1 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:14,100 Well, I'm Teresa Woo-Paw. Hello, 2 00:00:14,100 --> 00:00:17,640 everybody. Right now. I think today I'll 3 00:00:17,910 --> 00:00:20,610 be speaking primarily from my 4 00:00:20,610 --> 00:00:22,230 involvement with the Canadian Race 5 00:00:22,230 --> 00:00:26,160 Relation Foundation (CRRF) that I have been 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:31,110 appointed chair since 2018 and also 7 00:00:31,110 --> 00:00:33,480 as the founder and chair of the ACT 8 00:00:34,140 --> 00:00:36,720 Foundation, as well as the convener of a 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,360 new organization for called: "Act to End 10 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,510 Racism National Network" that was formed 11 00:00:42,510 --> 00:00:46,590 just this April 2020. Responding to the 12 00:00:46,590 --> 00:00:49,800 rising anti-Asian racism during the covid-19 13 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,280 pandemic. I have also founded and built 14 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,430 six other non-profit organizations and 15 00:00:57,210 --> 00:00:59,850 their community service organizations, 16 00:01:00,090 --> 00:01:04,170 cultural organizations, as well as the Ethno- 17 00:01:04,170 --> 00:01:06,330 Cultural Council of Calgary which is now called 18 00:01:06,330 --> 00:01:08,640 Action Dignity. And as well as the Asian 19 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:14,910 Heritage Foundation. Some people would say 20 00:01:14,910 --> 00:01:19,650 that I'm an first-generation or immigrant 21 00:01:19,650 --> 00:01:22,140 generation Canadian, but I'm also the 22 00:01:22,140 --> 00:01:24,540 fourth generation in my family to have a 23 00:01:24,540 --> 00:01:27,060 presence here in North America in Canada. 24 00:01:27,330 --> 00:01:29,850 And that is because my family, and myself, 25 00:01:29,850 --> 00:01:34,530 is very much impacted by the Chinese 26 00:01:34,530 --> 00:01:35,670 Exclusion Act, 27 00:01:36,630 --> 00:01:37,170 a 28 00:01:39,060 --> 00:01:41,910 racist policy against people of Chinese 29 00:01:41,910 --> 00:01:45,750 origin, and started with the head tax, you 30 00:01:45,750 --> 00:01:50,430 know, in the 1800s, and then evolved to 31 00:01:50,430 --> 00:01:54,120 become an act passed by Parliament in 32 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,120 1923. That lasted almost a quarter 33 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:01,560 century. Another identity that impacts my 34 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,980 work is I'm a social worker, social worker 35 00:02:04,980 --> 00:02:09,090 of Chinese Canadian descent, and I have 36 00:02:09,090 --> 00:02:12,390 been doing this work for more than 40 37 00:02:12,390 --> 00:02:15,120 years. So I have had the opportunity and 38 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,880 experience working with people who have 39 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,490 been discriminated, who do not have a 40 00:02:20,490 --> 00:02:23,730 voice in society, and have been adversely 41 00:02:23,730 --> 00:02:27,600 impacted by systemic racism. And not only 42 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,480 people of Chinese descent, but people of all, 43 00:02:30,570 --> 00:02:35,160 you know, racial background. And so I have 44 00:02:35,490 --> 00:02:39,870 also been an elected official. But 45 00:02:39,870 --> 00:02:42,660 before I actually got elected into public 46 00:02:42,690 --> 00:02:46,530 office, I was addressing the funding cuts 47 00:02:46,530 --> 00:02:49,800 to English second language (ESL) students, 48 00:02:49,860 --> 00:02:53,220 and was advocating and protesting the 49 00:02:53,220 --> 00:02:57,150 unfair cuts in the 1990s. And then I was 50 00:02:57,150 --> 00:03:00,210 also trained by the United Way, in the 51 00:03:00,210 --> 00:03:03,210 early 1990s, when they had an initiative 52 00:03:03,210 --> 00:03:06,270 at that time called the Multicultural Anti- 53 00:03:06,270 --> 00:03:09,030 Racism Organizational Change Initiative. 54 00:03:09,300 --> 00:03:11,670 So I was trained to provide anti- 55 00:03:11,670 --> 00:03:14,790 discrimination training to United Way 56 00:03:14,790 --> 00:03:17,250 funded agencies here in Calgary, Alberta. 57 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,830 And then some of my advocacy work also 58 00:03:22,830 --> 00:03:26,790 include organizing petitions to help the 59 00:03:26,790 --> 00:03:30,300 community to convey their concern about 60 00:03:30,570 --> 00:03:34,620 mistreatment by police, with petitions and 61 00:03:34,620 --> 00:03:40,530 education workshops, and do 62 00:03:40,530 --> 00:03:42,840 another piece that involve the police was 63 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,270 when I was the chair of the Ethno- 64 00:03:45,270 --> 00:03:49,140 Cultural Council of Calgary here in 65 00:03:49,140 --> 00:03:53,670 Alberta. We have members of the community, 66 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:57,630 racialized communities, who were being 67 00:03:57,660 --> 00:04:02,010 racially profiled by off duty officers, 68 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,620 and outside of entertainment 69 00:04:04,620 --> 00:04:09,060 establishments. And so our work was 70 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:11,940 effective in actually having the police 71 00:04:11,940 --> 00:04:15,090 commission change the policy. So those 72 00:04:15,090 --> 00:04:19,560 are some of my personal identity that I'm 73 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:21,390 linked to the kind of work that I've been 74 00:04:21,390 --> 00:04:23,340 doing in the community for the past 40 75 00:04:23,340 --> 00:04:30,600 years. So, in terms of what we're doing 76 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,920 during this pandemic, and how the 77 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:36,960 community and the organization have been 78 00:04:36,990 --> 00:04:42,930 impacted. I would like to first maybe 79 00:04:42,930 --> 00:04:45,420 summarize a little bit what has been 80 00:04:45,420 --> 00:04:48,090 happening to especially Canadians of Asian 81 00:04:48,090 --> 00:04:50,790 descent, during the pandemic; the 82 00:04:50,790 --> 00:04:53,580 increase in verbal and physical assaults. 83 00:04:54,150 --> 00:04:57,060 You know, many of you have heard that two 84 00:04:57,060 --> 00:05:01,800 people have been punched, have been pushed, and 85 00:05:01,950 --> 00:05:05,520 they have been spat on, you know, I think 86 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,250 it's been recorded numerous times. And 87 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:10,740 people's properties have been vandalized, 88 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:16,170 temples, businesses, homes have been, and 89 00:05:16,170 --> 00:05:18,240 other properties have been vandalized 90 00:05:18,300 --> 00:05:20,190 throughout the country, from Vancouver to 91 00:05:20,190 --> 00:05:25,320 Montreal. And so also, I think people 92 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,760 sharing mostly informally, about the microagressions 93 00:05:29,790 --> 00:05:32,520 they experiencing in terms of 94 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,640 slurs, in terms of looks. People shouting 95 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:37,500 at them in the neighborhood in public 96 00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:41,250 places. Graffitis telling people that they 97 00:05:41,250 --> 00:05:43,470 don't belong here, that they should go back 98 00:05:43,470 --> 00:05:46,140 to where they came from. And many of these 99 00:05:46,140 --> 00:05:47,520 people, of course, are born and raised 100 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,600 here in Canada, and Angus Reid survey in 101 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:56,820 June 2020, actually found that 64% of the 102 00:05:56,820 --> 00:05:59,520 Chinese Canadians surveyed reported 103 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:04,140 feeling that they have been asked, they 104 00:06:04,140 --> 00:06:07,020 have actually experienced racism, and 50% 105 00:06:07,050 --> 00:06:08,580 are worried that the children will be 106 00:06:08,580 --> 00:06:12,840 bullied when they go back to school. So in 107 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:15,000 terms of how it has impacted myself, I 108 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:16,740 have grown children working in the health 109 00:06:16,740 --> 00:06:19,800 sector. So I'm worried for the, you know, 110 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,310 the health and personal well being, and 111 00:06:23,340 --> 00:06:26,940 also as essential workers of color with 112 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,370 how they might be treated within those 113 00:06:30,390 --> 00:06:32,700 sectors. I have a daughter who is 114 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:36,420 currently living [and] working in Europe, and 115 00:06:36,540 --> 00:06:39,090 she has experienced, you know, 116 00:06:40,410 --> 00:06:43,140 harassment, racial harassment in public 117 00:06:43,140 --> 00:06:45,630 places numerous times. But this kind of 118 00:06:45,990 --> 00:06:49,290 harassment is happening to Canadian so 119 00:06:49,290 --> 00:06:52,020 far, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese and 120 00:06:52,020 --> 00:06:55,380 Korean descent throughout the country. 121 00:06:55,620 --> 00:06:58,410 And, and I also understand, have been 122 00:06:58,410 --> 00:07:02,400 learning that I think the impact on many 123 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,910 Filipino Canadians have been especially 124 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,810 profound. And so it is creating, we know 125 00:07:09,810 --> 00:07:13,890 that it's creating psychosocial trauma on 126 00:07:13,890 --> 00:07:16,230 people, you know, people of all 127 00:07:16,230 --> 00:07:17,880 backgrounds who experienced racism, 128 00:07:18,570 --> 00:07:20,340 experience some form of psychosocial 129 00:07:20,340 --> 00:07:24,570 trauma. And it is also difficult for a lot 130 00:07:24,570 --> 00:07:26,670 of Canadians of Chinese descent, because 131 00:07:26,670 --> 00:07:28,740 they are not well versed on issues of 132 00:07:28,740 --> 00:07:32,790 discrimination and racism. People continue 133 00:07:32,790 --> 00:07:35,490 to ask, what is discrimination? What is 134 00:07:35,490 --> 00:07:38,220 racism? And they are telling us that that 135 00:07:38,220 --> 00:07:40,500 they are feeling unsafe and insecure 136 00:07:40,500 --> 00:07:43,230 and also feeling confused. They are afraid to talk 137 00:07:43,230 --> 00:07:45,060 about racism, because they don't know what 138 00:07:45,060 --> 00:07:47,790 they can do. And so I think those are some 139 00:07:47,790 --> 00:07:50,940 of the added challenges facing the Asian- 140 00:07:50,940 --> 00:07:54,750 Canadian communities. And also, when we 141 00:07:54,750 --> 00:07:58,200 talk about racism and systemic racism, 142 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,860 impacting Canadians of Asian descent, we, 143 00:08:01,950 --> 00:08:04,320 we, I think we can benefit from 144 00:08:04,350 --> 00:08:08,430 understanding some deep seated stereotypes 145 00:08:08,460 --> 00:08:11,700 and myths that impact this particular 146 00:08:11,700 --> 00:08:14,580 community. And so we'll take a quick look 147 00:08:14,580 --> 00:08:18,780 at the concept of the yellow peril. So, if 148 00:08:18,780 --> 00:08:21,600 you look at this slide. So the yellow peril, 149 00:08:21,990 --> 00:08:25,380 you know, existed in the 1800s 150 00:08:26,130 --> 00:08:28,410 essentially, people are perceiving people 151 00:08:28,410 --> 00:08:31,920 of Asian descent as dirty and 152 00:08:31,950 --> 00:08:35,970 unassimilable. And, and they're a threat to 153 00:08:36,180 --> 00:08:39,780 people of the white race and European 154 00:08:39,780 --> 00:08:43,680 descent. And so, so that certainly, that 155 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:47,970 kind of concept was quite evident in 156 00:08:47,970 --> 00:08:53,490 Canada as well. And, you know, it has 157 00:08:53,520 --> 00:09:01,380 led to the riots in Japan town and 158 00:09:01,380 --> 00:09:05,400 Chinatown in the early 1900s have led to 159 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,340 the removal of civil rights for 160 00:09:08,460 --> 00:09:12,030 Chinese and Japanese descent, you know, in 161 00:09:12,030 --> 00:09:16,110 the 1800s and 1900s. So, you can see from 162 00:09:16,110 --> 00:09:19,020 the next slide, as we continue on this 163 00:09:19,020 --> 00:09:23,100 timeline, that, so the head tax, 164 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,460 against Chinese people, was not effective 165 00:09:26,460 --> 00:09:28,920 in stopping immigration of people of 166 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,860 Chinese descent to Canada. So the Canadian 167 00:09:31,860 --> 00:09:33,810 government actually passed a law in 168 00:09:33,810 --> 00:09:38,220 Parliament in 1923 that lasted until 1947, 169 00:09:38,220 --> 00:09:41,580 after the Second World War, to bar any 170 00:09:41,580 --> 00:09:43,410 Chinese from coming. And of course the 171 00:09:43,410 --> 00:09:45,480 Japanese was interned also during the 172 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:47,760 Second World War. But you look at what 173 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:52,050 happened in 2003 during the SARS, you 174 00:09:52,050 --> 00:09:55,740 know, incident is that people of Asian 175 00:09:55,740 --> 00:09:59,370 descent were blamed, were scapegoated 176 00:09:59,580 --> 00:10:02,160 and also experienced a lot of racial 177 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:05,370 harassment. And then if you look at the 178 00:10:05,370 --> 00:10:10,470 next slide today 2020, You know, a lot of 179 00:10:10,470 --> 00:10:14,340 people are feeling threatened and feeling 180 00:10:14,340 --> 00:10:16,920 insecure because of being blamed for the 181 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:20,190 pandemic. And then, in fact, a French 182 00:10:20,190 --> 00:10:24,420 publication this year, used the term "the 183 00:10:24,420 --> 00:10:28,500 yellow alert" to actually describe people, 184 00:10:28,620 --> 00:10:31,770 to describe the virus. So, so as you can 185 00:10:31,770 --> 00:10:36,150 see that this kind of concept, and 186 00:10:36,150 --> 00:10:40,380 stereotype did not exist in in time of the 187 00:10:40,380 --> 00:10:43,200 past, but are very much present today. In 188 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:45,510 fact, after I won my first election in 189 00:10:45,510 --> 00:10:49,260 1995, to the school board, one of the 190 00:10:49,260 --> 00:10:52,800 first letters I received from the public 191 00:10:53,850 --> 00:10:57,450 was to actually, to tell me that this 192 00:10:57,450 --> 00:10:59,760 person think that the yellow peril have 193 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,670 arrived in Calgary, because I got elected as 194 00:11:02,670 --> 00:11:05,640 a school board trustee. And the second 195 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:10,350 concept onto this is this 196 00:11:10,590 --> 00:11:14,250 stereotype of Asian Canadians as 197 00:11:14,790 --> 00:11:17,700 foreigners, perpetual foreigners. This is 198 00:11:17,700 --> 00:11:21,240 a very troubling, deep seated stereotype 199 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,180 that impact a lot of Canadians of Asian 200 00:11:24,180 --> 00:11:28,680 descent that even naturalized and Canadian 201 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:29,250 born 202 00:11:31,170 --> 00:11:34,830 Asian, or of Asian descent are seen as the other 203 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:38,400 as, as foreigners, that they are 204 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:42,390 actually not part of Canada. So, you know, 205 00:11:42,420 --> 00:11:47,310 a very recent example of this is the, this 206 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:52,440 the treatment of Dr. Theresa Tam, that her 207 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:55,980 Canadian is, her loyalty, her citizenship 208 00:11:56,040 --> 00:12:00,330 was questioned. And, and the other is the 209 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,810 accusation of Chinese espionage. And what 210 00:12:03,810 --> 00:12:05,910 people had to, you know, in our 211 00:12:05,910 --> 00:12:08,130 multicultural society have to be more 212 00:12:08,130 --> 00:12:11,220 cognizant and sensitive, is when they make 213 00:12:11,220 --> 00:12:14,040 remarks like that to, you know, people 214 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,430 Chinese descent, oversea, it has impact on 215 00:12:17,430 --> 00:12:19,800 Canadians of Chinese descent here, at home, 216 00:12:19,860 --> 00:12:24,180 in Canada. So we know that Canadian born 217 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,470 engineers of Chinese descent, their 218 00:12:28,470 --> 00:12:31,410 career being adversely impacted. Their 219 00:12:31,410 --> 00:12:33,360 physical movement in the workplace have 220 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:38,070 been adversely impacted. So I think that 221 00:12:38,070 --> 00:12:41,520 kind of racial incidents and also 222 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,650 impact of racism on Canadian, Chinese, 223 00:12:43,710 --> 00:12:46,830 Asian of Asian descent is not well 224 00:12:47,310 --> 00:12:49,860 understood. So generally, people are not 225 00:12:49,860 --> 00:12:53,190 aware of those kind of stereotypes that 226 00:12:53,190 --> 00:12:56,250 have very negative impact on people's 227 00:12:56,250 --> 00:12:58,890 sense of belonging to this country, and, 228 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:03,180 and people's, you know, access to equal 229 00:13:03,180 --> 00:13:07,890 opportunity in Canada. So another very 230 00:13:07,890 --> 00:13:11,970 deep seated troubling stereotype against 231 00:13:12,450 --> 00:13:14,520 Canadians of Asian descent is this 232 00:13:15,780 --> 00:13:20,640 stereotype of model minorities. So it is a 233 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,940 racial generalization originated from an 234 00:13:23,940 --> 00:13:27,060 article from the New York Times in the 235 00:13:27,060 --> 00:13:30,840 1960s, around the late 1960s, called: 236 00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:33,570 "Success Story, Japanese American Style", 237 00:13:33,930 --> 00:13:36,030 which claim that the Japanese Americans were 238 00:13:36,030 --> 00:13:38,040 better than other Americans, including 239 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,850 native born whites, and later it expands 240 00:13:41,910 --> 00:13:44,370 it was extended to all Asian Americans. 241 00:13:44,730 --> 00:13:48,720 And so, of course, this is an 242 00:13:48,750 --> 00:13:53,880 overgeneralization. It has led to 243 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,990 some very troubling treatments of 244 00:13:59,010 --> 00:14:01,290 Canadians of Chinese descent, as we can 245 00:14:01,290 --> 00:14:04,650 see from the 1980s CTV documentary called 246 00:14:04,650 --> 00:14:07,860 "Campus Giveaway" were the images of Asian [and] 247 00:14:07,860 --> 00:14:10,560 Chinese students being blamed for 248 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:13,410 taking away University seats, actually 249 00:14:13,410 --> 00:14:16,170 born [and] raised Canadians, so further 250 00:14:16,170 --> 00:14:19,560 perpetuating the perpetual foreigner myth 251 00:14:19,650 --> 00:14:22,110 of Asian Canadians. And of course, there 252 00:14:22,110 --> 00:14:27,630 was a coverage and article by Macleans 253 00:14:27,630 --> 00:14:30,000 magazine a few years ago called "Too Asian" 254 00:14:30,390 --> 00:14:36,270 and so Chinese Asian Canadians, are said to 255 00:14:36,270 --> 00:14:38,850 be that they don't experience racism which 256 00:14:38,850 --> 00:14:42,900 is untrue. And this is a false flatter, 257 00:14:43,170 --> 00:14:45,420 that is used to insult other visible 258 00:14:45,420 --> 00:14:48,750 minorities. And because the concept 259 00:14:48,780 --> 00:14:50,880 actually came about during the civil right 260 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,690 time in the 60s in the 261 00:14:54,690 --> 00:14:58,560 United States, is actually used as a tool 262 00:14:58,590 --> 00:15:00,810 to discount racial discrimination so 263 00:15:01,530 --> 00:15:03,150 that if Asians can do this, it means 264 00:15:03,150 --> 00:15:05,640 there's no racial discrimination, and is also 265 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,800 use as a tool to divide the, you know, 266 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:12,750 people amongst the different racialized 267 00:15:12,780 --> 00:15:16,350 communities. So the impact of this is 268 00:15:16,470 --> 00:15:18,150 under representation 269 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:18,660 of 270 00:15:20,460 --> 00:15:23,190 people in, you know, in leadership 271 00:15:23,190 --> 00:15:26,190 roles are over represented in perhaps 272 00:15:26,190 --> 00:15:29,490 some technical professions, in the lower 273 00:15:29,490 --> 00:15:34,920 strata of organizations. Many Asian 274 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,320 community groups actually have a very low 275 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,860 civic participation rate in Canada, and 276 00:15:40,860 --> 00:15:43,260 also, essentially, the community is 277 00:15:43,290 --> 00:15:46,230 feeling very silenced, they are feeling 278 00:15:46,230 --> 00:15:48,450 that they are living up, they have to live 279 00:15:48,450 --> 00:15:53,730 up to this model minority myth, and that 280 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:56,340 they are not supposed to be, they're not 281 00:15:56,340 --> 00:15:58,890 supposed to complain, because things are 282 00:15:58,890 --> 00:16:01,350 supposed to be working out for all people 283 00:16:01,350 --> 00:16:03,630 of Asian descent. And then also the young 284 00:16:03,630 --> 00:16:09,360 people are especially feeling burdened, and 285 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,050 stressed by this stereotype, followed 286 00:16:13,050 --> 00:16:15,600 by this myth, because they feel that they 287 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:17,460 actually have to live up to this model 288 00:16:17,460 --> 00:16:21,840 minority myth by being academic, that is 289 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:24,360 their only route as people of Asian 290 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,900 descent. And so it really limits the 291 00:16:27,930 --> 00:16:30,690 development of their full potential. So it 292 00:16:30,690 --> 00:16:33,960 is something that the community is trying 293 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:38,700 to find ways to help Canadians in general, 294 00:16:38,700 --> 00:16:41,070 have a better understanding that the 295 00:16:41,070 --> 00:16:43,620 community is diverse, the community is 296 00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:47,490 complex. And, and many people in these 297 00:16:47,490 --> 00:16:50,550 communities are, you know, fourth, fifth, 298 00:16:50,580 --> 00:16:54,300 sixth generation Canadians that they want 299 00:16:54,300 --> 00:16:56,790 to belong and yet, most of them don't 300 00:16:56,790 --> 00:17:02,190 feel that they belong anywhere. Now, I'm 301 00:17:02,190 --> 00:17:04,140 going to spend just a little bit of time 302 00:17:04,410 --> 00:17:07,440 to talk about the mandate of the Canadian 303 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,810 Race Relation Foundation, which is a crown 304 00:17:09,810 --> 00:17:15,900 Corporation. It is actually, the mandate is 305 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,390 spelled out in the Canadian Racial 306 00:17:18,390 --> 00:17:20,700 Relation Foundation act. And it was 307 00:17:20,700 --> 00:17:23,910 created by the Government of Canada, and 308 00:17:24,150 --> 00:17:29,580 as a crown Corporation in 1996. And as 309 00:17:29,580 --> 00:17:33,300 part of the Japanese Canadian redress 310 00:17:33,330 --> 00:17:36,090 agreement; to reaffirm the principles of 311 00:17:36,090 --> 00:17:38,550 justice and equality for all in Canada. 312 00:17:38,850 --> 00:17:41,130 And the mandate is to facilitate, throughout 313 00:17:41,130 --> 00:17:43,500 Canada the development, sharing and 314 00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:46,170 application of knowledge and expertise in 315 00:17:46,170 --> 00:17:48,120 order to contribute to the elimination of 316 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:52,320 racism. And we would do this by 317 00:17:54,300 --> 00:17:56,880 undertaking research and collecting data 318 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:58,800 and developing a national information 319 00:17:58,950 --> 00:18:01,260 repository to further the understanding of 320 00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:03,030 the nature of racism, and racial 321 00:18:03,030 --> 00:18:05,610 discrimination. And to assist business, 322 00:18:05,610 --> 00:18:08,070 labor, voluntary organizations and other 323 00:18:08,070 --> 00:18:10,530 groups, as well as public institutions, 324 00:18:10,530 --> 00:18:12,810 governments, researchers, and general 325 00:18:12,810 --> 00:18:16,140 public in eliminating racism and 326 00:18:16,140 --> 00:18:19,410 racial discrimination. So we also act as a 327 00:18:19,410 --> 00:18:21,810 clearinghouse providing information about 328 00:18:21,810 --> 00:18:24,600 race relations resources, and establishing 329 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:26,580 links with the public, private and 330 00:18:26,580 --> 00:18:30,180 educational institutions and libraries. We 331 00:18:30,180 --> 00:18:32,520 facilitate consultation and exchange of 332 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,220 information relating to race relation, 333 00:18:35,220 --> 00:18:39,420 policies, programs and research. We also 334 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,330 do this by promoting effective race 335 00:18:42,330 --> 00:18:45,030 relation training and an assist in the 336 00:18:45,030 --> 00:18:46,890 development of professional standards, 337 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:48,840 increasing public awareness of the 338 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,060 importance of eliminating racism and 339 00:18:51,060 --> 00:18:54,180 racial discrimination. And we also want to 340 00:18:54,180 --> 00:18:57,180 collaborate strategically with 341 00:18:57,180 --> 00:19:00,510 business labor community, as well as 342 00:19:00,510 --> 00:19:02,490 public institutions and levels of 343 00:19:02,490 --> 00:19:05,280 government in supporting programs and 344 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:09,990 activities, to address issues of racism. 345 00:19:10,260 --> 00:19:11,910 We support and promote the development of 346 00:19:11,910 --> 00:19:14,700 effective policies and programs for the 347 00:19:14,700 --> 00:19:16,890 elimination of racism and discrimination. 348 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:19,080 I have actually come to know this 349 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:24,090 organization about 20 years ago. And so I 350 00:19:24,090 --> 00:19:26,010 think, over the years that this 351 00:19:26,010 --> 00:19:27,630 organization has experienced some 352 00:19:27,630 --> 00:19:30,480 challenges, especially in the area of 353 00:19:31,110 --> 00:19:33,990 financial resources, but I firmly believe 354 00:19:33,990 --> 00:19:37,200 that this organization, you know, have a 355 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,540 great potential to have a national 356 00:19:39,540 --> 00:19:45,540 presence and, and to to help to focus anti- 357 00:19:45,540 --> 00:19:49,980 racism activities and actions with a 358 00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:53,190 national framework. And, but I think more 359 00:19:53,190 --> 00:19:55,650 awareness about anti-Asian racism 360 00:19:56,430 --> 00:19:59,850 could be addressed through an 361 00:19:59,850 --> 00:20:03,930 action organization like the CRRF. And so, 362 00:20:04,470 --> 00:20:07,230 I think this organization is well 363 00:20:07,230 --> 00:20:10,200 positioned to collect meaningful community 364 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,620 inputs, to connect academia, and especially 365 00:20:13,620 --> 00:20:16,680 communities impacted by racism, as well as 366 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:18,630 to enhance the capacity of these 367 00:20:18,630 --> 00:20:22,140 organizations. So that they can actually 368 00:20:22,140 --> 00:20:25,770 participate in anti-racism 369 00:20:25,770 --> 00:20:30,150 initiatives. So and that's why 370 00:20:30,150 --> 00:20:33,780 when, you know, my work with the ACT 371 00:20:33,780 --> 00:20:36,330 Foundation, and which led to the formation 372 00:20:36,330 --> 00:20:38,880 of Act to End Racism National Network, 373 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:43,470 just this April, April 2020, form within 374 00:20:43,470 --> 00:20:46,050 three weeks during the covid-19 pandemic, 375 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,470 in order to respond to and address anti- 376 00:20:49,470 --> 00:20:52,350 Asian racism through collective voice and 377 00:20:52,350 --> 00:20:55,080 collaborative actions. So I was hoping 378 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:57,000 that I could actually, through my 379 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,190 involvement with this organization, could 380 00:20:59,190 --> 00:21:02,280 bring some, create some connections and 381 00:21:02,310 --> 00:21:05,040 create some synergy between the community 382 00:21:05,130 --> 00:21:11,460 and crown cooperation. So that's when 383 00:21:11,460 --> 00:21:15,030 the Act to End Racism Network came 384 00:21:15,060 --> 00:21:17,790 in response to some of these community 385 00:21:17,790 --> 00:21:21,030 needs. So for the first things, the act to 386 00:21:21,030 --> 00:21:23,250 end racism network group did was to 387 00:21:23,250 --> 00:21:25,890 develop community resources, such as 388 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:28,890 infographics on what constitutes 389 00:21:28,890 --> 00:21:31,740 discrimination. What is microaggression? 390 00:21:32,310 --> 00:21:34,860 What what constitutes racism? What 391 00:21:34,860 --> 00:21:37,440 constitutes systemic racism? Because 392 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,450 people, even when they were being shouted 393 00:21:39,450 --> 00:21:41,820 at, and they didn't know that they were 394 00:21:41,850 --> 00:21:44,160 that that constituted discrimination, 395 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,610 racism. So we developed tip sheet to help 396 00:21:47,610 --> 00:21:50,760 people to respond to hate. We actually 397 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,660 develop a series of comic strips to help 398 00:21:54,660 --> 00:21:58,560 people understand how to respond to, to 399 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:02,430 racism, when they are a target, how to 400 00:22:02,430 --> 00:22:06,150 actually be a helpful bystander when 401 00:22:06,150 --> 00:22:10,140 racism is happening, and what to do if you 402 00:22:10,140 --> 00:22:12,660 were a senior, or someone who who have 403 00:22:12,660 --> 00:22:16,230 limited English, what can you do? So, 404 00:22:16,620 --> 00:22:20,070 the other is that we actually have set 405 00:22:20,070 --> 00:22:22,770 up a reporting line hoping that for those 406 00:22:22,770 --> 00:22:29,790 who are afraid to contact the police or 407 00:22:29,820 --> 00:22:32,250 government, that they actually have 408 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,520 another option to share the experience. 409 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,790 And we even have a text message reporting 410 00:22:38,790 --> 00:22:41,280 line where people can do it verbally over 411 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,160 the telephone. So these are meant to 412 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,850 provide support to the community. And but 413 00:22:47,850 --> 00:22:50,850 what that community, really also need is 414 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,240 actually a lot more education and 415 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,720 empowerment, because the community is just 416 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:03,060 too afraid, and also abound by some 417 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,950 specific cultural practices, that 418 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,070 respect for authority, respect for the 419 00:23:11,070 --> 00:23:14,880 institution, that you don't try to make 420 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:19,920 personal issues into big issues, and 421 00:23:19,950 --> 00:23:23,640 afraid of repercussion. And so we have to 422 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,130 actually help the community to overcome 423 00:23:26,130 --> 00:23:30,270 those barriers, so that they can actually 424 00:23:30,270 --> 00:23:33,780 fully participate in a pluralistic 425 00:23:33,780 --> 00:23:37,440 society and, and exercise their democratic 426 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:42,360 rights. And so the other focus of the Act 427 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:44,790 to End Racism Network is community 428 00:23:44,820 --> 00:23:47,640 outreach. Because with all this community 429 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,370 resources developed, and support 430 00:23:50,370 --> 00:23:53,040 mechanism put in place, we now have to 431 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,170 make sure that these resources reach to 432 00:23:55,170 --> 00:23:58,620 people who are impacted by racism and who 433 00:23:58,620 --> 00:24:05,010 are also feeling fearful. The Canadian 434 00:24:05,010 --> 00:24:09,090 Race Relations Foundation have proposed to 435 00:24:09,660 --> 00:24:14,670 organize a series of national regional 436 00:24:14,670 --> 00:24:20,220 roundtables to speak to Canadians of all 437 00:24:20,220 --> 00:24:23,850 backgrounds, you know, from all regions 438 00:24:24,090 --> 00:24:27,450 about how we can be more effective in 439 00:24:27,450 --> 00:24:30,690 addressing issues of racism and systemic 440 00:24:30,750 --> 00:24:31,470 racism. 441 00:24:31,740 --> 00:24:35,310 So those roundtables will be coming to 442 00:24:35,310 --> 00:24:38,670 your area, you know, in the coming months, 443 00:24:38,850 --> 00:24:41,430 and I would like to encourage everyone to 444 00:24:41,670 --> 00:24:45,810 participate if possible, so you can 445 00:24:45,810 --> 00:24:48,300 provide your input and also join in the 446 00:24:48,300 --> 00:24:51,000 work of the foundation. So I think that I 447 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,350 would actually encourage people to build a 448 00:24:55,350 --> 00:24:57,810 better understanding of the differences 449 00:24:57,810 --> 00:25:01,860 amongst the groups impacted by racism. To 450 00:25:01,860 --> 00:25:03,960 extend learning and collaboration 451 00:25:03,990 --> 00:25:08,610 opportunities to diverse racialized groups 452 00:25:08,670 --> 00:25:12,270 in Canadian society, make 453 00:25:12,270 --> 00:25:14,550 the effort to reach out to different 454 00:25:14,550 --> 00:25:17,340 people, because some people are more 455 00:25:17,460 --> 00:25:20,850 confident and more empowered, you know, 456 00:25:20,850 --> 00:25:22,800 more well versed on issues of 457 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:24,990 discrimination racism than others. So I 458 00:25:24,990 --> 00:25:27,060 think some people need a bit of support 459 00:25:27,330 --> 00:25:30,180 from others who are more experienced, and 460 00:25:30,300 --> 00:25:33,870 more empowered. And, and I think that it 461 00:25:33,870 --> 00:25:35,820 is important for Canadians of all 462 00:25:35,820 --> 00:25:37,560 backgrounds to speak against hate and 463 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,070 racism in more inclusive ways. And I think 464 00:25:41,070 --> 00:25:44,220 that this is a very good time for all of 465 00:25:44,220 --> 00:25:46,500 us to try to find ways to do that, to 466 00:25:46,500 --> 00:25:48,870 support each other. And I think that 467 00:25:49,530 --> 00:25:51,660 Canadian Race Relation Foundation is 468 00:25:51,660 --> 00:25:54,990 really well positioned to bring about some 469 00:25:55,170 --> 00:25:58,980 systemic policy changes. But also, they 470 00:25:58,980 --> 00:26:02,430 also well positioned to, to help to build 471 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,660 capacities, and also connect academia with 472 00:26:06,660 --> 00:26:09,720 the community, in terms of the information 473 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:11,910 dissemination, in terms of knowledge 474 00:26:11,910 --> 00:26:14,430 dissemination, in terms of helping 475 00:26:14,460 --> 00:26:18,630 academia to broaden the reach, you know, 476 00:26:20,340 --> 00:26:23,940 within Canadian society, for the academic 477 00:26:23,970 --> 00:26:26,640 endeavors. So I think those are some of 478 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:28,980 the things that we can all do. And I would 479 00:26:28,980 --> 00:26:32,310 encourage everyone to try to identify and 480 00:26:32,310 --> 00:26:37,680 take on those opportunities. The Canadian 481 00:26:38,130 --> 00:26:42,780 Race Relation Foundation is 482 00:26:42,780 --> 00:26:46,680 mandated to actually be a resource for 483 00:26:47,130 --> 00:26:49,590 the Canadian public, on issues of race 484 00:26:49,590 --> 00:26:52,830 relations and, and also on issues of 485 00:26:52,830 --> 00:26:55,560 discrimination and racism. So I would like 486 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,220 to bring your attention to, you know, some of 487 00:26:59,220 --> 00:27:02,130 the publications that we have, and and we 488 00:27:02,130 --> 00:27:04,860 will be undertaking some changes in the 489 00:27:04,860 --> 00:27:08,880 coming months and year to actually to 490 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,870 digitize some of our journals. So this 491 00:27:12,870 --> 00:27:15,540 is a one of them, the resource that we 492 00:27:15,540 --> 00:27:19,620 provide is called The Directions. And then 493 00:27:19,620 --> 00:27:23,340 as you can see that we also have other 494 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:30,420 resources. So we have the publication with 495 00:27:30,420 --> 00:27:35,730 a focus on the the TRC, "Spirit of 496 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,390 Reconciliation", that might be appropriate, 497 00:27:39,390 --> 00:27:42,510 I think, for some of you. And then also, 498 00:27:42,750 --> 00:27:46,260 we have a specific journal to address 499 00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:50,460 issue of racism, Racism Problem and 500 00:27:50,460 --> 00:27:54,900 Solutions Videos. We also have an anti- 501 00:27:54,900 --> 00:28:00,720 black racism in our school as a resource. 502 00:28:03,780 --> 00:28:08,760 And The Directions journal, volume eight, is 503 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,940 specifically focused on on racism that you 504 00:28:11,940 --> 00:28:14,610 may want to take a look at. And I already 505 00:28:14,610 --> 00:28:17,430 mentioned the Spirit of Reconciliation 506 00:28:17,430 --> 00:28:20,760 guidebook. So we provide a lot of tools, 507 00:28:21,030 --> 00:28:23,850 resources, that's appropriate for 508 00:28:23,850 --> 00:28:27,480 educational entities, and, and also youth 509 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:32,580 groups. So this is the way that you could 510 00:28:32,580 --> 00:28:34,650 actually look at some of the resources 511 00:28:34,650 --> 00:28:36,600 developed by the Act to End Racism 512 00:28:36,660 --> 00:28:41,310 Network. So there's the website, you can 513 00:28:41,310 --> 00:28:44,160 follow them on Facebook, if you like. But 514 00:28:44,310 --> 00:28:47,220 there's the text message racism reporting 515 00:28:47,220 --> 00:28:50,820 line available in seven languages. And 516 00:28:50,820 --> 00:28:52,650 there's a resource guide that actually 517 00:28:52,650 --> 00:28:55,920 provides update on the activities of the 518 00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:00,450 network, which now have a membership of 519 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:05,160 over 45 organizations in six provinces. 520 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:09,930 And then, I'm going to share with you 521 00:29:11,070 --> 00:29:13,500 three books that I have found to be 522 00:29:13,500 --> 00:29:17,370 very helpful to my work. One is "The Color 523 00:29:17,370 --> 00:29:21,570 of Democracy" and it is a book actually 524 00:29:21,570 --> 00:29:25,440 is, I think, both an introductory, 525 00:29:26,189 --> 00:29:29,609 you know, work on on issues of racism in 526 00:29:29,609 --> 00:29:32,039 different sectors, in government, in the 527 00:29:32,039 --> 00:29:35,309 media, in health, in education, in the 528 00:29:35,309 --> 00:29:40,469 justice system, and as well as with very 529 00:29:40,469 --> 00:29:43,049 good analysis. So this is one of the 530 00:29:43,049 --> 00:29:44,639 resources I'd like to share with you 531 00:29:44,639 --> 00:29:48,449 today. And another onem as a social worker 532 00:29:48,449 --> 00:29:50,999 who works primarily in the 533 00:29:50,999 --> 00:29:53,969 community, I have found this book called 534 00:29:53,969 --> 00:29:57,869 "Educating for a Change" developed by 535 00:29:57,989 --> 00:29:59,969 members of the Doris Marshall Institute. 536 00:30:01,229 --> 00:30:03,539 When they were doing active work in, 537 00:30:03,569 --> 00:30:07,859 Ontario, and in Canada, to be a great 538 00:30:07,859 --> 00:30:11,009 resource in terms of offering different 539 00:30:11,009 --> 00:30:14,819 kinds of tools to facilitate discussion, 540 00:30:15,059 --> 00:30:18,959 analysis on issues of race, identity, and 541 00:30:18,959 --> 00:30:22,049 also for, for change. So it's a very 542 00:30:22,049 --> 00:30:26,639 resourceful book with very good tools. And 543 00:30:26,669 --> 00:30:29,999 "Deep Diversity" is more recent work, that 544 00:30:29,999 --> 00:30:33,359 really delve deep into issues of 545 00:30:34,649 --> 00:30:39,899 subconscious bias. But not only to talk 546 00:30:39,899 --> 00:30:43,919 about the concept of implicit bias, but 547 00:30:43,919 --> 00:30:47,729 also provide, you know, good evidence base 548 00:30:47,759 --> 00:30:51,809 information, as well as actually a very 549 00:30:51,809 --> 00:30:56,219 concrete useful tips on how to actually 550 00:30:56,699 --> 00:30:59,309 increase our self-awareness. Different 551 00:30:59,309 --> 00:31:02,039 ways that we can help ourselves, and others, 552 00:31:02,159 --> 00:31:07,079 to be more aware of our own bias, and 553 00:31:07,079 --> 00:31:10,529 actually, you know, improve our 554 00:31:10,529 --> 00:31:13,199 sensitivity with the people around us. 555 00:31:13,319 --> 00:31:15,119 So those are some of the resources that I 556 00:31:15,119 --> 00:31:16,799 found useful that I hope that you will 557 00:31:16,799 --> 00:31:18,539 take a look at and hopefully you may find 558 00:31:18,539 --> 00:31:19,379 them useful too.