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Eleven people selected to join B.C.'s new anti-racism data committee
10-08-2022
VICTORIA - British Columbia has appointed the first members of the Anti-Racism Data Committee, a key part of B.C.'s recently enacted Anti-Racism Data Act, focused on dismantling systemic racism in all provincial government programs and services.
Nearly 160 people applied to join the Anti-Racism Data Committee and 11 were selected. The committee will be chaired by June Francis, a professor at Simon Fraser University, whose work focuses on equity, diversity and inclusion for racialized groups.
"We had overwhelming numbers of qualified and passionate people apply. It just shows how determined people are to dismantle systemic racism across B.C.," said Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives. "We've selected 11 members who will help us identify how we can improve government services for racialized people. I look forward to the committee's work as we build an anti-racist B.C. that works for everyone."
As an action to implement the Anti-Racism Data Act, the committee has been created to identify and break down barriers in government programs and services for Indigenous, Black and other people of colour. It is the first anti-racism act in Canada to be co-developed with Indigenous Peoples.
Committee members represent the diversity of B.C. and will provide input about how demographic data will be collected and used safely in order to illuminate gaps in government services and dismantle systemic barriers to government programs. The committee will recommend priorities for research, and review statistics prior to their release to prevent future community harms.
The committee's work will be supported by a voluntary population survey, conducted by BC Stats and built with Indigenous, Black and other people of colour. Once this data is collected it will be linked with existing program data and used to analyze key sectors, such as education, policing and health care.
"The Anti-Racism Data Committee will be a critical partner in the implementation of this important legislation," said Lisa Beare, Minister of Citizens' Services. "In order to build programs and services that work for all people in B.C., we need data that represents all people in B.C. But trust is critical here - so when we collect data, when we undertake anti-racism research, when we release statistics about racialized people's use of government programs under this act, we will do it in collaboration with this committee and the wealth of knowledge and lived experience that they bring to the table."
The committee's inaugural meeting will be next month. Members will meet regularly to help the Province develop data standards and directives to guide how government collects and uses data to improve programs and services for Indigenous and other racialized communities. The committee will also work with government to set research priorities and release statistics by June 2023.
"This groundbreaking Anti-Racism Data Act seeks to ensure that B.C. is a province where all people, regardless of race, can flourish," said Francis. "The anti-racism data committee will be critical to realizing these aspirations. The committee is constituted to ensure the representation of Indigenous and racialized communities and will work hard to ensure the promises made to address systemic racism and gaps in service in the public sector are realized. This will involve a continuous process of working with communities, including their perspectives, and maintaining cultural safety as we collaborate with government to establish key research priorities. The primary focus will be to gather and monitor data to close the racial equity gaps that exist in the public service."
The Province will continue to work in partnership with the committee, as well as with Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities, to ensure that the implementation of the act is informed by lived experiences.
The Anti-Racism Data Committee is an important part of the Province's commitment to dismantle systemic racism and build a better, more inclusive province for everyone.
Quick Facts:
* Between September 2021 and January 2022, more than 13,000 people provided input about the development of the Anti-Racism Data Act.
* The Anti-Racism Data Committee will use this feedback, as well as the information collected through the voluntary population survey, to develop data standards and directives.
* Statistics from the population survey beginning this year will be released, along with defined research priorities, in summer 2023.
Learn More:
For more information about the Anti-Racism Data Act, visit: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/antiracism/
To read the Anti-Racism Data Act, visit: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/bills/billscurrent/3rd42nd:gov24-1
A backgrounder follows.
Contacts:
Ministry of Citizens' Services
Media Relations
250 356-7959
Ministry of Attorney General
Media Relations
236 478-0251
BACKGROUNDER
Biographies of anti-racism data committee members
June Francis (chair), co-founder, Co-Laboratorio (CoLab Advantage Ltd.) and special adviser to the president of Simon Fraser University on Anti-Racism
Francis is an advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion for racialized groups. She is chair of the Hogan's Alley Society, whose mission is to advance the social, political, economic and cultural well-being of people of African descent through the delivery of housing, built spaces and programming. She is also director of Simon Fraser University's Institute for Diaspora Research and Engagement, whose mandate is to strengthen the links between scholarly research, policy and practice related to multicultural and diaspora communities and their role in building innovative, sustainable and inclusive initiatives. As an entrepreneur, through the CoLab, Francis works with a wide range of clients to audit and address structural barriers to participation of Indigenous, Black and other racialized groups in workplace culture, supply chains, policy, programs, partnerships and service designs.
Shirley Chau, associate professor, school of social work, UBC Okanagan
Chau is co-chair of the UBC President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence and a former chair and co-chair of the Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Issues Caucus of the Canadian Association of Social Work Education. She serves on the Organizing Against Racism and Hate committee in Kelowna, where her focus is to monitor and problem-solve on issues related to racism and intersectional discrimination based on Indigeneity, gender, age, racial-linguistics, ethnicity, religion and disability.
Donald Corrigal, cultural wellness manager, Métis Nation BC
At Métis Nation BC, Corrigal is responsible for liaising with the health-care industry on a variety of issues, including the implementation of the In Plain Sight report, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report, and the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action report. He has worked in environmental public health since 1976 and worked with various committees in the B.C. Interior during the COVID-19 pandemic on issues of access and discriminatory and racist incidents at COVID clinics.
Marion Erickson, research manager, Health Arts Research Centre
Erickson is a Dakelh woman from the community of Nak'azdli and is a member of the Lhts'umusyoo (Beaver) Clan. Erickson is a master of education candidate at Thompson Rivers University and earned a bachelor of arts in public administration and community development from the University of Northern British Columbia. Erickson serves on the B.C. Health Regulators Indigenous Student Advisory Group and has served on the trust development committee for the Nak'azdli Band and the City of Prince George Student Needs Committee.
Daljit Gill-Badesha, instructor, BC Institute of Technology, guest lecturer, Simon Fraser University
With more than 25 years of senior leadership in the non-profit and public sectors, Gill-Badesha brings expertise in executive management, research, knowledge mobilization and policy development for children and youth, seniors, immigrant and refugee settlement, as well as accessibility and inclusion portfolios. She has developed award-winning, large-scale initiatives and strategies for long-term community planning and led changes in policies to make data collection and reporting more accessible within local government and add accountability measures on data related to racism and hate.
Jessica Guss, manager, cultural safety and humility, First Nations Health Authority
Guss has more than 20 years' experience in business administration and management, including seven years in Indigenous health and wellness. She has mixed ancestry that includes the Haida, Xaxli'p, Xwisten and Squamish Nations, as well as mixed European ancestry. Her work experiences have strengthened her abilities in policy, standards, process development and analysis to advance areas aligned with anti-racism strategies and objectives.
Ellen Kim, equity and inclusion consultant
Originally from Korea, Kim has worked with governments, businesses and not-for-profit organizations with a focus on anti-racism. She co-leads a grassroots collective of Asian women who collect, analyze, track and share community-sourced data on anti-Asian racism and its impacts. Prior to this, Kim spent 10 years working in community development and front-line social service delivery with global communities experiencing injustice.
Zareen Naqvi, director, Institutional Research and Planning, Simon Fraser University (SFU)
Naqvi completed her PhD in economics at Boston University and worked as an academic and international development professional at the World Bank. She leads the equity, diversity and inclusion data working group at SFU and co-chairs the data governance council and other related projects. She is passionate about improving data access to ensure vulnerable groups are well represented in public services and higher education.
Smith Oduro-Marfo, lead author and researcher, Black in B.C. report
Oduro-Marfo holds a PhD in political science from the University of Victoria. His area of academic interest since 2016 has been in issues of privacy, data protection, surveillance and identification systems. He is the lead author and researcher for the Black in B.C. report funded by the B.C. government and released in February 2022. He has been on the advisory committee for Ending Violence Association of B.C.'s anti-racism and hate response program, and is a member of the Greater Victoria Police Diversity Advisory Committee.
Jacqueline Quinless, CEO, Quintessential Research Group
A sociologist, IBPOC researcher and biracial person of Irish/British and Indian ethnicity, Quinless has worked extensively in Indigenous communities for more than 20 years using gender-based analysis frameworks. In 2013, she was recognized by the Canadian Sociological Association and the Angus Reid Foundation for her community-based research that has advanced human welfare for Indigenous Peoples in Canada. She has worked for First Nations communities in a research capacity, including outlining data indicators and measurements tools.
Sukhi Sandhu, co-founder, Wake Up Surrey; master's student, diversity, equity and inclusion, Tufts University
Sandhu is a community activist and a founding member of Wake Up Surrey, a grassroots community organization formed in 2018 in response to increasing gang violence and targeted shootings involving South Asian youth. He has spearheaded the group's outreach by participating in more than 150 meetings with all levels of government, policing authorities, community stakeholders, educators, mental-health experts and victims' families. Sandhu also has many years of experience in global sports management.
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