By Muskan Sandhu Image Source: Philippine Canadian Inquirer COVID-19 has been hailed as the “great equalizer” by multiple influential entities including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s team, and American popstar Madonna. This statement presents only a part of the picture as the virus in itself may not be discriminatory, but its impact is mediated by a variety of pre-existing social identity markers, such as that of race, class, and gender, that often underlie discrimination. As racism rears its ugly head in Canada in the midst of a public health crisis, ethnic media reporting makes it amply clear that the virus’s repercussions are anything but a colour-blind phenomenon crashing through a vast expanse of a socially unmarked territory.
In the context of the Vancouver Police Department’s statement that it had “seen an uptick in the number of racially-motivated crimes,” the Filipino Post, a weekly Filipino newspaper from Vancouver, pointed out that “from Canada and the U.S. to Europe and across Asia, the global coronavirus pandemic has brought with it an increase in racist attacks and microaggressions against people of Asian descent.” The Punjabi BC Round Up on Zee TV Canada reported that in response to the increase in racist hate crimes, the BC government put together a committee to act against racism. Many Chinese media outlets in Canada denounced the role mainstream media reports may have played in fueling anti-Asian sentiment. The Global News piece on the alleged role of the United Front in exporting PPE from Canada to China was the focal point of these stories. BCbay, a Chinese newspaper from Vancouver, didn’t mince words in stating that “over the past 20 years, there have been too many mainstream articles smearing China and smearing the Chinese community in Canada.” Similarly, another Chinese newspaper from Vancouver, Van People, wrote that the “noble behaviour” of overseas Chinese people “rushing to send” PPE to China “was painted negatively by the story [in Global News], which misled and deepened the local community’s fear of Chinese Canadians, leading to racial discrimination against Chinese and Asian groups.” This Chinese media is also replete with discussions about whether Conservative MP Derek Sloan’s remarks questioning the loyalty of Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam were racist or not. The majority of Chinese outlets were quick to note that while Tam may warrant criticism, the allegations of her favouring China would not have been made if she were of a non-Chinese descent and thus were racist in nature. Chinese newspapers Sing Tao Calgary and the Dushi.ca Vancouver edition compared Sloan’s criticism of Tam with Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s criticism to illustrate how one was racist and the other wasn’t. The Markham-based Iask website wrote: “Unfortunately, just like in the U.S., when a politician sees how a racist dog whistle can mobilize votes, especially votes from xenophobic groups of people, they're bound to learn from Trump and keep blowing the dog whistle. Conservative leadership candidate Derek Sloan is clearly such a politician.” Limited Chinese news outlets, however, sympathized with Sloan. Vansky, a Chinese newspaper from Vancouver, said that: “To determine whether Sloan is actually guilty of racial discrimination, we need to understand why he brought this topic up in the first place. Is it the expression of racial superiority? Or a political-ideological attack? If there is no evidence that Sloan said this out of racial superiority, he cannot be accused of racial discrimination, at most he can only be blamed for his indifference, misjudgment, or paranoia.” The racism brought about by the pandemic isn’t limited to just the Chinese community. The discrimination against Filipino workers at the Cargill meat plant, who contracted COVID-19, is an example of the inequality borne out of the intersection of race, class, and resident status in Canada. Philippine Canadian News, a Filipino newspaper, reported that “Many Filipino workers and residents sent a letter to the company asking that the plant be closed so that safety measures could be put in place, but no actions were taken.” This inaction eventually caused the largest coronavirus outbreak in Canada. Consequently, as reported by Philippine Canadian Inquirer, Filipino people were not allowed to enter grocery stores or banks, and worse, blamed for spreading the virus. On Red FM 106.7 The Evening Show, a Punjabi radio show from Calgary, the host commented that the poor economic standing of the migrant workers did not allow them the freedom of choice to quit their jobs because of dangerous working conditions. A guest doctor on the show added that since “companies want to make a profit and cut costs, they don’t care about how immigrants or temporary workers live,” that is, in group housing. Another host on the show noted that, “Since the workers at the plant are temporary foreign workers, they are afraid to speak up because it may cost them their job and consequently their permanent residence.” These factors coalesced together to lead to an unfair stigmatization of the Filipino community. The virus, if anything, has laid bare the deep inequalities present in our society and remains far from being the “great equalizer.”
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PRINT - Le Franco - Edmonton, 14/05/2020 - ARTICLE, French Image Source: Le Franco website Summary Translation: Anam Kiani - The Réseau santé albertain and Alberta Health Services are improving access to health services in French and are showing solidarity with all the francophone organizations. Director of the Réseau santé albertain Paul Denis thanked all health care providers. He particularly appreciated the remarkable work of Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw and of Alberta Health Services in keeping Francophones informed. He emphasized that "Alberta Health Services have made a considerable effort to provide services and information in French during the pandemic. AHS has translated many of its COVID-19 resources in the most in-demand languages, and French was one of the first languages in which the material was made available. They published seven documents and a video on social distancing in French, according to Media Relations Consultant Sabrina Atwal. New advice becoming available is sent to translation services right away. AHS also offers medical interpretation services 24/7 in 300 languages.
WEB - Chinese Readers - Vancouver, 08/05/2020 - COMMENTARY, Chinese Image Source: http://www.creaders.net/ Summary Description: RCI - The financial issue is more serious for colleges and universities that recruit more international students, and as a result, colleges and universities may have to reduce staffing. Universities Canada president Paul Davidson pointed out that foreign students not only pay tuition fees, but they also drive the Canadian economy through rent, transportation, etc. Davidson said that all Canadian universities want to get back to normal as soon as possible, but too many factors are out of their control. The industry is putting pressure on the federal and provincial governments and asking the two levels of government to help them get through the difficulties arising from the novel coronavirus outbreak. One internet user, aoyun2012niand, suggested layoffs. This internet user says the management of American and Canadian universities is too chaotic; there are more hands than needed; tuition fees increase every year.
WEB - South Asian Daily - Mississauga, 08/05/2020 - NEWS, English Image Source South Asian Daily website Summary: No byline - In an exclusive interview with Y Media, Conservative Leadership Candidate Erin O’Toole lashed out at the Justin Trudeau-led minority government for their “slow” response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. O'Toole did not hold back on his criticism for the Trudeau government. “The government is trying to push everyone into unemployment instead of saving businesses. There will be an inquiry into the Trudeau government. There is the biggest crisis in Canadian history, and the Trudeau government was asleep.” He also blamed the PM for sleeping on the China issue, saying the Conservative Party asked the Liberals two years ago to look into Chinese relations with the WHO. “Trudeau laughed it off,” he said. When asked if the Conservative leadership race should have started sooner, O’Toole said, “The race is now dated August, so it was just delayed from the end of June to the end of August. The first trip I cancelled was British Columbia. I am using Zoom instead, calling people. We are adapting the race, but we need a leader in the House of Commons by September. The Liberals are trying to have no oversight. I will make sure I lead the Conservatives and bring Canada back to prosperity.”
RADIO - CIAO 530 AM - Toronto, 13/05/2020 - TALK SHOW, Punjabi Summary Translation: Host Gurdeep Sekhon talked about the impact of COVID-19 on immigration in Canada. Current affairs expert Amrit Grewal said that Australia’s policy to reduce visa issuance is benefitting Canada. Canada had planned to bring more than one million new immigrants to Canada in the next three years, which was good news. At the moment, we can question the need for new immigrants when the unemployment rate is high in Canada. However, the current situation is temporary. The economic situation will improve and immigration will be back on track. There are many jobs that depend on immigrants. International students play a significant role in contributing to the Canadian job market and economy.
RADIO - CJMR 1320 AM Radio 7 Zycie - Mississauga, 13/05/2020 - NEWS, Polish Image Source: Radio Zycie Face Book profile Summary Translation: Tomasz Piwowarek - National Bank is offering cash grants to 23 tennis players from the country who are facing financial issues because of the coronavirus pandemic. National Bank will give $10,000 to $20,000 to 23 tennis players. All sanctioned tennis events have been called off since March because of the COVID-19 outbreak, and all tennis events in Canada are called off until the end of August, except for the Rogers Cup men’s tournament in Toronto.
TV - OMNI News: Punjabi Edition - Toronto, 11/05/2020 - FEATURE, Punjabi Summary Translation: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is redeploying staff from other areas to inspect meat processing plants. These workers are not properly trained to inspect meat processing sites, but they have been threatened with dismissal if they refuse to redeploy. Agriculture Union President Fabian Murphy said that as more and more meat inspectors contract COVID-19, they may run out of inspectors to send into these meat plants. They have been able to obtain some face coverings, but those masks are not personal protective equipment that would protect the wearer from this biological hazard. At the Cargill plant in High River, Alberta, 18 inspectors have contracted COVID-19. Another Cargill plant in Quebec has been closed after at least 64 workers tested positive. The Agriculture Union reports that the CFIA only gives the redeployed inspectors two-day training in meat sector inspection. Murphy said inspectors are expected to take the training and to "answer the call of duty." University of Ottawa Associate Professor Sarah Berger Richardson said the food industry has been quite irresponsible in saying that keeping the plants closed would lead to a food shortage. It would at most be a meat shortage, and even that might not impact consumers. Dalhousie University Director of the Agri-Foods Analytics Lab Sylvain Charlebois said he was wondering where the leadership on this was. We have seen plants close while others have not, with COVID cases. Companies seem to be deciding for themselves. CFIA has stated that staff have a right to refuse dangerous work and so far, nobody has refused to work.
WEB - (Vancouver) - Vancouver, 11/05/2020 - NEWS, Chinese Image Source: http://www.mingshengbao.com/ Summary Translation: No byline - In the recently published International Education Strategic Plan, the federal government stated that international students contributed approximately $21.6 billion to Canada's GDP in 2018 and from 2014 to 2018, the number of international students studying in Canada increased by 68%. The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada has posed a threat to the number of international students to be enrolled at post-secondary colleges and universities across the country this fall, and therefore many colleges and universities in Canada are expected to cut their budgetary spending substantially this fall to cope with the decline in revenues contributed by the international students.
RADIO - Red FM 93.1 Hindi - Vancouver, 11/05/2020 - NEWS, Hindi Summary Translation: Parmeet Kamra - Air Canada is planning to check the temperature of all its passengers. They said that with this, they will be able to obtain information about potential COVID-19-related cases. However, privacy experts severely criticized this step by the airline. According to them, this step is unnecessary. According to top Canadian doctors, temperature-testing cannot detect whether someone is carrying COVID-19 or not. In addition, the federal government has not asked airlines to take such steps. Air Canada commented on the issue, saying that they have the legal right to monitor their travellers' health and that they are doing this test to exercise caution.
Alberta’s anti-racism advisory council member speaks about racism in the province - Cantonese5/13/2020 RADIO - Fairchild Radio FM 94.7 Focus - Calgary, 11/05/2020 - COMMENTARY, Cantonese Summary Translation: Teresa Woo-Paw and Forest - Teresa Woo-Paw, former MLA, active member of Alberta’s anti-racism advisory council and president of the Action Chinese Canadians Together Foundation, was invited to speak about the current racial discrimination behaviour in Alberta and Canada. The host, Forest, brought up that the recent Cargill plant outbreak caused the Filipino community to be discriminated against. Since the plant was mostly occupied by Filipino workers, the Alberta community blamed the outbreak on them. Woo-Paw said it is a growing phenomenon across Canada. Forest is wondering if Canada has any plans to address this situation. Woo-Paw’s foundation is currently working with the Chinese senior community to gather support and create education materials for Albertans. This will help Chinese Albertans know what resources they have if they are experiencing racism. Woo-Paw also wants to take this opportunity to engage Caucasian community members to teach them how to be allies of the Chinese when they see racist behaviour occur. With the provinces slowly reopening, Woo-Paw said they will continue monitoring the situation by seeing if companies will stop hiring racialized employees after the pandemic. She also said it is important to promote the mechanism of reporting a complaint. Most Chinese Canadians are afraid to report an incident because of the fear of retaliation by the abuser. Woo-Paw said the reporting mechanism is also critical to inform all levels of government on priorities of addressing racism in the province.
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