B.C. launches helpline to report racist incidents

British Columbians will now have access to a new helpline for people to report racist incidents.

The provincial government says callers can dial 1-833-HLP-LINE (1-833-457-5463) and they will receive support and guidance, as well as referrals to local community support services and counselling when necessary.

“Racism and discrimination impact people every day,” said Minister of Citizens’ Services George Chow.

“That is why we are taking action to identify challenges and fix gaps, so we can make sure public services work better for everyone in B.C. These initial research findings confirm what racialized and Indigenous people already know and will help us create a more inclusive and equitable province.”

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma says the need for this service is strong.

“Just the other day, there was a woman in Burnaby at the mall that experienced a racist incident where she was told to go home, back to where she’s from, and that was really upsetting to her,” Sharma told CityNews.

“And she mentioned that she would hope that there would be better resources where people must have experienced that. So this racist incident helpline is really in response to that incidents like that, where people can report it to governments.”

According to data from the BC Demographic Survey, which was conducted between June and October last year, racialized people in the province face barriers when it comes to education and medical care, and they are also underrepresented when it comes to public service jobs.

B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender says the information from demographic surveys like the one last year are essential.

“It is critical for government to collect and use disaggregated demographic data about how its laws and policies impact different groups differently to address the ongoing impacts of colonization and systemic inequalities,” Govender said.

“In so doing, government must take every measure to ensure the data is not used to further perpetuate the stereotypes and stigma that fuel systemic racism, in accordance with ‘the grandmother perspective’ on data collection described in my 2020 report of the same name. Importantly, we must recognize that race-based data, such as the data released today, measures the impact of systemic racism, rather than the impact of race itself.”

The helpline, which will be available in over 240 languages, will also provide assistance in reporting the incident to police.

Data from the service will help officials better understand where and how racist incidents are happening in B.C.

With files from Robyn Crawford and Michael Williams.