Mayor plans apology to residents of Chinese descent

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will formally apologize next month for past discrimination against residents of Chinese descent.

The apology will acknowledge the wrongdoings of past legislation, regulations and policies of previous city councils.

“The historical wrongs of Vancouver City Council need to be addressed, particularly as the city is focused now on being a city of reconciliation and that extends beyond our First Nations to people of other cultures who faced racism and discrimination in the past,” Robertson said in an interview Monday.

“This is an important step to address that historic travesty and move forward.”

Robertson will make the apology on April 22 as part of a Chinatown Culture Day event.

Former city councillors Bill Yee and Maggie Ip will also read it in Chinese languages.

Robertson said delivering the apology within the community at a public event rather than at a government building would help convey the city’s “intention to make sure that Chinese culture is supported and embraced.”

Between 2016 and 2017, the city established an advisory group of Chinese and non-Chinese experts and community leaders to help guide the development of a formal apology, which was approved by council in November.

Their report said residents of Chinese descent weren’t allowed to vote when the city incorporated in 1886 until 1948, after veterans of the First and Second World Wars lobbied for voting rights.