SoVote

Dec/8/22 6:51:26 p.m.
Watch

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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Context: House Hansard - 144 - Dec/8/22

Mr. Ziad Aboultaif (Edmonton Manning, CPC)

Dec/8/22 6:54:23 p.m.
Watch

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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Context: House Hansard - 144 - Dec/8/22

Mr. Greg McLean (Calgary Centre, CPC)

Dec/8/22 6:55:56 p.m.
Watch

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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