44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 8, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, it is with great enthusiasm that we agree to apply the results of the previous vote, and the members of the Bloc Québécois will be voting in favour of the motion.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP certainly agrees to apply the vote and we will be voting in favour.
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Mr. Speaker, the Greens, too, agree to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
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Mr. Speaker, with great enthusiasm from Toronto, I agree to apply the results of the previous vote and am voting in favour.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree to apply the results of the previous vote, and I will be voting in favour of the motion.
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I declare the motion carried.
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- Dec/8/22 6:38:46 p.m.
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moved:
That, in the opinion of the House:
(a) the government should
(i) condemn anti-Asian hate and all forms of racism and racial discrimination,
(ii) ensure all anti-racism policies and programs address the historical and present-day racism, discrimination, stereotyping and injustices faced by people of Asian descent,
(iii) highlight the lived realities of racism and barriers to inclusion experienced by people of Asian descent in national consultations on issues of anti-Asian racism; and
(b) the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security should conduct a review of anti-Asian hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents across the country. (Private Members' Business M-63)
He said: Mr. Speaker, today, I am privileged to rise in the House to introduce Motion No. 63 on anti-Asian racism, stemming from the alarming surge in hate and discrimination against people of Asian descent.
On May 8, 2020, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, “the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering” and “We must act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate.”
Over the past two and a half years, increasing violence against Asians has been reported around the world. Targeted, taunted and threatened, Asian peoples have experienced being punched in the face, beaten into a coma and, in the worst cases, murdered.
The spa shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021, took eight innocent lives, including six Asian American women. Two weeks later, on March 29, 2021, an anti-Asian attack at a café in Richmond, British Columbia, included racial slurs and coffee hurled at a shop manager. These instances of hate are underpinned by the arduous conditions that Asians have suffered, including experiences of exploitative labour conditions and overrepresentation in precarious low-paying jobs.
Canada is not immune to the global virus that is anti-Asian racism. One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal government-funded report, published by the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, detailed a disturbing increase in anti-Asian hate across the country.
Among the 643 documented racist attacks from March 10 to December 31, 2020, are seniors being coughed or spat on and physical assaults against children, who were most likely to experience significant mental and emotional trauma. The report notes that those perceived to be the most vulnerable, namely adolescents and older adults, were subjected to greater instances of physical abuse, while women reported the majority of incidents overall. As for where these racist attacks took place, 49% were in public spaces such as parks and sidewalks, while 17% occurred in businesses, especially in the food sector like restaurants and grocery stores.
In 2021, the situation only worsened. A follow-up report showed that between January 1 and December 31, 2021, 943 instances of anti-Asian racism were logged, representing an increase of 47% over the previous year. While women continued to report the majority of cases, attacks against children increased by a staggering 286%, and cases reported by the South Asian community shot up by 318%.
Together, these two national reports paint an increasingly dire picture of the harsh realities of racism faced by Canadians of Asian descent today.
Allow me this opportunity to acknowledge the organizations that supported this research: Anakbayan Canada, Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, Council of Agencies Serving South Asians, Elimin8Hate, Project 1907 and Viet Collective for Community Justice.
That being said, the lived experiences of differential treatment are not new for Asian Canadians. The stories unfolding today rest on the backdrop of a longer history of structural and institutional racism in Canada. Whether it was the Electoral Franchise Act of 1885, which barred Chinese Canadians from voting in federal elections, or the internment of 21,000 Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, Asian Canadians have endured harmful stereotypes and discriminatory laws throughout the centuries.
Chinese Canadian veterans who served in World War II returned home to Canada only to then have to fight for their right to vote. Their efforts paid off in 1948, when Canadians of Chinese and South Asian descent were finally granted the right to vote in Canadian federal elections, followed by Japanese Canadians in 1949.
Blatant or less overt, deliberate or subconscious, the treatment of Canadians of Asian descent has been that of the perpetual foreigner, despite their generational roots and immense contributions to building this country.
Starting in 1881, over 17,000 Chinese men were brought to Canada to help construct the transcontinental railroad. Immediately upon the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Chinese Immigration Act, 1885, was passed into law, imposing a head tax of $50 on all Chinese immigrants entering Canada. The new law represented the first piece of legislation in Canada to exclude immigration on the basis of race and ethnicity in order to preserve the dominant white settler colonial state. The Chinese head tax would increase, reaching its peak in 1903 of $500, equivalent to two years of income for an immigrant worker at the time. In the 38 years that the tax was imposed, 82,000 Chinese immigrants paid nearly $23 million, an amount estimated to be worth $354 million in 2021.
It appears that from the government’s point of view, the discriminatory head tax was not enough to halt Chinese immigration. As a result, an updated Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, came into effect on July 1, 1923. Now called Canada Day, July 1 was referred to by the Chinese community as “humiliation day” in the decades that ensued. The Chinese Exclusion Act, as it now commonly referred to, banned virtually all Chinese immigrants from entering the country. Until it was repealed 24 years later in 1947, people of Chinese descent were the sole demographic singled out for full exclusion.
This was just one of over 100 different policies that systematically denied equal rights to Chinese people, viewing them as inferior and reducing them to second-class citizens. They were barred from being able to vote, to hold public office or to own property. Additional laws were passed in provinces where Chinese immigrants lived that limited their employment and housing options, as well as imposed many other restrictions, including subjugation to random police checks for immigration documents.
Perhaps most difficult of all is that a generation of predominantly Chinese men were unable to reunite with their families, resulting in a gender imbalance of 28 Chinese men to every Chinese woman in Canada. While Europeans were enticed to immigrate to Canada with promises of free land, the Chinese head tax and Chinese Exclusion Act inhibited the reunification of Chinese families.
Collectively, these policies severely impacted the social and economic development of the Chinese community in Canada for decades to come, leaving a lasting impact and enduring generational trauma. The repeal of these xenophobic laws, the gaining of the right to vote and the passing of the Canadian Citizenship Act, 1947, were the first steps in righting the historical wrongs that Canadians of Asian descent endured. Restrictions based on race and national origin were not fully eliminated in Canada’s immigration system until 1967. The liberalization of immigration policies marked a turning point for advocates of a more equitable vision for our country.
Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a stain on our country’s history that reminds us to reflect on the lived realities of anti-Asian hate that remain and thrive today. The motion I am introducing is a concerted call for action to condemn the rising prevalence of anti-Asian racism that has been commonplace throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the global health crisis began, Canadians of Asian descent have now, more than ever, been subjected to xenophobic harassment, racist stereotypes and hateful slogans, parroted even by public figures. In response, protests have taken place across the country, including the rally I attended in Nathan Phillips Square at Toronto City Hall last year, held in support of the movement against these odious forms of hate.
The diversity of attendees demonstrated the strong message that Asian Canadians do not stand alone against the rising tide of anti-Asian racism and that there is solidarity to enact lasting change through equity programs, initiatives and hate-crime prevention. Canadians are recognizing our joint responsibility to speak up and do something about the anti-Asian racism that is taking hold in Canada and around the world. That is why it is important to stand together with all Canadians against all forms of discrimination, hate and xenophobia.
Racist acts and terminology that flame distrust and division have no place in an inclusive society. For many in the Asian community, displays of solidarity like these recent gatherings are liberating moments to express the newest fears that they carry. There is comfort in allies joining the call for action to confront racism.
Through Motion No. 63, I am asking this Parliament to agree:
(a) the government should
(i) condemn anti-Asian hate and all forms of racism and racial discrimination,
(ii) ensure all anti-racism policies and programs address the historical and present-day racism, discrimination, stereotyping and injustices faced by people of Asian descent,
(iii) highlight the lived realities of racism and barriers to inclusion to inclusion experienced by people of Asian descent in national consultations on issues of anti-Asian racism; and
(b) the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security should conduct a review of anti-Asian hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents across the country.
In all of its ugly forms, anti-Asian racism is undoubtedly a part of Canada’s history, but Canadians have a choice today as to whether hate will play a part in our collective future. I ask this Parliament to join me in supporting this bold but necessary motion at this critical moment for Canadians of Asian descent across the country.
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- Dec/8/22 6:50:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate what my colleague has brought forward for the House of Commons. At the end of the day, there is a history that Canada has that needs to be talked about. This is an example of why it is so important that we look at Canada's diversity and how it has enriched our country, while at the same time recognizing that we have made some horrific mistakes. For me, it is about education and tolerance.
Can my colleague just provide his thoughts on the importance and significance of what he is proposing in terms of just heightening public awareness through education? As I say, it is important that we not forget even the bad things that have occurred in our country's history.
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- Dec/8/22 6:51:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague pointed out the importance of education in dismantling these systems of oppression, in addressing anti-Asian hate and promoting a multicultural, diverse society that is inclusive.
It is so important that we acknowledge the historical context of this country not only for the positive decisions that have been made throughout the decades, but also to realize the racism that we confront today. It is through education and through engaging people in this project of building inclusion that we can build a better country for decades to come.
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- Dec/8/22 6:52:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member was absolutely correct to say that anti-Asian racism is on the rise. It began with COVID, but it has not abated since COVID.
In my own personal experience, four generations of my family have experienced overt racism as well as covert racism. Things got so bad that it is extremely hurtful.
With respect to this motion, the issue is this: Why did the member not include a report back mechanism so that the House would actually know what work is being done and how the government is, in fact, taking real action to tackle anti-Asian racism?
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- Dec/8/22 6:53:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for sharing her experiences of racism. Like her, as a proud Canadian of Asian descent, I too have experienced hate and racism in my life.
As the member rightfully pointed out, it is important that incidents be reported back to the House. That is why, in this motion, I am asking for the committee on public safety and national security to conduct a review of anti-Asian hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents across this country.
It is my hope that through that conversation and study we can bring out the hidden narratives of lived experiences of racism, ask for and seek accountability, and ultimately achieve justice for those who have been attacked, harassed and subjected to this unfathomable, unacceptable form of racism that has emerged today.
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- Dec/8/22 6:54:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on the other side for putting this private member's motion together.
It sheds a light on the importance of awareness, and of analyzing and consulting on the move forward, because we are such a multicultural society. We have all kinds of ethnicities and languages in this country.
What does the member think is the secret recipe that would allow all of us to overcome some of the situations that might happen here?
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- Dec/8/22 6:55:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important for all of us as Canadians to not only stand up and acknowledge the history of racism in this country, but also look at how racism is affecting the lives of Canadians today.
I would say that we begin by acknowledging the truth, by acknowledging the lived realities faced by Asian Canadians in this era. That is why, in acknowledging that truth, we must take steps together as a collective society to move forward to address hate, to combat all forms of racism and to pave a path forward where we can build inclusion in this beautiful country we call home.
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- Dec/8/22 6:55:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague across the way for his wonderful speech here tonight. Tonight I rise in the House in support of his motion. Its necessity became obvious over the past three years. The COVID pandemic divided Canadians in many ways, but one of the most despicable divisions that arose was the increase in anti-Asian racism. It shocked almost everyone I knew, but it clearly built. It was a gut reaction to blaming one of Canada's greatest-contributing communities for a worldwide pandemic. Such is the work of small minds.
Racism is the prejudice, discrimination or antagonism by an individual, community or institution against a person or a people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized. To our shock, we watched the stupidity manifest itself. In case there was any doubt, we saw it on videos.
In March 2020 we watched an Asian man in his 90s, a man with dementia, pushed to the floor as he was pushed out the door of a store. Everybody I know saw their own grandfather in that assault.
In May 2020 we saw a video of an 84-year-old Asian woman being intentionally tripped while she was walking with a walker. A person went out of their way and snuck in behind her to trip her. It was devastating to watch.
I spoke up. My community came to me and said, “Greg, this is happening. Will you please speak up for us?” I joined with one of the local Asian leaders. We spoke about Calgarians, because things were happening in Calgary as well. We need to make sure that we are not confusing anything that is happening on the world stage with Canada's own ethnic communities. This was something that was a despicable response, but it got worse.
It got worse in July 2020. A Calgary man on a bike path drove by a woman who was on a skateboard, spit on her and uttered a racial slur. It is on video. It was one of the most despicable things we have seen on video in Calgary. We recognize the spot in Calgary, so we cannot say it is somebody else. It is in our communities, and it manifests itself very badly.
Police reported that anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 11% across the country between 2019 and 2020. However, in the Lower Mainland and in Vancouver, anti-Asian hate crimes increased by an outrageous 878%. In case we need to look deep into the mirror, Canada's rate of anti-Asian hate crimes, per capita, is double that reported in the United States. We wear this.
There is no community more solidly ensconced in the Canadian mosaic than the East Asian community. My generation is one that grew up with the East Asian community. We shared hockey teams, baseball teams and music lessons. We ate at each other's homes. We celebrated each other's festivals.
Waves of immigrants who have arrived in Canada since the first East Asian community came here are equally part of our mosaic, so it is with dismay that we watched the racial antagonism emerge.
Let me say that Canada is still a warm country for immigrants, particularly those who are fleeing parts of East Asia, where they feel they have less freedom and opportunity than we offer here in Canada. We are a great country, and we are blessed to have these wonderful new Canadians.
Let us reflect on the 17,000 Chinese labourers who came to Canada to build the western section of the transcontinental railway. Due to unsafe working conditions, more than 4,000 of those men tragically lost their lives. That is almost a quarter of them.
Not only were the Chinese railway workers forced to complete the most dangerous tasks, but often their families were never notified of their deaths, nor did these families receive compensation for the death of their family member.
These stalwart railroad workers were compensated less than half what other railroad workers were paid. Chinese workers were paid $1 a day and had to pay for all their food and gear. To add insult to this injustice, the Chinese community was degraded in newspapers, as it was blamed for taking jobs away from Canadians of European descent. It is ironic that Canada's first grand public enterprise in uniting a nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific was so divisive in the manner it treated those who came from Atlantic shores in preference to those who came from Pacific shores.
In Prime Minister Stephen Harper's national apology for this injustice, issued in 2006, he stated:
For over six decades, these malicious measures aimed solely at the Chinese were implemented with deliberation by the Canadian state. This was a grave injustice and one we are morally obligated to acknowledge.
An apology can never replace the pain and sorrow of the rail workers and their families. However, I am hopeful this apology lands and addresses some of our history.
This summer in June, I also went to speak about the railway workers monument in Calgary, the “Wall of Names”, honoured by the Calgary Kaiping Association, at Sien Lok Park. The monument had been vandalized, so this is not over. This did not end with COVID. It is extremely disappointing and reminds us all that we have to make sure that we continue. This monument was one where they erased the names of all the Chinese immigrants who had come to Canada in those years. We recognize that happened before 1923, because the act more or less excluded East Asian immigrants after that period.
It is a shame. It is something that needs to be righted. It continues to exhibit itself on the streets of my very open, dynamic, multicultural city and yet, somehow, there are still voices that say, “These people are different.” Well, they are not. These people are part of our mosaic. These people belong with us. These people are Canadians.
This motion is one we back 100%, and I am honoured to be able to speak to it in this House of Commons.
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- Dec/8/22 7:03:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to say that it is an honour to rise to speak to Motion No. 63, which seeks to condemn anti-Asian racism and address it. I know that this motion is very important to many members of the House, and rightly so.
I congratulate the member for Scarborough North for moving this motion. I know that a similar version of this motion was tabled last year at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage by our colleague from Don Valley North. This is also particularly important to our colleague from Vancouver East, who I believe also wanted to move this motion.
First, I think it is obvious that we cannot be against apple pie. I often say this. We naturally support a motion that seeks to condemn racism and also to prevent it and raise awareness about it. I can confirm that the Bloc Québécois supports Motion No. 63. We will condemn all forms of hate speech and hate crimes in the strongest possible terms, at every opportunity and as often as necessary.
I would also point out that Asian people in Canada were racially segregated from the 19th century until after the Second World War. It took us a long time to wake up. There were all sorts of discriminatory laws and policies. Some policies were aimed at exclusion. Asian people are still the target of hate crimes today. In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the frequency of race-based harassment and attacks. This especially true since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everyone applauds and everyone agrees when anti-racism policies are brought in. That makes perfect sense, but there is one pitfall to watch out for. It is important not to exclude any form of racism. Policies must be implemented in a way that does not exclude any group that might be discriminated against. I ask this question in all earnestness. We wholeheartedly support this motion, but should Canada not have a strong general policy that condemns all forms of racism and raises awareness of all forms of racism, regardless of the group targeted?
I do not mind doing this work bit by bit. Today we are condemning anti-Asian racism. If another member moves a motion to condemn another form of racism or racism that targets another group, we will surely support that too. However, sooner or later, we have to acknowledge our history and learn from it. We need to implement something comprehensive that covers all forms of discrimination.
I will read the motion:
That, in the opinion of the House: (a) the government should (i) condemn anti-Asian hate and all forms of racism and racial discrimination, (ii) ensure all anti-racism policies and programs address the historical and present-day racism, discrimination, stereotyping and injustices faced by people of Asian descent, (iii) highlight the lived realities of racism and barriers to inclusion experienced by people of Asian descent in national consultations on issues of anti-Asian racism; and (b) the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security should conduct a review of anti-Asian hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents across the country.
Earlier I talked about this country's history of deliberately discriminatory and racist policies against people of Asian origin, including those who were Canadian citizens. In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, particularly in British Columbia but, really, across Canada, there was opposition to Japanese and Asian immigration in general.
Thousands of people came from Asia to Canada to help build the railroad. It was an historic event, and we are extremely grateful to them.
How did Canada thank them for their contribution to building the Canadian Pacific Railway? It brought in laws against Chinese immigration. It denied them certain privileges, including the right to vote. It denied them certain basic rights, such as the right to housing. It allowed some landlords to refuse to rent to people of Asian descent.
In 1872, British Columbia passed an election law that prohibited Japanese Canadian citizens and indigenous people from voting in the province's elections. One would think the rest of the country would rise up against this, but no, that did not happen. In 1920, the Dominion Elections Act was passed, which meant that racial groups who were disenfranchised at the provincial level were now also disenfranchised at the federal level.
When policies are put in place, they should be designed to last. They should be drafted with the future in mind; they must be strong and robust. We do not want to encounter a situation or climate at some point in the future where a desire to revive these horrible discriminatory policies comes back into the equation or is considered.
I will not dwell on the dark chapters of the Second World War, when the decision was made to intern Japanese-Canadian citizens. I will also not dwell on how they were expropriated and sent back to Japan when, quite often, those people were born here. History is rife with these types of examples.
As I said before, it is important to remember history and to learn from it. One such example was COVID‑19. Before that, however, in 2003, there was the SARS outbreak and people of Asian origin were subject to a dramatic increase in racist comments and even hate crimes.
During the first year of the COVID‑19 pandemic, in 2019-20, the Vancouver police reported a 700% increase in hate crimes against the Asian community. My colleague from Vancouver East is certainly aware of those statistics. That happened because of the misinformation and mistaken notions going around about the origin of the virus.
In closing, I would say that, in Quebec, we are fighting against hate and racism. We are working to break down stereotypes originating from old Canadian laws that are racist, restrictive and segregationist. We are doing it by stressing the equality of citizens of all origins and by focusing on the shared identity and the feeling of belonging to the Quebec nation of Quebeckers of all origins.
We will sincerely and enthusiastically support Motion No. 63. It is a big step. It is also important because it recognizes a phenomenon we must condemn and combat. I hope this snowballs. I hope we will see more motions like it.
Once again, I congratulate my colleague from Scarborough North on his initiative and on this motion.
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- Dec/8/22 7:11:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today we are debating Motion No. 63, a motion that focuses on anti-Asian racism and discrimination.
I would like to first acknowledge and thank some of the organizations that are doing incredible work to support the Asian communities in fighting against anti-Asian racism. They are groups like Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice, Hua Foundation, the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, Stand with Asians, the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, #Elimin8Hate, project 1907, and so many others. Their work is so important and they have been leading the way.
As part of the process to prepare for this debate, my office contacted a number of the organizations for input regarding this motion. They were clear in saying that instead of symbolic gestures, they want the government to take meaningful action to address the rise in anti-Asian racism. The fight against racism and discrimination is re-emerging as one of the defining struggles of our generation. We are witnessing a surge in racism, white supremacy and fascism.
There is no question that COVID-19 is fielding anti-Asian racism and xenophobia worldwide. In May 2020, the UN secretary-general said, “the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.” He called on governments to “act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate.”
Vancouver saw a 717% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and was dubbed “the anti-Asian hate crime capital of North America”. In fact, data from Statistics Canada confirm the rise in racist hate crimes is a national trend. Between 2018 and 2021, police reported hate crimes based on race and ethnicity more than doubled, to over 1,700. An Angus Reid survey from June of last year reported that more than half of Asian Canadians experienced a situation related to anti-Asian discrimination in the last year and more than one in four reported this occurred all the time or frequently. These numbers are startling, even though we know that the true number of all incidents is much higher than those reported.
Advocacy groups warn that many of those experiencing hate crimes never report it to the police. Many who have tried to access police services experienced disappointment, felt invalidated or felt that no adequate support was provided. The government must work in partnership with NGOs to help bridge this gap. There has to be stable core funding for NGOs who are doing the heavy lifting in the community and supports must be in place that are culturally specific and language accessible.
Too many victims are suffering silently and in isolation. They should know that they are not alone, that they would be supported as they recover from this traumatic experience and that if the victims come forward, every effort will be made to ensure that there will be consequences for the perpetrators. Another measure to encourage victims to come forward is that the government must do its part by ensuring that there will be consequences for the offenders. Even among the small proportion that is reported to police, few cases result in charges being laid. Between 2013 and 2018, 82% of hate crimes did not result in a charge after being reported to police. This must change.
To send a clear message that Canada will not tolerate hate-motivated crimes means we have to put the full force of the law against the offenders. That would require a dedicated hate crime prosecution unit with adequate resources and teeth. To further this work, the government should facilitate a national community engagement process so that people of Asian descent with lived realities of anti-Asian racism and systemic barriers to inclusion can come together to share the experiences and discuss action that must be taken to address it.
If the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security is to conduct a review of anti-Asian hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents across the country as suggested by the motion, it should be tasked with providing actionable recommendations and guidance to government bodies and law enforcement on reporting, addressing and preventing hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents.
It is time that we move beyond symbolic gestures. The House unanimously passed two NDP motions to tackle anti-Asian racism in March of 2021. These motions got passed, but there was never any follow-up action from the government. For example, it has not hosted a federal-provincial-territorial meeting to discuss the rise in hate crimes in Canada and to coordinate our collective efforts and identified best practices to countering this trend. There has been no action on the creation of properly funded dedicated hate crime units in every community in Canada.
There are also no national standards for identifying and recording all hate incidents and their dispensation in the justice system. The government has not worked in collaboration with non-profits to facilitate the reporting of hate crimes in Canada's anti-racism strategy 2019-22, and the government's anti-racism policies and programs do not specifically target anti-Asian racism. What is the point of passing these motions when follow-up action is not taken? There is simply no accountability.
I reached out to the member for Scarborough North with amendments to his motions that would ensure meaningful action and accountability measures. Sadly, he rejected all of them.
Words without action are meaningless. The government must do better, for every single attack is aimed at stripping us of our sense of safety and dignity. It is a clear message to say that we are not wanted, that we do not belong. For me, this is not just theoretical. It is personal.
Four generations of my family have suffered racist attacks. My grandfather suffered silently so many years ago by himself. He was told that he had to move to the back of the bus. He was told that he had to get off the bus. He was told repeatedly that he did not belong. My parents and I experienced racial slurs. We were called names. We were made fun of. We were just not wanted.
Growing up in this country, that is what it felt like for me. I have to say, to my dismay, my daughter just this year on her way to school was spat on, and somebody yelled racial slurs at her. When she told me this, my heart sank. History repeats itself over and over again, so to that end, this must stop.
Therefore, I move that the motion be amended with the following: a) by replacing the word “hate” with “racism” in paragraph (a)(i) and adding after the words “racial discrimination” the following, “and take meaningful action to combat the ongoing increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents, including the creation of and funding for a dedicated hate crime prosecution unit”; b) in paragraph (a)(ii) by adding “through concrete actions and a substantive commitment of resources including but not limited to support for victims of hate that are culturally specific and language-accessible”; c) in paragraph (a)(iii) by adding the word “unique” after the words “highlight the”, adding the word “anti-Asian” before “racism”, adding the word “systemic” before “barriers” and adding the words “through a national community engagement process” after the words “people of Asian descent”; d) in paragraph (b) by adding the words “and provide actionable recommendations and guidance to government bodies and law enforcement on reporting, addressing and preventing hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents” following the words “across the country”; e) by adding paragraph (c) “provide a progress update to the House on actions taken by the government on the following specific calls for action outlined in the two unanimous consent motions to tackle anti-Asian hate passed in the House on March 22 and 24, 2021 (i) host a federal-provincial-territorial meeting to discuss the rise in hate crimes in Canada and to coordinate our collective efforts and identified best practices to countering this trend, (ii) create and properly fund dedicated hate crime units in every community in Canada, (iii) establish national standards for identifying and recording all hate incidents and their dispensation in the justice system, (iv) work in collaboration with non-profits to facilitate the reporting of hate crimes, and (v) include “anti-Asian racism” in Canada's anti-racism strategy 2019-22 and all anti-racism policies and programs; and (f) by adding paragraph (d) “renew Canada's anti-racism strategy through engagement with stakeholders and those with lived experiences, and table the action plan that specifically addresses anti-Asian racism within 12 months.”
It is critical that everyone stand firm against the forces that represent racism, white supremacy and fascism, whether they are being propagated by an individual or an organization. This has no place in public dialogue and no place on our streets.
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- Dec/8/22 7:22:07 p.m.
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It is my duty to inform hon. members that pursuant to Standing Order 93(3), no amendment may be proposed to a private member's motion or to the motion for second reading of a private member's bill unless the sponsor of the item indicates his or her consent. Since the sponsor is not present to give his consent, the amendment cannot be moved at this time.
The hon. member for Vancouver East is rising on a point of order.
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- Dec/8/22 7:22:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know we are not supposed to reference whether or not a member is in the House. However, I noticed you referenced that the member had left the chamber just now. Is that proper?
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- Dec/8/22 7:22:56 p.m.
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I can reference it when it comes to getting consent from a member.
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
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- Dec/8/22 7:23:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, then it is okay to reference that the member for Scarborough North just left the chamber.
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