What BC’s New Legislation Aimed at ‘Systemic Racism’ Will Do

The legislature building in Victoria, B.C., on Sept. 25, 2023. The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito

British Columbia’s recently announced Anti-Racism Act would have public bodies answer to a new provincial anti-racism committee about how they are combatting “systemic racism.”

Public bodies, such as provincial ministries and health-care providers, would be required to meet hiring targets for indigenous and “racialized” people, including making sure they advance to senior positions, says a press release outlining the legislation.

Public employees would have to undergo training in indigenous history, and policies and programs within the organizations would be regularly assessed against an anti-racism framework created by the new committee. The attorney general would be responsible for enforcement.

“To ensure compliance, the bill authorizes the attorney general to call at any time a compliance review of any public body believed to not be following the law,” the press release reads. “The attorney general will also have the authority to issue a compliance order to any public body that is failing to follow the law.”

The precise parameters of the anti-racism framework remain unclear because it’s to be created by the committee the legislation aims to form. But the government’s summary of public engagement on anti-racism may give some clues as to priorities.

Anti-Racism Curriculum for K-12 a Top Priority

The government sought input from “racialized” people through community organizations leading up to its Anti-Racism Data Act, which became law in 2022. That law allows the government to collect race-based data for the purpose of identifying and addressing “systemic racism.”

The newly announced Anti-Racism Act is said to be informed by the collected data.

“Today’s introduction of the Anti-Racism Act (ARA) is an important step toward addressing systemic racism in this province, building on the milestone Anti-Racism Data Act,” B.C. independent human rights commissioner Kasari Govender said in the April 11 press release.

The release links to the public engagement report from 2022, which says a “top priority area” was education, with 24 percent of reports submitted by organizations identifying it as such.

“It was noted that education needs to use intersectional data to further promote diversity and that the curriculum, especially K-12, should be a particular priority for the government,” the government’s engagement summary said. “One report also suggested including critical race theory in post-secondary education.”

Critical race theory is a neo-Marxist ideology that emphasizes a struggle between oppressors and oppressed in society. It places emphasis on “intersectional” identities, defined by how a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, and other characteristics, intersect to make them more or less “privileged.” For example, an able-bodied, white, heterosexual male would be considered highly privileged.

These ideas are often called “anti-racism” in public discourse, though the term “critical race theory” is often used as well.

In the province’s public engagement, it found participants see education as a way to help students “understand societal imbalances, create acceptance, and spread awareness.” It said “participants believed that education could breakdown stereotypes, create anti-racism campaigns, and provide a chance to address missing voices such as the rights and education of Métis Nations.”

The Epoch Times spoke with B.C. parents last year who expressed concern about the anti-racism teaching already in schools.

Dan Brooks, a parent in Vanderhoof, B.C., told The Epoch Times about the experience of his daughter Rachel. She was 13 when her class was asked to place themselves on a “Wheel of Privilege” two years ago.

“She felt that as a white person, she was being attacked and shamed because of her whiteness,” he said in an email. “To perceive she was being labelled as a racist or privileged oppressor was deeply offensive and contrary to both Rachel’s experience at home and her values as a person.”

Rachel has an older sister who is indigenous. Mr. Brooks said the anti-racism lesson could easily cause anger, guilt, and shame in someone “not mature enough yet to respond to this discussion.”

“Words cannot express the anguish we have felt as parents to hear our indigenous daughter say ... that her skin was ‘dirty.’ These things ought not to be for any child, and to hear those same sorts of things coming from Rachel because she was white was like the universe inverted, and it broke my heart.”

Health Care and Social Services

The second area of highest priority, with 19 percent of the public engagement responses identifying it as such, was health care.

“Members identified family doctors, clinics, and hospitals as key priorities for urgent change because they believed that this is where people experienced racism the most,” the report said.

Respondents said they encounter racism when accessing services, especially with pregnancies and deliveries. Some respondents flagged a lack of language services and some “reported receiving poor health treatment when health-care professionals noted the accents of the members.”

Thirteen percent identified help with other governmental services as a top priority, in particular help with services to newcomers. “There was an indication that current language services and the overall support provided to these groups was insufficient.”