SURREY – The 8th Annual March Against Racism to Commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination takes place on Saturday (today), March 21 at 1 pm at Clark Park near Commercial Drive and 14th Avenue.
According to Tracey Mann, the anti-racism March organizer and member of No One Is Illegal, “Although we would like to believe that racism is on the wane in Canada; countless academic studies, statistics, and people’s own lived experiences demonstrate that racism is alive and well. A couple of weeks ago Conservative MP and former PMO director of communications, John Williamson, complained about bringing ‘brown people’ into Canada to work while having to pay employment insurance to ‘whities’.”
According to a recent EKOS poll reported in the media, “The number of Canadians saying we admit too many visible minorities has just cracked the 40-point ceiling for the first time ever.”
Earlier this month, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) concluded that Canada, “has failed to ensure that Aboriginal women are protected against discrimination committed by public institutions.” And in December of 2014 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated, “disappearances and murders of indigenous women in Canada are part of a broader pattern of violence and discrimination against indigenous women in Canada.” That same week Stephen Harper said launching a public inquiry “isn’t really high on our radar, to be honest.”
The mother of Stephanie Lane, Michele Pineault who is currently at the United Nations to speak on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, will be one of the speakers at the March.
Mann further says, “As an election approaches, the government is trying to push through the widely condemned Bill C-51 by engaging in fear-mongering.
They are cultivating fear of people who dress differently, making offensive comments about the hijab and niqab and the Muslim community.
They are cultivating fear of refugees, who despite a court order, continue to be denied access to health care and are facing draconian new laws.
Justice Minister Peter Mackay is. The Annual March against Racism is a great opportunity for people in Greater Vancouver to come together to show that racially charged rhetoric and discriminatory policies have no place in our community.”
WHAT: 8th Annual March Against Racism to Commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
WHEN: Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 1 PM
WHERE: Starts at Clark Park – Commercial Drive and 14th, Vancouver
WHY: March 21 is marked every year as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to commemorate the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa when police opened fire on hundreds of South Africans protesting against Apartheid’s passbook laws, killing at least 67 and wounding 186.
