Anti Racism Act
April 15, 2024
On April 11, 2024 Honourable Attorney General Nikki Sharma, K.C., tabled the much needed Anti-Racism Legislation, that is designed to hold public bodies accountable for addressing systematic racism in policy and programs.
SALCBC supports enactment of the Anti-Racism Act. We are hopeful the Anti-Racism Act along with the Anti-Racism Data Act, will work to create much needed change that is needed to hold public bodies, accountable for addressing system racism in programs, policy and current systems that many marginalized people report feeling discriminated in.
In March 2023, the BC Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, released the report “From hate to home, Inquiry into hate in the Covid-19 pandemic”, an inquiry that SALCBC contributed. This report established that hate has a long history in BC, rooted in power and control and long-standing patterns of discrimination and oppression. The Commissioners report further highlighted that hate is disproportionately experienced by marginalized communities.
At SALCBC, we advocate for a justice system and access to justice initiatives that recognize and support the intersectional identities of marginalized people, including identities with respect to gender, age, immigration status, place of origin, sexual orientation, and disability.
At SALCBC we urge public bodies to be proactive and be accountable about addressing systematic racism in their programs, policy and current systems.
Meena Dhillon,
Managing Lawyer
