Attorney General Niki Sharma is calling on northern residents to have their say on the BC Demographic Survey.
The province wants to help identify issues like racism and how certain government services weren’t designed around racialized groups.
Sharma, who stopped in Prince George today (Friday) to visit the Indigenous Justice Centre told Vista Radio it’s all about shoring up mistakes that have been made over several decades.
“We know that systemic racism is embedded in a lot of systems and we hear from Indigenous people and people of colour that they oftentimes are facing these barriers but it’s hard when we don’t have the data or we can’t daylight what is happening so that we know what we need to fix.”
“A lot of leaders in Prince George and across the northern areas came to us to talk about the barriers they are facing so we designed this with them in mind. Thinking about how we can start collecting the data to understand where the gaps in services are based on people’s backgrounds and respond with actions to fix them.”
Sharma believes the survey is a vital piece of information needed to make things better for everyone in BC.
“Whether it’s not being able to get employed as easily, the justice system working against people – various things, that the health care system, things that we know are happening. We thought it was really important to respond with concrete action and once we have the data I think we will be the first in Canada and largely North America to go at it this way.”
The deadline to submit your feedback is September 29th.
As for the Indigenous Justice Centre tour itself, the facility is exactly the type of investment they want to see across the province.
“It will provide culturally appropriate services for Indigenous people that are facing the justice system so we can help break the cycle of incarceration in the criminal justice system but also figure out supports on the front end.”
The Indigenous Justice Centre is located at 511 George Street.
In addition, Premier David Eby was also in the northern capital today (Friday) for a pair of announcements before heading off to Quesnel and Williams Lake.
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