Sound Off

B.C. Business and Community Leaders Take a Stand Against Racism: We Say NO to Hate… It Must Stop Now

May 21, 2020 | 9:58 AM

As business and community leaders, British Columbians, and human beings we cannot sit idly by. What we condone, we accept, and we cannot accept the growing racism and hate directed at people because of their ethnicity, culture, or faiths. Racism must be called out and it must stop now!

We are all deeply disturbed by the violent, overt and subtle displays of racism we are increasingly seeing and some that are being reported in the media. This is an affront to what it means to be a citizen in our province and country. As a place that welcomes the world, what we are witnessing is not who we are or aspire to be as Canadians. Admitting this growing problem will enable us to address it.

Brazen assaults on people of Chinese descent. Racist slurs directed at Indigenous peoples, visible minorities and people based on their faith. Hate messages written on buildings. The recipients of these reprehensible behaviours are our family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues, fellow business and community leaders, philanthropists, and generations of people who have helped build our province.

These incidents and actions come in sharp contrast to the many generous acts of kindness and tolerance exhibited by so many British Columbians every day and particularly the compassion that we have seen during this trying time.

Our cultural mosaic is the envy of the world. It is comprised of generations who were born here and those who chose to come here to make a difference, to build a better life for their families and to contribute to a better province. It doesn’t matter where British Columbians and their ancestors are from. As B.C. business and community leaders, we care deeply about our collective well-being and are standing up to say: this is wrong.

Here in British Columbia, we have been fortunate thanks to the leadership of both our government and the Provincial Health Officer, and the measures each of us have taken during COVID-19 to do our part to plank the curve. This is a collaborative success that exemplifies our capacity to care for one another.

Our primary job now is to dig out of this generational crisis together to create an even better province, with jobs and new opportunities for all. We need every British Columbian to be part of this rebuilding effort, working together with generous hearts, offering their solutions, intelligence, positivity, creativity and as Dr. Bonnie Henry so compassionately tells us: kindness.

Division makes us smaller and weaker, at a time when strength and collaboration is required given the pain that so many face. Study after study has shown that rich diversity in our workplaces and communities results in stronger performance and a higher quality of life, from improved productivity and innovation to global connectivity and economic prosperity.

Enough wrongs have been committed over the course of our province’s history and this need not be another. Let’s look back on this pivotal moment as a time when we turned our backs on racist tendencies and chose a different path that embodies our best character and shows our resilience and the humanity that has served us so well.

We ask you join us to stop racism, educate others and celebrate the diversity that gives us strength and an advantage in the changing world we face together.

The Business Council of British Columbia

The Honourable Janet Austin Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Greg D’Avignon President & CEO Business Council of British Columbia Jeff Zweig President & CEO Mosaic Forest Management/ Chair, BCBC (Current) Brandt Louie Chairman & CEO H.Y. Louie Group of Companies Mary Ackenhusen President & CEO Vancouver Coastal Health Wilfred Adam Former Chief Lake Babine Nation Mohammed Shujaath Ali Imam The BC Muslim Association Bridgitte Anderson President & CEO Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Ian Anderson President & CEO Trans Mountain Corporation Chris Atchison President & CEO BC Construction Association Michael Audain Chairman Polygon Homes Ltd. Pritam Singh Aulakh Member of the Board Akali Singh Sikh Society Kevin Au-Yeung President Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACCE) Alan Baratz CEO DWave Systems Jimenez Baskerville VP, Strand Based Business Tolko Industries Stewart Beck President & CEO Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Stuart Belkin Chairman & CEO Belkorp Industries Inc. Mark Betteridge President & CEO Betteridge Inc. Mark Blamey President Kerr Wood Leidal Andy Balser Vice President TELUS Home Solutions Marketing TELUS Corporation Robert A. Booker Chief Executive Officer Ridley Terminals Inc. Jeff Booth Chairman Llamazoo Dan Bregg President Buy-Low Foods Steve Butz President & CEO YMCA of Greater Vancouver Frank Butzelaar President & CEO Seaspan Dr. Jason Byassee Reverend Vancouver School of Theology Ian Campbell Chief Squamish Nation Bob Cantwell Managing Director Boeing Canada Eric Carlson Co-founder and CEO Anthem Properties Bill Carpenter Vice President, Insurance Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Paul R. Cassidy Partner McCarthy Tetrault LLP Dr. Steven J. Chambers Reverend Vancouver School of Theology Angela Chapman President & CEO VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Shaheen Chaudhary Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder Pragalis Solutions Jenny Chen CEO Poly Culture North America Investment Corporation Limited Glenn Cherepak Vice President, Process & Infrastructure Spartan Controls Christian Chia Chief Executive Officer OpenRoad Auto Group Toby Y. Chu Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer CIBT Education Group, Inc. Glen Clark President & COO The Jim Pattison Group Mark F. Collins President & CEO British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. Troy Connolly VP, Solid Woods Tolko Industries Don Coulter President & CEO Concentra Bank Bryan Cox President & CEO BC LNG Alliance John D. Crawford FCPA,FCA,ICD.D,CFE, CA (Scotland) President and Chief Executive Officer Pacific Blue Cross Rob Crosby-Shearer Reverend The Emmaus Community and the Abbey Church (Anglican / United) Michael Crothers President & Country Chair Shell Canada Ltd. Dr. Robert Daum Chair, Board of Directors The Laurier Institution Alan Davies PhD President & Vice Chancellor Kwantlen Polytechnic University Kevin Desmond Chief Executive Officer TransLink Gavin Dew Chief Strategic Advisor Abbotsford Tech District Mike Dickens P.Eng Vice President Kerr Wood Leidal Gavin Dirom M.Sc., P.Ag President & Chief Executive Officer Geoscience BC Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan Vancouver School of Theology Dr. Patricia Dutcher-Walls Reverend Presbyterian Church of Canada David Earle President & CEO British Columbia Trucking Association Allen Eaves OBC, MD, PhD, FRCPC President & CEO STEMCELL Technologies Steve Eccles Regional CEO and Dean, Vancouver Northeastern University Vancouver Ken Embree P.Eng President Knight Piésold Ltd. Brad Eshleman President and Chief Executive Officer Western Stevedoring Kevin Falcon Executive Vice-President Anthem Properties Ray Ferris President & CEO West Fraser Martha Hall Findlay Chief Sustainability Officer Suncor Mark Fitzgerald President & CEO Petronas Energy Canada Ltd. Bob Fleet VP, Forestry & Environment Tolko Industries Thomas Fung President & CEO Fairchild Developments Frank Giustra Fiore Corporation Michael Goering President & CEO Mining Association of British Columbia Sara Goldvine Vice President, Communications BC Housing Tristan Goodman President Explorers and Producers Association of Canada Heidi Gravelle Chief Tobacco Plains Band Raminder Grewal P.Eng President Keystone Environmental Ltd Doron Grosman President & CEO Global Container Terminals Inc. Bill Harbottle President Jim Pattison Auto Group Eric J. Harris Q.C. Chair Harris & Company LLP Margaret Heldman Associate, Vice President Academic Langara College Paul Hemsley B.Sc., MBA President Hemmera, an Ausenco Company John Hepburn PhD, FRSC/msrc CEO & Scientific Director MITACS Debra A. Hewson President & CEO Odlum Brown Limited James Hoffele M.R.M., PMP Socio-Economic Project Management Specialist Port of Vancouver Paul Hollands Chair A & W Corporation Rick Ilich CEO Townline Rabbi Jonathan Infeld Congregation Beth Israel Trevor Jahnig Chief Financial Officer & VP Finance Tolko Industries Kevin Jewett Vice President, Woodlands Tolko Industries Nicolas Jimenez President & CEO Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Lara Johnson Vice President, Marketing and Communications BCIT Kendra Johnston PGeo, MBA President & Chief Executive Officer Association for Mineral Exploration Darrell Jones President Save on Foods Stephanie Jones President BC Maritime Terminal Operators Association Don Kayne President & CEO Canfor Corporation David Keane President Woodfibre LNG Jess Ketchum President Ketchum Communications Charles Kim President & CEO Trans-Pac Group Kathy Kinloch President & CEO British Columbia Institute of Technology Kent Kufeldt Partner National Business Leader, Securities & Capital Markets, Vancouver Borden Ladner Gervais Kirk LaPointe BIV Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, VP Editorial Glacier Media Kevin Layden President & CEO Wesbild Holdings Ltd. Carol Lee Chair Vancouver Chinatown Foundation V. Paul Lee Managing Parnter Vanedge Capital Eva Lee Kwok Chair and CEO Amara Holdings Inc. Peter Leitch Chair Motion Picture Production Industry Association Mike Leonard President & CEO BC Maritime Employers Association Yael Levin Executive Director Congregation Beth Israel – Israel Bonds Don Lindsay President & CEO TECK Resources Ltd. Val Litwin President and CEO BC Chamber of Commerce Elio Luongo Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner KPMG Canada Dave Lye Vice President External Affairs OVINTIV Fiona MacFarlane Chair Shawnigan Lake School Karn Manhas Founder & CEO Terramera Inc. Valerie C. Mann Partner Lawson Lundell LLP Sherry Marceil Surrey Interfaith Council Jon Marks Vice-President, Human Resources Justice Institute of BC Lori Mathison FCPA, FCGA, LLB President & CEO Chartered Professional Accountants of BC Sean McAdam President Everything Wine Brian McCauley President & Chief Executive Officer Concert Properties Ken McCormack President & CEO Construction Labour Relations Association (CLRA) of BC Jason McDaniel Vice President, Corporate Affairs Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Neil McKenzie The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints Reverend Monica McKinlay Kitsilano Christian Community Rick Mclean Chief Tahltan Band Ron McNeil CEO & Co-Founder LMS Reinforcing Steel Group Jamie McTavish President Dunarday Investments George Meadows M.Sc. Pl. Vice President, Human Environment Hemmera, an Ausenco Company Bishop Greg Mohr BC Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Rabbi Dan Moskovitz Senior Rabbi Temple Sholom Harold Munro Editor-in-Chief Vancouver Sun & Province Joe Pierre Nasukin Chief Ktunaxa Nation Ralph Nilson PhD., FSRC President Emeritus Vancouver Island University Dan Nomura President Canadian Fishing Company Santa J. Ono FRSC FCAHS President and Vice-Chancellor University of British Columbia Christopher O’Riley President & CEO BC Hydro Greg Palaschuk Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Finning International Adam Palmer Chief Constable Vancouver Police Department Kush Panatch ICD.D President Panatch Group Ajay Patel President & CEO Vancouver Community College Jim Pattison Chairman & CEO The Jim Pattison Group Walter R. Pela FCPA, FCA Managing Partner, Greater Vancouver Area KPMG LLP Scott Perchall Director, External Communications, Government Relations & Public Affairs Vancity Reverend S.D. Perkins Representative of the United Church of Canada, Pacific/Mountain Conference United Church of Canada Peter Armstrong Founder & Owner Armstrong Group Ryan Peterson Vice President, Solutions Unity Technologies Andrew Petter C.M., Q.C. President and Vice Chancellor Simon Fraser University The Honourable Pierre Pettigrew Chair of the Board Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Susannah Pierce Director, Corporate Affairs LNG Canada David Podmore Chairman & Co-Founder Concert Properties Pino Pucci VP, Sales & Marketing Logistics Tolko Industries Chohre Rassekh Representative Bahá’í community to the Multi Faith Summit Council Derek Ratchford VP, US Operations Tolko Industries Peter Reid M.Eng., P.Eng., CSAP, MBA Vice President, SAR Hemmera, an Ausenco Company Salima Remtulla Member-at-Large BCBC Board of Governors Bob Rennie Founder The Rennie Group Craig Richmond President & CEO Vancouver Airport Authority Ian Ricketts President Ocean Brands Craig Robinson CEO Earnscliffe Strategy Group Sara J. Roth President & CEO BC Cancer Foundation Chris Rousch President & CEO Veresen Midstream Limited Partnership Mike Rusch President Jim Pattison Lease Asifa Samji Senior Vice President, Environmental Services Stantec Deborah Saucier President and Vice-Chancellor Vancouver Island University Dave Schick Vice-President, Western Division Canaidan Fuels Jim Schroeder President Peterbilt Pacific Rod Schween President Jim Pattison Broadcast Group Kelly Scott President BC Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association Mike Scott CFO Terramera Inc. Chief Willie Sellars Williams Lake Band Ezra S. Shanken Chief Executive Officer Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver The Venerable Yin Kit Sik Po Lam Buddhist Association Robin Silvester President & CEO Port of Vancouver Dr. Kala Singh, Pritam Singh, Singh Aulakh Board Members Akali Singh Sikh Society Steven C. Slater Ph.D. Vice President, Strategic Initiatives Terramera Inc. Nico Slobinsky Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), Pacific Region Lisa Sparrow President & CEO Corix Infrastructure, Inc James Speakman J.D., ICD.D Managing Parnter Clark Wilson Pascal Spothelfer PhD President & CEO Genome British Columbia Dr. Philip Steenkamp President & Vice Chancellor Royal Roads University Ron Stern President Stern Partners Inc. Shaun Stevenson President and Chief Executive Officer Prince Rupert Port Authority Don Stickney Vancouver Managing Partner Earnscliffe Strategy Group Mark Stock Senior Vice President Human Resources & IT Interfor Corporation Sandra J. Stuart President & CEO HSBC Canada David Sung President Nicola Wealth Management Bill Tam Co-Chair Digital Technology Supercluster Carole Taylor Canada Chair Trilateral Commission Kathryn Teneese Chair Ktunaxa Nation Council Martin Thibodeau Regional President RBC Royal Bank Scott Thompson CEO Finning International Inc. Brad Thorlakson President & CEO Tolko Industries John Tognotti Chair Haywood Securities Lane Trotter EdD President & CEO Langara College Darren Turchansky Executive Vice President, British Columbia & Regional Managing Partner MNP Reverend Katrina Vigen Redeemer Lutheran Church Dick Vollet President & CEO St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation Tamara Vrooman President & CEO Vancity Credit Union Daniel J. Weeks CFRM, B.A.(Hon), M.Sc., PhD, International Fellow NAK Professor & Senior Advisor University of Northern British Columbia Will Westeringh Q.C. Regional Managing Partner Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, LLP Scott Weston M.Sc., P.Geo. VP, Business Development Hemmera, an Ausenco Company Tanya Wick VP, People & Services Tolko Industries Sonny Wong President & Creative Director Hamazaki Wong Marketing Group Emma Xing CPA, CGA Controller Poly Culture North America Investment Corporation Limited Ben Yeung President Petersons Susan Yurkovich President & CEO Council of Forest Industries Peter Zebedee Chief Executive Officer LNG Canada Guoxing Zhang Head Agricultural Bank of China Ivy Can Zhang Chief Executive Officer Noah Canada Wealth Management Ltd. Sherry Zhao PhD Senior Account Manager, Acting BC Team Lead, Business Development MITACS The Team at the Business Council of

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