參議員胡子修發聲支持S255法案，為社會不公抗爭

渥太華–胡子修參議員在2月28日，黑人歷史紀念月的最後一天，就正在“二讀”的S-255號奴隸解放紀念日法案進行發言。

設立此紀念日旨在幫助我們敘述更加完整的加拿大歷史。加拿大史冊理應包括華裔群體，非裔群體，及其他少數族裔飽經苦難、忍辱負重、建功立業的歷史。

Karen Cho，加拿大第五代華裔，拍攝了獲獎紀錄片《在金山的陰影下》。她在影片中坦露：“沒有一本我讀過的歷史書或者上過的社會研究課提到哪怕一丁點加拿大華裔的內容。曾經我覺得自己的華人血統和是否是加拿大人幾乎無關。華人故事在加拿大歷史敘述裡的缺失，既是掌權者把控話語權的頑症，也是人頭稅和排華法的歷史荼毒。”

他衷心希望並鼓勵所有加拿大人學習有關歧視性法律的前世今生，了解加拿大不同族群堅忍的美德和卓越的貢獻。人人平等來之不易，在挑戰與危機不斷湧現的新世紀，要繼續以史為鑑，為各種社會不公而抗爭。

發言全文如下：

Second Reading—Bill S-255, An Act Proclaiming Emancipation Day

Honourable senators,

I rise on this last day of Black History Month, celebrated by Canadians every February, to speak on Second Reading of Bill S-255, An Act Proclaiming Emancipation Day. 

I thank Senator Bernard for introducing this important bill.

As Senator Bernard noted, it has been 184 years since the Slavery Abolition Act was passed, and we are now in the International Decade for People of African Descent. Bill S-255 designates August 1st as Emancipation Day to commemorate the abolition of slavery in Canada.

Senator Bernard said and I quote, “Emancipation Day is about learning our collective history – not rewriting that history, but telling a more complete history that includes the history of slavery in Canada.” 

As with the black community, the contributions made and hardships suffered by many other minorities within Canada were essentially erased from the pages of history.  “A more complete history”should include those stories.

Karen Cho, a fifth-generation Canadian of mixed heritage and filmmaker of an award-winning film In the Shadow of Gold Mountain, stated that “not one of my history books or social studies classes mentioned anything about the Chinese in Canada. As far as I knew, my Chinese side was the most foreign and least Canadian thing about me. This absence of the Chinese story in the narrative of Canada is both a symptom of history being told by those with the most power and privilege in a society, but also the residue of the Head Tax and Exclusion Act’s dark legacy.”

For long periods in our history, black Canadians have been subject to slavery and discrimination. Unfortunately even today, issues of unconscious bias, systemic discrimination and racist micro-aggressions persist.

Black women in Canada face an unemployment rate of 11%, which is more than double the national average. They earn $0.63 for every dollar earned by white men and $0.85 for every dollar earned by white women.

Concerns of racism and racial profiling are not figments of our imagination, the statistics prove this. They are real. This is precisely why I support Bill S-255, to help facilitate education, examine systemic racism and work to improve the lives of all Canadians.

This bill also provides a great platform to honor the stories of everyday heroes of African descent across our nation. It is an opportunity to celebrate the values of resilience, perseverance, and dignity that have defined the black community in Canada for generations.

We can all agree on the importance of remembering the legacy and contributions made by black Canadians in all areas of our society.  In public office, I am very proud of my party’s own legacy.  For example, the Honourable Lincoln Alexander who, over fifty years ago, became the first black Member of Parliament, and went on to serve as the first black Cabinet Minister. Later of course he served as Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Ontario. 

I also think of Douglas Jung, a decorated member of the Canadian Armed Forces who was elected as the conservative member for Vancouver-Centre in 1957 – the first Canadian of Chinese descent to serve as a Member of Parliament, in fact the first visible minority to serve in Parliament.

These are but two examples of many here in Canada which characterizes the pride, strength and dignity that have driven Canadians of diverse backgrounds to realize their ambitions in all fields of endeavor。

Canada has been an arena where many groups of people have struggled for acceptance. As a member of the Chinese-Canadiancommunity, we know this all too well.

2019 marks 72 years since the repeal of theChinese Immigration Act, the only law in Canadian history to bar a specific ethnic group from coming to Canada.

This community, which helped build the Pacific Railway, faced exclusion once the railway was completed.

Despite state-sanctioned discrimination, hundreds of Chinese Canadians fought in the Second World War in the Canadian Army, even though they were barred on racial grounds from joining the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Navy.

As for our black community, many former slaves and black Loyalists who fought on the Canadian side during the War of 1812 settled in places such as Nova Scotia and south-western Ontario, where they and their descendants formed communities that continue to enrich Canada to this day. 

I encourage all Canadians to learn more about the origins and impact of discriminatory legislation enacted against minority communities. I also encourage all Canadians to learn more about the resilience and contributions of these great communities.

Honourable senators, we should continue to learn from the past, and fight against social injustices faced by all minority today.

In this era of new threats and challenges, it is more important than ever that we stand united and bolster the hard-earned equality.

Please allow me to quote Karen Cho as an endnote: “There is power in knowing your history and making sure it takes its rightful place in the narrative of Canada.”

Thank you.