NORTH VANCOUVER – North Vancouver- Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma says multiculturalism grant funding will help local organizations fight systemic racism throughout North Vancouver. This year, priority was given to projects addressing anti-Indigenous, anti-Asian and anti-Black racism.
“North Vancouver is an incredible community, but racism and discrimination can happen here as well,” said Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale. ‘’The harm is causes is real and we each have a role to play in confronting it. I’m deeply grateful to these North Shore organizations for taking on this important work.”
Multiculturalism Grant funding is provided to non-profit and charitable organizations for projects that build intercultural interaction, trust and understanding, or challenge racism, hate and systemic barriers. MLA Bowinn Ma said that through these projects, people across B.C. will soon have improved access to tools and resources to help them learn about the diverse culture they live.
Projects in North Vancouver – Lonsdale receiving a grant include:
- Cheakamus Foundation for Environmental Learning: $5,000 – Commemorative work of art that recognizes and celebrates the inaugural cohort of Indigenous women and 2SLGBTTQQIA+ students in a high-performance building course.
- Ghanaian-Canadian Association of BC: $5,000 – the GCABC COVID-19 preparedness project comprises provision of food, protective gear, and hygiene items to underserved members in the Greater Vancouver Area
- North Shore Multicultural Society: $10,000 – Experiences and impacts of Anti-Asian Racism in the time of Covid-19 are surfaced and explored.
- Presentation House Cultural Society: $5,000 – Black History Matters works with Black artist-educators to bring local Black history into elementary schools.
For 2020/21, the Province is providing a $944,000 one-time boost to the grant funding as part of anti-racism initiatives through Stronger BC: BC’s Economic Recovery Plan.
This grant program is just one way the BC New Democrat government province is working to subvert systemic racism and protect human rights. The province has taken further action to tackle racism including: reinstating the B.C. Human Rights Commission after it was dismantled by the former BC Liberal government, launching an investigation into allegations of racism in B.C.’s health-care system, and developing a comprehensive, multi-year anti-racism action plan for B.C.’s K-12 education system. A special committee of the legislature is currently undertaking a review of the 45-year-old Police Act to modernize it, with a specific focus on addressing systemic racism. The BC New Democrat government is also committed to introducing a new anti-racism act and legislation on race-based data collection.
Learn More:
For a full list of grant recipients:
For more information about the BC Multiculturalism Grants program, visit:
www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content?id=05BC37ECB1AC4C87AF86BC303937F6EF
For more information about Resilience BC, B.C.’s Anti-Racism network visit: www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/multiculturalism-anti-racism/anti-racism/resiliencebc