Challenging embedded oppression and racism is an ongoing effort and we are committed to working in solidarity with Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities.
The City is located on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples who have lived on these lands since time immemorial.
We are committed to stewarding strong relationships with the local Nations through ongoing communication and partnership development.
The City recognizes our systemic foundation in colonialism, white supremacy, and racism. In order to effect change, we have to critically analyze these roots, examine our role in the ongoing marginalization of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities, and commit to reconciliation and change.
We are humbled by the continuous efforts and action of the communities most impacted by systemic racism. We recognize our responsibility to meaningfully respond to this leadership and commit to both dialogue and action as we move forward developing anti-racism and equity strategies.
Find out more about the steps we have taken in advancing reconciliation, anti-racism, and equity actions, as well as our future commitments to ensure Vancouver is a more equitable and fairer place.
Over the years, we've been working on a number of anti-racism initiatives to create a more equitable Vancouver.
Through both modest and comprehensive action, we are working to tackle racism and white supremacy within the City and Vancouver. This is an urgent priority.
Staff are expediting the City’s anti-racism strategy with input from Indigenous, Black, and other racialized peoples and organizations to ensure Vancouver is a safe and just place for all.
Council directed Indigenous Relations to develop a scope of work for a colonial audit, while continuing to work cross-departmentally to implement the City of Reconciliation Framework
MMIWG and Red Women Rising reports
We are developing our response to the calls for justice coming from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the Red Women Rising reports.
This project was temporarily put on hold due to the COVID-19 response.
Women Deliver Project
Staff are partnering with Indigenous community experts to conceptualize, design, and create a multi-use building that prioritizes Indigenous women for housing, and includes childcare and other supports.
The project team is undertaking a unique decolonizing process to help guide staff in their leadership and decision making.
Urban Indigenous response to COVID-19
Staff are working to support Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council (MVAEC) in identifying and implementing the Urban Indigenous Pandemic Communications and Collaboration Hub, a collaboration between MVAEC, Vancouver Coastal Health, the City, and the First Nations Health Authority.
Our citywide approach also responds to the directions and recommendations of the Urban Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee.
We welcomed the feedback of the Urban Indigenous Advisory Committee’s open letter in July 2020 on ways to improve the City’s relationship with Indigenous communities in Vancouver.
We are working closely with UIPAC to identify gaps and opportunities and to develop community trust in our institution.
Indigenous healing and wellness
City Council approved an additional grant to Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council for 2020 to accelerate their work on an Indigenous-led healing and wellness strategy. City staff are currently in discussions with MVAEC leadership about allocations of the funds which will help the City target support and investments to priorities set by the community.
Council also approved a capital grant of over $700,000 for an Indigenous healing and wellness space in the Downtown Eastside as part of the 2018 - 2022 Capital Plan.
More recently, an adjustment to the Capital Plan increased this amount in total to over $3 million, and potential locations have been identified.
In response to the leadership of Vancouverites, City Council and staff will be advocating to the Ministry of Education and discussing with the Vancouver School Board the need for the history of people of African descent in Vancouver, BC and Canada to be included as core curriculum as opposed to optional Black History Month content.
Curriculum changes are determined by the school board and ministry, but we will continue to push for these changes.
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਮਾਰਕੀਟ (Punjabi Market)
Staff are liaising with the community on the revitalization of ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਮਾਰਕੀਟ (Punjabi Market), recognizing the impact of historical discrimination on this key cultural and economic district.
Apology for historical discrimination against residents of Chinese descent
In April 2018, Vancouver City Council arranged a special meeting in Chinatown where former Mayor Gregor Robertson delivered a formal apology on behalf of the City of Vancouver for past discrimination against residents of Chinese descent.
The apology acknowledged the wrongdoings of past legislation, regulations, and policies of previous Vancouver City Councils. Actions recommended by the community are being implemented through the Chinatown Transformation initiative.
Apology to Japanese Canadians
Staff are engaged with local Japanese Canadians on their community-led cultural redress initiatives to recognize the history and heritage of Japanese Canadians in the Paueru Gai/historic Powell Street area.
In 2013, Council issued a formal apology to the Japanese-Canadian community for discrimination and dispossession during World War II.
Additionally, in 2014 the Downtown Eastside Plan was approved by Council with policies to support Japanese-Canadians through public realm improvements, public art, events and programming, and strategic development and heritage rehabilitation opportunities.
An inter-departmental team continues to work with Hogan’s Alley Society on the establishment of a memorandum of agreement that will include actions in recognition of the displacement of the Black community from North East False Creek and the contributions of the Black community to the vitality of Vancouver.
Working with the Black and African diaspora community
City staff are committed to working with Black and African diaspora community members and organizations to evaluate and respond to the calls to justice outlined by the community.
Staff will share an analysis of our upcoming actions with the registered participants of the anti-Black racism town hall in September.
We hired a Healthy City scholar to review existing policies, look at best practices, and develop recommendations of strategies we can adopt to address anti-Black racism in Vancouver.
Staff are reviewing these recommendations and determining the appropriate potential actions.
We're working closely with the Black History Month Planning Committee to organize annual Black History Month events that recognize African Canadian history, futures, and achievements, including proclaiming Emancipation Day on Aug 1, 2020.
We're advocating to the Province to create a formal representative to improve mental health supports for residents impacted by racism and hate.
This advocacy work includes recommendations for services to assist people seeking redress for experiences of racism and violence.
Public campaign: Day of Action Against Racism
We proclaimed May 29, 2020 as a Day of Action Against Racism PDF file (6 MB), a day to reflect on how we can collectively take a stand against racism and hate, while also recognizing that racism has long been part of Vancouver’s history and to learn from mistakes of the past.
Just before the COVID-19 impacts, the City manager created the position of chief equity officer in the City Manager’s Office.
The City hired Aftab Erfan, who will lead the development of an organizational plan and our approach to institutional and cultural change, and work with departments to implement the equity framework internally and integrate and strengthen an equity and justice lens in our service delivery to the public.
Internal equity initiatives
We're implementing a number of initiatives to support Indigenous, Black, and other racialized City staff, including:
A town hall with City staff, planned for late September
Providing improved reporting and reviewing staff supports and other internal programs to support Indigenous, Black, and racialized staff
Anti-Black racism and white privilege awareness training
We piloted awareness training in 2019 with staff to name and address the realities and consequences of individual and institutional racism.
We will be exploring how to embed this training content into our standard training curriculum.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team in the EOC
An Equity and Inclusion team has been embedded with the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to support community resilience, help lower barriers to accessing timely, critical information, and work to ensure historically underrepresented groups disproportionately impacted by the pandemic are part of the COVID-19 emergency response.
During the summer, we hosted virtual town halls in Tagalog, Punjabi, Vietnamese, and Chinese with former Fire Chief Darrell Reid to communicate with residents concerning COVID-19 and next steps in the recovery process.
Equity framework
Staff are in the final stages of developing an equity framework which will empower staff across departments to implement a race-forward equity and intersectional lens on all areas of City work and decision-making.
An update on the status of the equity framework development is expected to be presented to Council in November 2020 and we will share framework materials when they become available.
Upcoming actions
We have identified key priorities in our next steps to deal with racism and hate in Vancouver.
We understand that these actions are long overdue. We're committed to ensuring these activities are meaningful and respectful of the continuous labour, leadership, and action of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities in Vancouver.
As echoed in the calls to justice from Indigenous and racialized communities, anti-racism and equity work is not a one-off process. Our actions are aimed at transforming our internal and external processes to ensure our programming is fair and equitable and to highlight our commitment to being accountable to the wider community.
We will conduct a workforce survey in 2021 as part of our commitment to build, nurture, and sustain a diverse and inclusive environment.
The survey will provide us with disaggregated data on our workforce, as well as an indication of staff engagement and sense of inclusion. The results will help shape HR’s equity and inclusion policies.
Staff will review statues and the names of City assets, including streets, and the policies governing commissions and donations of monuments and memorials.
We will also address the painful impacts statues and streets dedicated to figures of colonial history have on Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities.
We will review the Gassy Jack statue in Gastown with direction from the Squamish Nation, in addition to other assets across the city.
Our 2020 budget included funding to support work with the South Asian community on a potential apology to the South Asian community for historic discrimination.
This project was put on hold due to COVID-19 response and will be prioritized once staff are in place.
We'll be forming a newworking group in partnership with other public agencies such as Vancouver School Board, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver Police Department, and Vancouver Public Library to discuss and act on priorities already raised by communities, including:
Collecting race-based data
Safe reporting
Supports for victims and targets of hate crimes and racism
Our responsibilities
While the City oversees many of the decisions and projects that occur within Vancouver, we do not do this work alone. There are many different organizations and partners who help to make Vancouver the vibrant and diverse city it is.
There are some areas of jurisdiction that fall under the federal or provincial government such as healthcare, the economy, education, transportation, housing, and others.
Although the City works closely with these organizations to advocate for Vancouver residents, we cannot make decisions on their behalf and have limited control over their operations.
We recognize that communities have called on us to enact more immediate change in policing, healthcare, equity, and other service areas. While some of the requests made fall outside the scope of the City’s functions, we are committed to advocating for residents to the organizations that handle these areas.
How our managers work together
Within the City, there are several different service groups (departments) which are led by general managers who report into the City manager.
The City manager liaises with Council and ensures that we meet priorities and goals outlined for the year, and make Vancouver a livable and vibrant city.
These service groups are each responsible for supporting the community and advancing strategic priorities such as encouraging the development of more affordable housing, creating a healthier and more equitable Vancouver, addressing climate change, and maintaining critical infrastructure.
