On May 2, The British Columbia government introduce the Anti-Racism Data Act, a first in North America, to aid in the dismantling of systematic racism and discrimination faced by Indigenous and other racialized groups.
According to the Tri-City News article “B.C. tables data collection law to help dismantle systemic racism, says premier” by Dirk Meissner, this legislation allows the government to collect and use data that indicates people’s hurdles as evidence to assist and develop more equitable policies.
“I always say that I’m the son of an Irish immigrant, but it’s got to be more than where you came from,” said John Horgan, the BC premier. “It’s what can we do tomorrow to make this dynamic, diverse multicultural community also an anti-racist community,” Horgan states to the press during a news conference before the introduction of its Anti-Racism Data Act.
Horgan believes this act will help the government to determine the gaps in programs and services to achieve a better standard of needs for Indigenous people, Black people, and other people of color in the province who face discrimination in B.C.
“B.C. becomes first in North America to introduce Anti-Racism Data Act” by Richard Zussman and Amy Judd said the fact that this legislation is one of the first pieces of new legislation to be co-developed with Indigenous leadership under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. The province also promised there will be safeguards to protect the data being collected from being used in harmful ways. The government officials also said that the data must be accurate, then people will not believe what the government says and will not going to take it seriously.
In 2020, Canada’s hate crime has reached its highest for the 5-year period according to Statistic Canada. Through the pandemic, more people of color have experience racism. The government believes this legislation will help to remove barriers, reduce systemic racism.
The government said more than 90 per cent of racialized people and more than 13,000 people completed the survey, which collected people’s ethnicity, gender identity and faith and this can be the bridge of trust between the government and the racialized people. The government said the next survey of provincial demographic data will be collected starting next fall.
Racism is a global problem that can’t currently be solved, but it can be lessened with more individuals putting more effort into it. British Columbia is a province that builds on diversity with people from all over the world. Although government can’t completely erase racism in the province, it is making progress. Still, the Anti-Racism Data Act will always be a law; eliminating racism requires people to overcome their bias. With British Columbia leading the way, more provinces will follow suit in the fight against racism.
Sources:
B.C. tables data collection law to help dismantle systemic racism, says premier
New anti-racism data act will help fight systemic racism
B.C. tables data collection law to help track and dismantle systemic racism
B.C. becomes first in North America to introduce Anti-Racism Data Act