By Jill Sperling

City council declares opposition to discrimination

Feb 28, 2017 | 4:09 PM

Kamloops has a pretty good track record for embracing diversity. 

The city was the first in B.C. to have an African Canadian city councillor, when John Freemont Smith was elected in the early 1900s. Kamloops can also boast the first Chinese Canadian mayor in North America, Peter Wing, and the first Aboriginal MP, Len Marchand. 

However, as racial tensions mount and division among people groups increases around the world, Kamloops City Council is now working to ensure diversity continues to be celebrated in this community.

A declaration against racism and discrimination was made at Tueday’s council meeting, championed by Councillor Arjun Singh.

Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Short-term rental rules coming into effect in British Columbia

12h ago

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Board may as well not have asked public about school's name

17h ago

“Obviously what’s happening south of the border with the Trump administration, some of the things that are happening in national politics, a little bit here and there, we always have to be very mindful of promoting and really embracing our diversity, because I think that makes us all that much better,” Singh said. 

Singh added that people should never become complacent. 

“Being an Indo-Canadian I’ve definitely experienced racism in my past,” he said, “and people have experienced (discrimination) in this community, from being from different cultures, or being women, or being gay, or what have you, who have those experiences every day.”

The anti-racism and anti-discrimination declaration was worded in part by the diversity outreach coordinator at Kamloops Immigrant Services, Graham Specht. 

“I think Kamloops really has always been a very diverse community,” Specht said, “and really a lot of our history and a lot of the foundations of our community are really rooted in the diverse people that make up our population.” 

Nevertheless, Specht says that diversity isn’t always recognized. 

“A city, I think, ought to be defined by the people living in it, and the people living in Kamloops are far more diverse than, in some cases, the public collective projection of the city’s identity really lets on to begin with,” Specht said.

The declaration not only opposes discrimination, but it also promotes diversity. Kamloops appears to be taking steps in that direction. 

“We’re trying to do the best we can to make sure that we’re, as a council, always talking about how we value inclusiveness, we value diversity, we value the fact that we have such a diverse population,” Singh said. “It’s not something we should be afraid of, it’s something we should really embrace, and learn from other people.”