Improving anti-racism accountability systems in healthcare

Improve cutltural sensitivity programs and anti-Black racism training

Recommendation 18: The Ministry of Health should work with regional health services, and professional the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, and The BC Nurses association to make reflective anti-Black racism and inter-cultural sensitivity training compulsory for all health professionals and students in health-related programmes.

Improving anti-racism accountability systems in healthcare

Enable data collection to measure and report progress in equity and diversity

Recommendation 19: The Ministry of Health should ensure that the race-based data legislation provides sufficient authority to regional health services, professional healthcare practitioners bodies, and other health services providers to collect data on the number of People of African Descent in various health professions across BC to better understand existing gaps and deficits.

Deepening representaion in health services

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 20: The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Advanced Education should work with healthcare professionals of African descent and professional bodies to reform credential recognition and licensure systems to better accommodate seasoned healthcare professionals of African descent immigrating to Canada.

Deepening representaion in health services

Increase the recruitment of PADs

Recommendation 21: The Province, through responsible ministries, should provide dedicated funding to establish scholarships and mentorship programs to attract more People of African Descent to BC’s healthcare industry as well as studies in health-related fields. It is crucial that admission barriers for Black students are replaced with a reflexive system of admissions and support that accounts for the structural challenges faced by Black and People of African Descent in BC.

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 anti-racism accountablitity systems in the justice system

Deepen equity in service delivery by and to PADs

Recommendation 26: The Ministry of Attorney General should provide support to the judicial council and law society for conducting studies to understand, capture, and prioritize concerns and recommendations of judges and lawyers of African descent in terms of these bodies’ capacity in attracting People of African Descent to the profession, and of potential avenues in reforming legal practice and the justice system in BC.

Improving anti-racism accountablitity systems in the justice system

Enable data collection to measure and report progress in equity and diversity

Recommendation 27: The Ministry of Attorney General should ensure that sufficient authority is awarded to the BC Law society and the BC Judicial Council, under the “Race-based” data legislation for the collection, access and use of race-based data on the number of Black judges and lawyers in BC, to enhance their ability to monitor and address representational disparities.

Improving anti-racism accountability systems in K-12 education

Implement policy and legislative safeguards for PADs

Recommendation 42: The Ministry of Education must develop, in conjunction with educators and psychologists of African Descent, the necessary competencies and toolkits for contextually interpreting the evaluations and assessments of educators and principals of African Descent by students and reviewers, respectively. This is critical as a de-contextualized review system could reflect anti-Black racism and discrimination that in turn affects the professional and career chances of educators of African Descent.

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.

Deepening representation in schools

Deepen equity in service delivery by and to PADs

Recommendation 47: The Ministry of Education must provide educators of African Descent with the needed emotional and material support as they face navigate racist structures and institutions. This includes dedicated support to Black professionals within BC’s education sector to run their solidarity and mentorship programming. Also, it is critical for the Province to design and support training programs for educators of African Descent on how to effectively deal with the racism they will encounter from students and peers. The program must be led in design and implementation by educators with lived anti-Black racism experiences as an unreflective program can be retraumatizing.