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Newcomers face many obstacles when trying to start a new life in Canada, from learning the language and interacting well with fellow citizens to finding a good career and education. When Tung Chan arrived in Canada in 1974, an immigrant from Hong Kong with a limited command of English trying to make ends meet, he…
It was July 19, 1999, four months after Nunavut was declared Canada’s newest territory, and Jean Chrétien was prime minister. A boat arrived on the coast of B.C. from Fujian, China, the first of four that summer that brought a total of 599 migrants without documentation. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the arrival…
Empowering children with learning disabilities is the backbone ideal to the SDC Blue Ribbon Foundation – a youth driven non-profit organization that uses integrative programs and activities to foster relationships. The organization’s youth leaders first established a legacy of compassion in the Greater Vancouver area, and operations have since expanded to the international level. A…
In some ways they know our cities best; they observe, experience, and interpret a city’s beat, rhythm and pulse. They are public artists. In Vancouver we have Jacqueline Metz, and Nancy Chew, or better known under their collaborative banner: Metz&Chew. Apart from Vancouver, their work spans across Canada, even to the United States. Art Gallery…
You can only run so far before you’re forced to confront your past. But Alex Buckman, 72, isn’t running away from anything. As a Holocaust survivor he came to terms with his past years ago, and now runs for sport, but also to cope with the atrocities of the Nazis during and after WWII. [Read more…]
On April 5, the Interdisciplinary Roundtable on Diversity (IRD) is presenting a conference at UBC to discuss issues of equity, diversity and intercultural understanding.[Read more…]
This March 21 the question of racism still existing or not can be asked and, possibly even answered. It is definitely a question worth pondering as the United Nations’ designated that day the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. [Read more…]
After controversial sparks flew in 2010 when the federal government announced that the mandatory long form would be replaced by a voluntary survey, many critics speculated about the level of accuracy and usefulness of the 2011 census. Some even went as far as to refuse to participate in the national survey. [Read more…]
If you take a few minutes and briefly browse the streets of downtown Vancouver at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, you will notice that the city consists of people from virtually all parts of the world. Diversity is, and has always been, at the very heart of our culture. [Read more…]
When someone disappears from your life, memories are all you have to fill the void. Angeline Pete disappeared in May 2011. Although many have come to know of Angeline as a missing person, her grandmother remembers her as a girl full of strength and happiness – a girl free to explore. [Read more…]
Politics and religion went to bed together and the offspring is the Office of Religious Freedom. Announced in the June 2011 speech from the throne, the federal government’s intent to establish the office has roused ample interest and speculation. [Read more…]
Imagine this: Granville Island being closed off to the rest of the world with no means of getting out or bringing in food, water, and other humanitarian aid. Your living situation has become intolerable – in fact – Granville Island has become your prison. [Read more…]
“They think we live in the boonies and have nothing to do,” says Stevie Shayler, 25, who has lived in Maple Ridge B.C. all her life. “People honestly think we tip cows and hunt game for fun.” If you don’t know what “tipping cows” means, you’re excused, as it doesn’t sound very nice to those poor cows, anyway. [Read more…]
