Anti-racism march gathers various groups against discrimination
Posted March 26, 2017 8:12 am.
Last Updated March 26, 2017 1:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Marchers are hitting the streets of Vancouver to send a message against racism. The event has been put on by a diverse array of groups united against discrimination of all forms.
The Coalition Against Bigotry is made up of the likes of Black Lives Matter, the South Asian Network For Secularism and Democracy, and the Vancouver Pride Society, just to name a few. Organizers say recent trends, both at home and abroad, only highlight the need to do more to fight the problem.
“We’ve marched in the city for a number of years, off and on,” points out Imtiaz Popat with the coalition. “But we’ve seen this incredible resurgence of racism, and more importantly, the resurgence of fascist, ultra right-wing groups here in Metro Vancouver.”
He warns Canada is not immune to discrimination. “We’re seeing a whole bunch of racist slurs, people openly being racist in the city, people yelling at women wearing hijabs…and people are unashamedly being racist,” Popat claims.
Given current events he says the message of the event is more timely than ever. “It’s not that the ultra-right hasn’t been here in Canada in the past. They have been. The KKK and so on. But definitely the rise of Trump has emboldened them to come out even more so.”
He feels government must do more to combat the problem. Popat feels the Trudeau Liberals have yet to make good on legislative promises made during the 2015 election, “including Bill C-24, C-44, and C-51, the anti-terror legislation.”
Today’s march began at 1:00 p.m. at Thornton Park near the Main Street SkyTrain station, ending with a rally at Victory Square on the Downtown Eastside.
