09:40,860 through the history and the challenges of 169 00:09:41,370 --> 00:09:45,360 trying to form a coalition, when even in 170 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,000 the Chinese community, for example, there 171 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,250 are so many differences, class 172 00:09:50,250 --> 00:09:51,120 differences. 173 00:09:54,029 --> 00:09:58,289 Status differences. You know, not 174 00:09:58,289 --> 00:09:59,999 everybody comes with the same perspective. 175 00:09:59,999 --> 00:10:03,449 In the case of the head tax campaign, it 176 00:10:03,449 --> 00:10:06,749 was the what we call the "low watch you" the 177 00:10:06,749 --> 00:10:09,209 first generation, the older Cantonese 178 00:10:09,209 --> 00:10:14,129 speaking immigrants, and activists who 179 00:10:14,129 --> 00:10:17,099 were younger, more mobile, professionals, 180 00:10:17,699 --> 00:10:20,819 recent immigrants from Hong Kong. And it's 181 00:10:20,819 --> 00:10:23,489 really interesting in terms of trying to 182 00:10:23,489 --> 00:10:25,619 build a united front of people with 183 00:10:25,619 --> 00:10:27,929 various different interests and different 184 00:10:27,929 --> 00:10:32,129 positions. And in terms of the COVID, the 185 00:10:32,129 --> 00:10:35,879 reaction to the COVID crisis, there were 186 00:10:35,879 --> 00:10:40,949 also, I would say, important differences 187 00:10:40,979 --> 00:10:45,179 in political understanding, analysis, and 188 00:10:45,179 --> 00:10:51,029 also interests that again, impacted on the 189 00:10:51,029 --> 00:10:53,579 ability of the Chinese community, Chinese 190 00:10:53,579 --> 00:10:57,899 Canadian community to be able to forge a 191 00:10:57,899 --> 00:11:02,579 united front. So for example, one divisive 192 00:11:02,639 --> 00:11:05,429 issue that came to light was police. 193 00:11:05,879 --> 00:11:09,389 Because there were organizations that 194 00:11:09,389 --> 00:11:12,029 wanted to fight back and give resources to 195 00:11:12,029 --> 00:11:16,319 the community who are, who experienced anti-Chinese 196 00:11:16,319 --> 00:11:19,649 assaults. And one of their 197 00:11:19,649 --> 00:11:21,239 recourses, of course, would be called the 198 00:11:21,239 --> 00:11:22,979 police, "we have to work with the police." 199 00:11:23,759 --> 00:11:29,939 And that didn't go very well with Chinese 200 00:11:30,479 --> 00:11:33,299 Canadians and Chinese Quebecers, who were in 201 00:11:33,299 --> 00:11:36,149 solidarity with Indigenous peoples and 202 00:11:36,149 --> 00:11:39,809 with Black Lives Matter. And who were in 203 00:11:39,809 --> 00:11:43,289 the camp of defunding the police. And who 204 00:11:43,289 --> 00:11:46,469 were aware of the historical place that 205 00:11:46,529 --> 00:11:49,559 the police played in, for example, 206 00:11:51,839 --> 00:11:57,359 arresting people with no status, who were 207 00:11:57,359 --> 00:11:59,219 aware of the fact that actually in the 208 00:11:59,219 --> 00:12:01,529 States, the police, and I think even in 209 00:12:01,529 --> 00:12:05,729 Canada, the police, originally, one of 210 00:12:05,729 --> 00:12:09,479 their functions was to, to bring back 211 00:12:09,569 --> 00:12:13,199 runaway slaves. And, of course, you know, 212 00:12:13,859 --> 00:12:16,079 Royal Commission, public report, after 213 00:12:16,079 --> 00:12:18,719 public report revealed the role of the 214 00:12:18,719 --> 00:12:21,449 police, the failures of the police to 215 00:12:21,449 --> 00:12:23,699 defend the rights of Indigenous peoples. 216 00:12:24,509 --> 00:12:28,739 And so, you know, so there were these, 217 00:12:29,099 --> 00:12:32,069 these different understandings and 218 00:12:32,069 --> 00:12:35,219 different political positions, that I 219 00:12:35,219 --> 00:12:39,089 think that tempered a lot of our ability 220 00:12:39,089 --> 00:12:41,429 to be able to really forge a united front. 221 00:12:41,789 --> 00:12:43,559 And I think that these are ongoing 222 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:46,139 conversations that the community will have 223 00:12:46,139 --> 00:12:50,399 to continue, we have to really share our, 224 00:12:50,939 --> 00:12:56,099 our knowledge and our resources. And so, 225 00:12:56,399 --> 00:12:58,319 yeah, basically, I think that's what I 226 00:12:58,319 --> 00:13:06,269 would like to share today. One really 227 00:13:06,299 --> 00:13:09,779 interesting, recent initiative that has 228 00:13:09,779 --> 00:13:15,899 tried to build like a common understanding 229 00:13:17,849 --> 00:13:19,679 in the Chinese community about the 230 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:24,419 intersection of oppressions, and the, and 231 00:13:24,449 --> 00:13:29,129 the obligation to be in solidarity with 232 00:13:29,189 --> 00:13:32,249 other oppressed communities would be in 233 00:13:32,249 --> 00:13:36,899 the past few years across North America, 234 00:13:37,229 --> 00:13:41,699 different Chinese communities have 235 00:13:42,929 --> 00:13:47,579 created, saved or launched, Save Chinatown 236 00:13:47,579 --> 00:13:50,489 Campaigns. And what is really interesting 237 00:13:50,519 --> 00:13:53,339 is that a lot of these activists are 238 00:13:53,339 --> 00:13:56,519 unpaid. And almost like around the same 239 00:13:56,519 --> 00:13:59,819 time, we all realize that hey, if we don't 240 00:13:59,819 --> 00:14:04,349 do something, we will lose. 241 00:14:04,829 --> 00:14:07,739 Chinatown, our Chinatown, which, you know, 242 00:14:07,739 --> 00:14:09,449 in most cities, they're really 243 00:14:09,689 --> 00:14:11,039 important, historic. 244 00:14:12,330 --> 00:14:14,460 Sorry, they're really important historic 245 00:14:14,460 --> 00:14:17,220 and cultural symbols, and really crucial 246 00:14:17,220 --> 00:14:20,340 to the Chinese American or Chinese 247 00:14:20,340 --> 00:14:24,990 Canadian identity. And so these in 248 00:14:24,990 --> 00:14:27,450 different cities, and there's a North 249 00:14:27,450 --> 00:14:32,700 American network of, of organizations 250 00:14:32,700 --> 00:14:36,300 fighting to save Chinatown, and and folded 251 00:14:36,300 --> 00:14:39,000 into the issues of save Chinatown would 252 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,510 of course be fights against tenant 253 00:14:42,510 --> 00:14:45,930 evictions, fights against gentrification, 254 00:14:46,740 --> 00:14:50,640 demanding more social services, demanding 255 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:55,440 cultural space. In Montreal's Chinatown, now 256 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,860 that we've lost the YMCA, we folded in 257 00:14:58,860 --> 00:15:05,310 the demand to get sports or physical 258 00:15:05,310 --> 00:15:08,550 activities, installations back into 259 00:15:08,550 --> 00:15:13,320 Chinatown. And, and so so that is really 260 00:15:13,350 --> 00:15:16,200 interesting. And like I said, this is a, I 261 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,820 would say it's a strong, politically is a 262 00:15:20,820 --> 00:15:23,640 very strong network. And I think that is 263 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,960 gaining strength. And so the other 264 00:15:27,990 --> 00:15:30,000 interesting thing about this is that so 265 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,130 again, going back to COVID, yesterday , 266 00:15:32,310 --> 00:15:34,740 there was a press conference by Chinese 267 00:15:34,740 --> 00:15:37,890 merchants who are asking the government, 268 00:15:37,890 --> 00:15:39,690 like the three levels of government to 269 00:15:39,690 --> 00:15:42,870 save Chinatown businesses, who have been 270 00:15:42,930 --> 00:15:47,190 really hard hit by the COVID crisis. And 271 00:15:47,190 --> 00:15:50,820 we're afraid that, you know, we, Chinatown 272 00:15:50,850 --> 00:15:53,910 is literally slowly dying out, 273 00:15:54,660 --> 00:15:58,770 economically. And, of course, you know, we 274 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,850 in the Save Chinatown Coalitions fully 275 00:16:02,850 --> 00:16:07,200 support the merchants demands, but at the 276 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,290 same time, if we put that into historical 277 00:16:10,350 --> 00:16:13,260 perspective, in fact, Chinatowns across 278 00:16:13,260 --> 00:16:16,170 North America have been slowly dying by 279 00:16:16,170 --> 00:16:18,630 attrition, and they've been threatened by 280 00:16:18,630 --> 00:16:22,140 huge development. If I can just speak 281 00:16:22,140 --> 00:16:27,180 briefly about Chinatown in Montreal, it 282 00:16:27,180 --> 00:16:29,940 used to, Chinatown used to be much, much 283 00:16:29,940 --> 00:16:33,330 bigger. And according to 284 00:16:33,870 --> 00:16:36,900 researchers, the reason why Chinatown is 285 00:16:37,050 --> 00:16:39,300 has been reduced to the size that it is 286 00:16:39,300 --> 00:16:42,660 today was because bureaucrats thought 287 00:16:42,660 --> 00:16:44,430 that, oh, you know, the Chinese community, 288 00:16:44,430 --> 00:16:46,140 they're not going to be able to make much 289 00:16:46,140 --> 00:16:47,880 noise, they're not going to be able to 290 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,250 protest as much if we encroach on their 291 00:16:50,250 --> 00:16:52,770 space. And so that's why Chinatown is so 292 00:16:52,770 --> 00:16:55,320 tiny. We're limited by the Guy Favreau, by 293 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:59,040 the highway. There was a horrible bylaw 294 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:03,000 also that prohibited the establishment of 295 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:07,230 new businesses beyond Saint-Dominique. I 296 00:17:07,230 --> 00:17:09,240 can't remember if I mentioned the Guy Favreau 297 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,560 Hydro-Quebec building. And actually, last 298 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,310 year, what happened was that we tried to, 299 00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:19,440 we had a press conference to try to get 300 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:23,010 the governments to help us to get back the 301 00:17:23,010 --> 00:17:25,620 cultural center. It's the only cultural 302 00:17:25,620 --> 00:17:27,120 center that we have in the Chinese 303 00:17:27,120 --> 00:17:29,340 community in Quebec. And we had wanted to 304 00:17:29,340 --> 00:17:32,490 save that. But since it had been bought by 305 00:17:32,490 --> 00:17:34,740 private interests, we tried it, we started 306 00:17:34,740 --> 00:17:36,900 to try to search for alternative 307 00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:39,120 buildings. And then we realized that whoa, 308 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:41,910 there are all these huge developments in 309 00:17:41,910 --> 00:17:44,490 Chinatown, and nobody knows who's making 310 00:17:44,490 --> 00:17:47,580 the decisions, and we rally the community 311 00:17:47,580 --> 00:17:50,730 to demand a development plan to protect 312 00:17:50,730 --> 00:17:53,940 Chinatown. And again, the people who are 313 00:17:53,940 --> 00:17:57,210 involved in these same Chinatown projects, 314 00:17:58,230 --> 00:18:00,480 are people who do, who are very 315 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,960 conscious, that we're on colonized land, 316 00:18:04,860 --> 00:18:08,430 and that Chinatown itself also has to be 317 00:18:08,430 --> 00:18:12,330 shared. So for example, finally the city 318 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,630 did acquiesce to our demand for public 319 00:18:15,630 --> 00:18:17,250 consultation on the development of 320 00:18:17,460 --> 00:18:20,250 Chinatown. And again, you know, class 321 00:18:20,250 --> 00:18:23,640 interests, and privileges, different 322 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:31,560 privilege approaches, forum. So for 323 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,770 example, in one consultation, I believe 324 00:18:34,770 --> 00:18:36,720 that somebody had complained about the 325 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:38,670 homeless people in Chinatown, and well, 326 00:18:38,670 --> 00:18:39,660 the homeless people 327 00:18:41,369 --> 00:18:46,199 are majoritarily Indigenous peoples who 328 00:18:46,199 --> 00:18:49,889 are there. And so, you know, but but then, 329 00:18:49,889 --> 00:18:51,179 you know, because it was a public 330 00:18:51,179 --> 00:18:53,399 concertation, we're able to bring that 331 00:18:53,399 --> 00:18:57,299 angle into the concertation, and then, you 332 00:18:57,299 --> 00:19:00,719 know, those voices dissipated. So it was 333 00:19:00,719 --> 00:19:04,229 really important venue to share our 334 00:19:04,229 --> 00:19:07,859 different perspectives. And, and I think 335 00:19:07,859 --> 00:19:11,579 that also, oh, we also reached out in, in 336 00:19:11,579 --> 00:19:14,039 Montreal anyway, we reached out to other 337 00:19:14,039 --> 00:19:17,669 neighborhoods that are losing affordable 338 00:19:17,669 --> 00:19:21,029 housing due to gentrification. And so we 339 00:19:21,029 --> 00:19:23,609 were able to build alliances across them 340 00:19:23,669 --> 00:19:26,369 across race and cultural and language, 341 00:19:26,669 --> 00:19:30,869 language divides. And I have a lot of hope 342 00:19:30,869 --> 00:19:33,059 that this could be a model for mobilizing. 343 00:19:38,220 --> 00:19:40,170 I think the lessons for effective 344 00:19:40,170 --> 00:19:44,010 mobilization within the community would be 345 00:19:44,010 --> 00:19:47,130 to build coalitions with other oppressed 346 00:19:47,130 --> 00:19:51,180 groups and other minority groups. We see 347 00:19:51,180 --> 00:19:55,200 how, really how easily it is for the 348 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,100 government to divide and conquer. If I can 349 00:19:59,100 --> 00:20:02,520 go back to the head tax redress campaign, 350 00:20:02,550 --> 00:20:05,370 it took a long time, because like I said, 351 00:20:05,370 --> 00:20:07,770 there were difference in positions of 352 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,770 organizations that were all working for 353 00:20:10,770 --> 00:20:12,510 redress, there were people who there were 354 00:20:12,900 --> 00:20:14,760 positions or demands that were more 355 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,800 conservative. And then there were demands 356 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,800 that were more that were bolder, and more 357 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:24,390 in line with hard line reparative justice. 358 00:20:25,530 --> 00:20:29,250 And so and it was so easy, you know, we 359 00:20:29,250 --> 00:20:31,140 learned from 20 years of lobbying the 360 00:20:31,140 --> 00:20:33,630 federal government that was so easy for 361 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:36,780 politicians to say: "Well, you know, you 362 00:20:36,780 --> 00:20:38,850 you have to get your your, you have to 363 00:20:38,850 --> 00:20:40,710 build a consensus among your community.", 364 00:20:40,710 --> 00:20:42,810 which itself is extremely racist, because 365 00:20:42,990 --> 00:20:44,520 white communities don't need to have a 366 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,220 consensus on every single issue before 367 00:20:47,340 --> 00:20:51,870 advances or progress is made. But this is 368 00:20:51,870 --> 00:20:54,720 the world in that we live in, we are a 369 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:59,160 minority. And so we do have to, have to 370 00:20:59,970 --> 00:21:05,400 build I would say, have minimum build, 371 00:21:05,490 --> 00:21:07,350 sorry, I would have to say that we have to 372 00:21:07,350 --> 00:21:11,580 build minimum positions of unity. In order 373 00:21:11,580 --> 00:21:14,430 to be able to fight racism and different 374 00:21:14,430 --> 00:21:18,090 forms of oppression. We have to also I 375 00:21:18,090 --> 00:21:21,360 would say, if I'm addressing Chinese 376 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:24,600 community, I would also have to say that 377 00:21:24,660 --> 00:21:27,090 we need to fight our own internalized 378 00:21:27,180 --> 00:21:32,550 racism. We benefit from the myth of the 379 00:21:32,550 --> 00:21:35,910 model minority, actually, we could benefit 380 00:21:35,910 --> 00:21:37,680 but we could also suffer from that myth, 381 00:21:37,890 --> 00:21:41,100 because those who don't fit into the myth 382 00:21:41,550 --> 00:21:44,850 can fall through the cracks. But I think 383 00:21:44,850 --> 00:21:47,760 that we should never, and the COVID crisis 384 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:51,390 taught this to us - just because you have 385 00:21:51,390 --> 00:21:53,160 money, you have education, your 386 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,380 profession, as long as you're visible 387 00:21:55,380 --> 00:21:59,910 minority. All that can become meaningless, 388 00:22:00,540 --> 00:22:03,570 in a matter of seconds, when racism 389 00:22:03,570 --> 00:22:05,700 rears its ugly head and there's a 390 00:22:05,700 --> 00:22:08,910 scapegoat that is needed by people who are 391 00:22:08,910 --> 00:22:12,270 in positions of power. And so we need to 392 00:22:12,270 --> 00:22:17,670 fight our own, our own internalized racism, 393 00:22:18,780 --> 00:22:22,620 we need to build solidarity with non-Chinese 394 00:22:22,620 --> 00:22:24,600 groups who are fighting for the 395 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:26,640 same basic fundamental rights that we 396 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,480 have, which is the right, for example, again, 397 00:22:31,020 --> 00:22:33,210 fighting against poverty, fighting for the 398 00:22:33,210 --> 00:22:35,100 right to healthcare, fighting for housing 399 00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:38,760 rights, fighting for status, fighting for, 400 00:22:39,690 --> 00:22:43,170 for equal dignity as everyone else. We 401 00:22:43,170 --> 00:22:46,140 also and we do need to also build 402 00:22:46,140 --> 00:22:50,910 coalitions with other groups that are 403 00:22:51,090 --> 00:22:53,220 fighting for things that may be specific 404 00:22:53,220 --> 00:22:57,300 to them. Because at one point, you know, 405 00:22:57,330 --> 00:23:02,640 at one point in time, a concern of another 406 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:05,310 group may not, even though it may not be 407 00:23:05,340 --> 00:23:08,610 directly relevant to us, again, just by 408 00:23:08,610 --> 00:23:10,530 virtue of being invisible, and a minority, 409 00:23:10,740 --> 00:23:14,010 we never know when the situation will 410 00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:17,430 change. And, you know, again, racism, 411 00:23:17,430 --> 00:23:20,490 discrimination, anybody could be a victim. 412 00:23:20,850 --> 00:23:25,530 And that's why it's so, so important to 413 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,970 put a limit as soon as it, as soon as it 414 00:23:29,970 --> 00:23:32,880 is expressed, we have to put a stop to it. 415 00:23:33,930 --> 00:23:36,120 And this is one of the lessons, actually, 416 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:41,070 we learned inside the Chinese community 417 00:23:41,070 --> 00:23:43,530 with respect to Islamophobia. 418 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,660 If I can just talk about something that 419 00:23:51,660 --> 00:23:53,940 happened in the Chinese community, the 420 00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:56,490 event was called the 'hijab hoax.' So a 421 00:23:56,490 --> 00:24:01,560 couple years ago, an 11 year old Muslim 422 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,850 girl had invented a story about an Asian 423 00:24:05,850 --> 00:24:08,700 man who tried to catch her hijab. She's 424 00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:12,210 an 11 year old kid, 11 year old children 425 00:24:13,020 --> 00:24:15,900 make up things or they they misunderstand 426 00:24:15,900 --> 00:24:17,850 things, sometimes they say things that are 427 00:24:17,850 --> 00:24:20,970 not true. But what happened was that this 428 00:24:20,970 --> 00:24:23,790 galvanized the entire Chinese community 429 00:24:23,790 --> 00:24:26,070 across the country to be demonstrating 430 00:24:26,070 --> 00:24:29,100 against Muslims, and that it was really 431 00:24:29,100 --> 00:24:33,540 politicized by the Conservative Party in 432 00:24:33,540 --> 00:24:37,560 order to instrumentalize the Chinese 433 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,860 community against, for partisan purposes. 434 00:24:41,850 --> 00:24:46,770 And, and it was, we were shocked in 435 00:24:46,770 --> 00:24:48,810 Montreal because there was a 436 00:24:48,810 --> 00:24:51,210 demonstration by the Chinese community 437 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:53,730 against Muslims on the eve of the first 438 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,960 anniversary of the killings in Quebec 439 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,620 City, at the mosque in Quebec city. And 440 00:25:01,650 --> 00:25:04,050 so we had to mobilize very quickly we got 441 00:25:04,050 --> 00:25:08,130 in touch with progressive groups in, in 442 00:25:08,130 --> 00:25:10,410 Toronto, and we put out public statements 443 00:25:10,410 --> 00:25:12,660 to denounce these demonstrations and to 444 00:25:12,660 --> 00:25:16,290 say that this, by far did not represent 445 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,650 all of the Chinese community. And even 446 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:24,420 more disturbing was that the Islamophobic 447 00:25:25,230 --> 00:25:27,270 sections of the Chinese community had 448 00:25:27,270 --> 00:25:31,260 hooked up with Storm Alliance, La-mute, all 449 00:25:31,260 --> 00:25:34,140 these fascist groups to come out against 450 00:25:34,410 --> 00:25:37,230 the Muslim community. And so see what 451 00:25:37,230 --> 00:25:43,140 happens. Two years later, bam! This racism 452 00:25:43,140 --> 00:25:45,570 against Muslims is now turned into racism 453 00:25:45,570 --> 00:25:48,840 against Chinese. So even out of self-interest 454 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,840 that's why we have to always be 455 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,720 in solidarity against all forms of 456 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:56,280 discrimination and all forms of 457 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:59,760 oppression. So that's my advice for our 458 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,910 own community. In terms of people who are 459 00:26:02,910 --> 00:26:07,140 outside the community, I would say that 460 00:26:07,140 --> 00:26:12,060 it's really important for non-minorities, 461 00:26:12,060 --> 00:26:14,880 or let's say, for white people, to take 462 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:17,130 ownership of the fact that we do live in a 463 00:26:17,130 --> 00:26:19,620 society of white supremacy it's not just a 464 00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:24,120 society it has, historically, countries, 465 00:26:24,450 --> 00:26:26,520 nations have been built on white 466 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,340 supremacy, we have to take ownership of 467 00:26:29,340 --> 00:26:32,880 that fact and and I think that each of us 468 00:26:32,910 --> 00:26:37,590 also having an individual responsibility 469 00:26:37,590 --> 00:26:40,110 to call out racism and discrimination, 470 00:26:40,620 --> 00:26:45,270 whenever, if it occurs within your 471 00:26:46,110 --> 00:26:48,840 your ability to witness it, but also to 472 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:53,070 understand that we have to denounce and 473 00:26:53,070 --> 00:26:58,980 dismantle systems of oppression. And the 474 00:26:58,980 --> 00:27:00,630 reason why I say that is that sometimes 475 00:27:00,630 --> 00:27:02,610 I'm really surprised I would talk to 476 00:27:02,670 --> 00:27:05,670 people who I think might be white allies, 477 00:27:05,730 --> 00:27:08,160 because they seem to be feminists or anti-racist 478 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,040 or whatever. And then when I talk 479 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,280 about white supremacy, I've gotten 480 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,040 reactions where people take it personally. 481 00:27:17,550 --> 00:27:20,640 And, and, and and that had really 482 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:22,350 surprised me because when I'm talking 483 00:27:22,350 --> 00:27:25,170 about politics and systems of oppression, 484 00:27:25,380 --> 00:27:27,150 I'm not singling out individuals and 485 00:27:27,150 --> 00:27:30,510 that's where we can go wrong. This is 486 00:27:30,510 --> 00:27:34,410 where, you know, identity politics could 487 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,930 fragilize our ability to build 488 00:27:36,930 --> 00:27:40,800 coalitions, and to unite and I 489 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:42,720 think that we have to be careful about 490 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:47,910 that. Yeah, so basically, that would be my 491 00:27:47,940 --> 00:27:51,000 main suggestions on how to fight back.