The Government of British Columbia is observing anti-racism awareness week from May 27 to June 2.
“Governments can only do so much,” said Muhi Bakini, a supervisor of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) education and resources, with Archway Community Services in Abbotsford. Bakini runs anti-racism workshops and helps immigrants settle in the Fraser Valley.
Bakini praised a pair of pieces of provincial legislation passed over the last two years that zero in on racism as “practical.” The first, passed in May 2022, which facilitates race-based data collection, and another act passed in April that aims to make use of that data.
Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives Mable Elmore also calls on British Columbians to learn about their neighbours by attending cultural festivals and “building a province where everyone’s welcome.”
