Many Asian-Canadians have experienced acts of racism as a result of an alarming rise in anti-Asian racism since last year, with many of them suffering in silence. These incidents are not being reported for several reasons, including fear of reprisal, lack of knowledge on human rights and employment rights, people don’t know how/where to report, language is a barrier for many (especially seniors and newcomers), may not know what constitutes racism, many believe that nothing can be done about it, may not want to be seen as a troublemaker, or is afraid to take legal action to report to police or HR commission/ tribunal.
In collaboration with ACCT Foundation, Act2EndRacism project was undertaken with the support of the Canadian Red Cross. Under the project activities, we offered a two-month webinar series “Coping with COVID-19 and its impact” from February 16 to March 19, 2021. Webinar topics were identified with an aim to equip our community with strategies to cope with the impact of COVID-19 and the rise of racism in society, particularly towards people of Asian descent.
Webinar topics were identified to help the community cope with the challenges of the pandemic, including mental health, financial resources, and employment, taking care of self and others, racism and strategies to deal with it, as well as anti-racism and cybersecurity in Calgary.
Webinar 1: “COVID-19, Mental Health, and Antiracism”
Date: February 16, 2021
Speaker: Honorable Jason Luan, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions
Honorable Minister Jason Luan shared his personal experiences of facing racism while growing up, and several ways to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. He also briefed on the support available from the Government of Alberta.
A key service available to the public is the following Alberta Health Service website: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/amh/Page16759.aspx
In case of further or urgent assistance, you can also call the 211-phoneline.
We were honored to have Ms Yongwook Na, Deputy Consul General of the Korean Consulate in Vancouver, BC join the session as a special guest.
Webinar 2: "Update on Financial Support Resources Under COVID-19"
February 18, 2021
Speaker: Young In Kim, Registered Social Worker, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
Speaker Young In Kim shared recent updates on COVID-19 benefits as well as regular tax credits and benefits. She stated that as the Canadian government is trying hard to remove the financial downside of the pandemic, the financial resources are always changing rapidly.
She also suggested that people should not be discouraged at this time and we can overcome the hardships together.
She emphasized that the government-funded benefits and tax credits can only happen if everyone continues to participate in investment programs and file taxes properly.
If you would like to receive a copy of the presentation, please write to us at info.ckoreanwomen@gmail.com.
Webinar 3 - "Supporting Your Children During COVID-19"
February 23, 2021
Speaker: Carol Chau-Wong, Social Worker
Speaker Carol Chau-Wong, who has over 10 years of experience working with many target populations, ranging from immigrants, single parents, families and children within the school setting. She is highly competent in working with children ages 5-18 who have been identified with behavioral, emotional, psychological and cognitive challenges.
The session was aimed at helping participant understand how to identify loss experienced by kids during COVID-19, discuss 5 stages of grieving, provide parents with tips on how they can help kids deal with grief and how parents can help kids cope better during pandemic.
Webinar 4 - "Dealing with Racism (Part 1): Concept"
March 4, 2021
Speaker: Young In Kim, Registered Social Worker, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
Dealing with Racism was offered as a two-part webinar with part one as an orientation and understanding of the concept of racism and how to identify it and the second part was focused on strategies to deal with acts of racism.
The first part was a highly informative session that presented information on what constitutes racism, where racism is found, and why racism still exists. Although there are laws in Canada protecting the equal rights and equal treatment of all individuals, there are still racist acts perpetrated by individuals and groups of people, and sometimes the system itself.
The speaker also examined the status of foreigners in South Korea, a largely mono-ethnic population where these groups are treated differently from South Koreans. Young In also explored the concept of stereotypes and discrimination, what they are and where they come from, as well as why they are still perpetrated.
Webinar 5 - "Dealing with Racism (Part 2): Strategies"
March 9, 2021
Speaker: Young In Kim, Registered Social Worker, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
This session examined strategies that can be used by individuals, corporations and governments to prevent racism in all spheres of activity. It explored ways to eliminate stereotypes, how to avoid profiling and how to eradicate discrimination.
Young In highlighted the reasons why people feel threatened by those who look different than them. She highlighted that the key is not to let differences equate to a perceived threat. Individuals need to be aware that all people have the same needs, desires, and vulnerabilities. Speaking a different language, having a different-sounding name or different skin pigmentation does not change this.
The key takeaway was that we all need to accept others’ differences and to be resilient enough not to feel uncomfortable vis-à-vis differences.
Webinar 6 - "Helping Yourself and Others in the Times of COVID-19"
March 11, 2021
Speaker: Tara Adams, Workplace Mental Health Specialist, Abridge Consulting
Speaker Tara Adams has over 10 years of experience working with many target populations, ranging from immigrants, single parents, families, and children within the school setting.
This introduction to mental health lays the foundation for understanding the concepts of mental health and mental illness and introduces the mental health continuum tool created by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. During the session, Tara shared effective strategies with the attendees for helping themselves, their families and loved ones in the challenging times of COVID-19 pandemic.
Hon. Yonah Martin, Senator from British Columbia and Mr. Gerald Chipeur, Honorary Consul General for Korea also joined the session as special guests.
Webinar 7 - "Job Search Tips During COVID-19"
March 16, 2021
Speaker: Jaeeun Lee, Career Development Counsellor
Speaker Jaeeun Lee specializes in career development for professional immigrant women and helps immigrants find rewarding careers in Canada and overcome barriers to success through various workshops, one-on-one career counselling sessions on career planning, resume/cover letter critiques, job search strategies, mock interviews, career portfolio creation, labour market information, and career action plans.
The webinar addressed the post-COVID-19 employment trends and challenges. The speaker shared effective strategies that can be used to find jobs and other means of employment. She also helped the attendees understand that it is very important to know their skills, use effective networking online particularly through LinkedIn, and the importance of upgrading their skills for increasing their employability.
Webinar 8 - "Anti-racism and Cybersecurity in Calgary"
March 19, 2021
Speaker: Cst. Tamsin MacDonald of Calgary Police Service & Michael Kim of YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre
Speakers Cst. Tamsin MacDonald and Michael Kim shared key information related to anti-racism and cyber safety.
The discussion included an introduction to racism in Calgary, an explanation of hate crimes, and how to report any concerns to the police. Afterward, the session addressed the issue of ever-growing online safety concerns as well as how community members can protect themselves against cybercrimes, particularly seniors.
Hon. Nelly Shin, Member of Parliament for Port Moody-Coquitlam, BC and Teresa Woo-Paw, Chair of ACCT Foundation and Founding member of the Act2EndRacism National Network joined the session as special guests.
Resources shared by the speakers:
- If it is an emergency, call 9-1-1 for immediate police assistance.
- If it is not an emergency, contact the non-emergency line at 403-266-1234. Interpreters can be arranged for those who cannot speak English.
- A report can also be submitted online on the CPS website.
- If you come across some hate/bias graffiti, report it through the online Graffiti reporting line on CPS website.
- All Hate Crime or Incident reports are reviewed by CPS Hate Crimes Coordinator who will follow up.
- Youth can reach out for help at KidsHelpPhone.ca or call at 1-800-668-6868 or text at 686868
- Cybercrimes, scams, and frauds can be reported at:
- antifraudcentre.ca or call at 1-888-495-8501
- cybertip.ca/app/en/report or call at 1-866-658-9022