March 2020 Public Roundtable - The Centre for Civic Religious Literacy - Le centre de littératie religieuse civique

This event was hosted on March 9, 2020 at the Library Square Conference Centre, Alma Peter Room, Vancouver Central Library, 350 W Georgia St. It was co-hosted with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Centre for Civic Religious Literacy.

This roundtable aimed to be an:

- Opportunity for the public to understand and discuss the impact of this issue at a variety of levels, for the well being of our cities and communities;
- Opportunity for the public to analyze the current state and responses to this issue from the perspective of those working on finding solutions to racism in all its forms;
- Opportunity to create partnerships and a meaningful exchange/dialogue between community members affected by and responding to this issue.

It was a response to the rise of racist and bigoted attacks in the Lower Mainland since 2019. These include a racist rant in a parking lot directed to a woman of Asian descent, a racist tirade against an Asian woman for not speaking English at her place of employment, and the Bank of Montreal’s responsibility in the detainment and arrest of a grandfather and his granddaughter based on their indigenous heritage. Our public roundtable talk aimed to discuss these issues and their impact on residents of the Lower Mainland. We heard from experts in this area while also acknowledging the experience of racialized and minority individuals in our audience.

Local leaders and experts in dialogue with us included:

Kasari Govender

Kasari Govender, BC Human Rights Commissioner
Alison Dudley, Executive Director, Multiculturalism Branch, BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture
Jennifer Reddy, Trustee, Vancouver School Board
Laura Mannix, Director of Community Development, DIVERSECity
Dr. Moussa Magassa, Human Rights Education Advisor, University of Victoria

The discussion was facilitated by Alim Fakirani (af@ccrl-clrc.ca), the BC Regional Director for the Centre for Civic Religious Literacy.

This roundtable was organized by the Centre for Civic Religious Literacy and sponsored by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, two non-profit organizations. These annual roundtable talks are an opportunity for the public to voice their concerns around race and racism in Canada. These roundtable talks are also an opportunity for government and civil society leaders to hear and respond to the public’s concerns.

The Centre for Civic Religious Literacy (CCRL) is a non-religious non-profit that aims to foster understanding about religious, spiritual, and non-religious beliefs in all sectors of Canadian society. To learn more about CCRL’s mandate, mission, and vision, visit: https://ccrl-clrc.ca/mission-and-vision.

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation is Canada’s leading agency dedicated to the elimination of racism and all forms of racial discrimination in Canadian society.