Improving community safety and access to policing services for PADs

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 7: The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Division at the Ministry of Attorney General plans to deploy an anti-racism non-police hotline must include unambiguous mechanisms to achieve adequate diversity of responders from minority communities and People of African Descent. It is also critical that all responders be trained to apply culturally sensitive practices, when interacting with People of African Descent, that involve empathy and contextual understanding of their unique situations.

Improving PAD access to health services

Deepen equity in service delivery by and to PADs

Recommendation 23: The Ministry of Health should work to expand MSP coverage to mental health care and support. This should include the creation and funding of health advocates and patient navigators services focused on making the hospital experience of People of African Descent safer.

Improving PAD access to health services

Deepen equity in service delivery by and to PADs

Recommendation 24: The Ministry of Health should promote and fund an advocacy mechanism dedicated to the promotion of the health and mental wellbeing of Peoples of African Descent in BC. It is particularly recommended to prioritize the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of health professionals of African descent in BC. This care of health care professionals of African descent should be implemented along other incentives designed to retain them in BC.

Improving PAD access to health services

Support PAD-led models and community collaboration

Recommendation 25: The Ministry of Health should fund and promote the creation of mental health hubs and free People of African Descent-led counseling and clinical mental health sessions that are easily accessible for Peoples of African descent across the Province.

Improving access to legal services

Support PAD-led models and community collaboration

Recommendation 31: The Ministry of Attorney General should collaborate with community organizations and leaders to promote and deepen People of African Descent communities’ understanding of new legislations as they come into force. This will be particularly critical for the anti-racism legislation that requires simultaneous investments in accessible outlets to provide the People of African Descent community with competent education on their rights, privileges, freedoms and legal options.

Improving access to legal services

Support PAD-led models and community collaboration

Recommendation 32: The Ministry of Attorney General should provide funding for the Law Society and People of African Descent community organizations to run legal clinics and legal aid programs for People of African Descent, predominantly led and designed by law practitioners of African descent. These programs must be accessible from anywhere within the province and run with an anti-Black racism lens and with a clear legal advocacy strategy. The Black Legal Action Centre in Ontario is a good example of a community legal aid program for the People of African Descent community.

Improving anti-racism accountability systems in K-12 education

Implement policy and legislative safeguards for PADs

Recommendation 41: The Ministry of Education must boost access to advocacy services for students/families of African Descent. Such dedicated advocacy services must be backed by strategic policy that emphasizes implementation by teams with the necessary cultural humility and lived experience. This can be mandated either under the Representative for Children and Youth Act or under the pending Anti-racism legislation.

Deepening representation in schools

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 44: The Ministry of Education must prioritize the training, recruitment and retention of more mental health and career counselors of African Descent for BC schools.

Deepening representation in schools

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 45: The Province must support and require BC schools to prioritize the recruitment of Black educators, principals, and administrators. It is critical to design and implement teacher education programmes that target students of African Descent and attract them to the teaching profession in BC. Programs such as UBC’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program can be adapted to suit the needed contextualized training for future educators of African Descent. Implement targeted incentives to attract Black students to teaching such as grants, tuition reimbursement and Black-centred mentorship and skill development programmes.

Deepening representation in schools

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 46: To meet the Black-educator deficit in BC schools, the Province must design a credential recognition system that recognizes and allows qualified Black educators who have immigrated to BC to more easily practice their teaching in BC. A supplementary approach is to encourage and support opportunities for part-time teaching, talks and sessions for Black professionals including interested retirees. The education Ministries can maintain a list of willing participants.