Deepening representation in housing

Deepen equity in service delivery by and to PADs

Recommendation 69: The Province should work with financial institutions, municipalities, and People of African Descent community groups and housing experts to support the establishment of land trusts, social enterprise housing corporations, and rent-to-own units that will provide credible alternative approaches to house and land ownership, beyond conventional mortgage financing.

Improving access to housing

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 70: BC Housing should improve diversity in staffing and include People of African Descent on teams that interview applicants of affordable housing units to support the development of culturally-appropriate housing for the People of African Descent community across the province including having homes that can accommodate bigger families and support communal and co-op living.

Improving access to housing

Deepen equity in service delivery by and to PADs

Recommendation 71: The Province should increase funding for People of African Descent organisations and tenant support agencies to provide free advice on housing investments, and rent support programs targeted at People of African Descent in economic precarity.

Deepening PAD representation in public engagement

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 75: The Ministry of Municipal Affairs must prioritize active recruitment of People of African Descent on all governmental and public boards and committees in the province to strengthen diversity and even out opportunities to build experiential knowledge in public governance for People of African Descent. It is strongly recommended that representation be equitable across age, gender and levels of experience or income.

Deepening PAD representation in public engagement

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 76: The Ministry of Municipal Affairs should invest in initiatives that support and encourage political parties to engage significantly more in the active recruitment of People of African Descent, regardless of gender identity and expression, across all levels of the party from candidature to youth ranks. The Union of Municipalities’ dedicated programming to support gender equality and equity is a useful model to build on.

Deepening PAD representation in public engagement

Deepen equity in service delivery by and to PADs

Recommendation 77: The Ministry of Municipal Affairs should provide candidates of African Descent with the necessary resources, including dedicated mental health and counseling support, to allow them to navigate structural challenges and inequities they historically face during and post electoral campaigns.

Improving PAD’s civic and democratic engagement

Implement policy and legislative safeguards for PADs

Recommendation 78: The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Elections BC should develop and propose avenues to legislate for persons resident in BC but not citizens to have a vote in provincial and local elections. The contours of this legislation must be arrived at based on deep and reflective consultations with minority community groups, including leaders and experts of African Descent.

Improving anti-racism accountability systems in media and arts

Reform and promote accurate representation of PADs

Recommendation 83: The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Division at the Ministry of Attorney General should acknowledge the multiple People of African Descent identities in BC by clearly emphasizing them in public communication related to the race-based data and the anti-racism legislations. It is also recommended that, in line with the proposed Canadian Institute for People of African Descent (CIPAD), the Province establishes a satellite institute in BC and collaborates with CIPAD, to promote a communal and focused approach to research, advocacy and the setting of priorities for persons and groups of African Descent in BC. This is particularly crucial in ensuring that People of African Descent plurality is adequately represented in diversity training curriculum within public bodies.

Improving anti-racism accountability systems in media and arts

Reform and promote accurate representation of PADs

Recommendation 84: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport should promote the positive contributions that People of African Descent have made, and continue to make, to the advancement of BC. It’s strongly recommended that Black Canadian histories and identities be promoted in schools and across the media through collaborative enhancements of classroom and extracurricular content to promote a reflective, positive immersion into, and familiarization with, People of African Descent histories and cultures. The recent exhibit on BC’s pioneers of African Descent organized by the Black History Awareness Society with support from Digital Museums Canada or the commemorative naming of the Henry Houston Scott Park in Cloverdale, Surrey could serve as models.

Deepening PAD art presence and media representation

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 85: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport should collaboratively develop nuanced guidance to media, arts, and cultural program agencies to promote diverse content, multi-racial decision-making teams, and reliable career paths to liberate the glut of underemployed talent residing within the People of African Descent community.