The African Arts & Culture Community Contributor Society under the Issamba Centre published the report entitled “International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD) Action Plan for BC” in 2022. This project was funded by Resilience BC. The action plan outlines a comprehensive set of recommendations across various areas to improve representation of People of African Descent (PAD), facilitate capacity-building, and dismantle racist and oppressive structures.
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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.-
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Improving PAD access to health services
Deepen equity in service delivery by and to PADs
Recommendation 22: The Ministry of Health should collaborate with People of African Descent organizations to ensure adequate healthcare coverage bridging is available to newcomers awaiting MSP and to non-landed immigrants such as refugees and international students. It is particularly recommended that the province consider eliminating MSP premiums for international students in BC.-
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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.-
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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.-
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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.-
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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.-
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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.-
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Deepening PAD representaion in legal and justice services
Increase the recruitment of PADs
Recommendation 28: The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Advanced Education should collaborate to make dedicated funding and bursaries available to students of African descent interested in Law School. These ministers should model such funding on the UBC fund to support students of African descent established in partnership with two Black judges — retired Supreme Court Justice Selwyn Romilly and current Provincial Court Judge David St. Pierre — as they exemplify the power of leveraging People of African Descent agency in amplifying success of People of African Descent oriented initiatives.-
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Deepening PAD representaion in legal and justice services
Increase the recruitment of PADs
Recommendation 29: The Ministry of Advanced education should perform a contextualized review of admission processes and criteria that constitute systemic barriers to admissions to Law School for students of African descent.-
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Deepening PAD representaion in legal and justice services
Support collaboration between PAD professionals
Recommendation 30: The Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the Ministry of Advanced Education should make funding available for law practitioners of African descent to provide mentoring and coaching services to youth and newcomers of African descent as it will ensure a greater holistic orientation on societal expectations.-
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