An opportunity to do better

The provincial government is working hard to make B.C. a more equitable, inclusive and welcoming province for everyone. One of the ways to support this work is a new law that will help identify and address systemic racism and other inequities in provincial government programs and services.

Systemic racism happens when Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities have worse access to certain government programs and services, or have worse outcomes than British Columbians overall when they access them.

Although discrimination may not be intentional, it is a systemic problem that we need to understand and recognize so we can fix it. That’s why the provincial government and Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives Rachna Singh are working with B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, First Nations and Métis leadership, racialized communities and other British Columbians to introduce a system to securely collect and safely analyze demographic information on race, ethnicity, faith, gender, sex, ability, income and other social identity markers.

Collecting and using this data in the right way can help to show where there are systemic inequalities so we can address issues of discrimination, inequities and gaps in services.

Protecting people’s privacy and keeping the information safe is the highest priority.

By collecting this important and critical statistical information, we can make sure that government services are delivered equitably and meet the needs of all people in B.C. It will also mean that communities have the essential information to advocate for the changes that will make a real difference.