B.C. Business and Community Leaders Take a Stand Against Racism: We Say NO to Hate… It Must Stop Now As business and community leaders, British Columbians, and human beings we cannot sit idly by. What we condone, we accept, and we cannot accept the growing racism and hate directed at people because of their ethnicity, culture, or faiths. Racism must be called out and it must stop now! We are all deeply disturbed by the violent, overt and subtle displays of racism we are increasingly seeing and some that are being reported in the media. This is an affront to what it means to be a citizen in our province and country. As a place that welcomes the world, what we are witnessing is not who we are or aspire to be as Canadians. Admitting this growing problem will enable us to address it. Brazen assaults on people of Chinese descent. Racist slurs directed at Indigenous peoples, visible minorities and people based on their faith. Hate messages written on buildings. The recipients of these reprehensible behaviours are our family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues, fellow business and community leaders, philanthropists, and generations of people who have helped build our province. These incidents and actions come in sharp contrast to the many generous acts of kindness and tolerance exhibited by so many British Columbians every day and particularly the compassion that we have seen during this trying time. Our cultural mosaic is the envy of the world. It is comprised of generations who were born here and those who chose to come here to make a difference, to build a better life for their families and to contribute to a better province. It doesn’t matter where British Columbians and their ancestors are from. As B.C. business and community leaders, we care deeply about our collective well-being and are standing up to say: this is wrong. Here in British Columbia, we have been fortunate thanks to the leadership of both our government and the Provincial Health Officer, and the measures each of us have taken during COVID-19 to do our part to plank the curve. This is a collaborative success that exemplifies our capacity to care for one another. Our primary job now is to dig out of this generational crisis together to create an even better province, with jobs and new opportunities for all. We need every British Columbian to be part of this rebuilding effort, working together with generous hearts, offering their solutions, intelligence, positivity, creativity and as Dr. Bonnie Henry so compassionately tells us: kindness. Division makes us smaller and weaker, at a time when strength and collaboration is required given the pain that so many face. Study after study has shown that rich diversity in our workplaces and communities results in stronger performance and a higher quality of life, from improved productivity and innovation to global connectivity and economic prosperity. Enough wrongs have been committed over the course of our province’s history and this need not be another. Let’s look back on this pivotal moment as a time when we turned our backs on racist tendencies and chose a different path that embodies our best character and shows our resilience and the humanity that has served us so well. We ask you join us to stop racism, educate others and celebrate the diversity that gives us strength and an advantage in the changing world we face together. The Business Council of British Columbia Signatories: The Honourable Janet Austin Jeff Zweig Sue Paish Carling Dick Brandt Louie Greg D'Avignon Lieutenant Governor President & CEO President & CEO Principal Chairman & CEO President & CEO of British Columbia Mosaic Forest Management/ Digital Technology Supercluster/ Earnscliffe Strategy Group/ H.Y. Louie Group of Companies Business Council of British Chair, BCBC (Current) Chair, BCBC (Immediate Past) Chair, NEXT Leaders Council Columbia Mary Ackenhusen Glen Clark Eric J. Harris Q.C. Fiona MacFarlane Andrew Petter C.M., Q.C. Ron Stern President & CEO President & COO Chair Chair President and Vice Chancellor President Vancouver Coastal Health The Jim Pattison Group Harris & Company LLP Shawnigan Lake School Simon Fraser University Stern Partners Inc. Wilfred Adam Mark F. Collins Margaret Heldman Karn Manhas The Honourable Pierre Pettigrew Shaun Stevenson Former Chief President & CEO Associate, Vice President Academic Founder & CEO Chair of the Board President and Chief Executive Officer Lake Babine Nation British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. Langara College Terramera Inc. Asia Pacific Foundation Prince Rupert Port Authority of Canada Mohammed Shujaath Troy Connolly Paul Hemsley B.Sc., MBA Valerie C. Mann Don Stickney Ali Imam VP, Solid Woods President Partner Susannah Pierce Vancouver Managing Partner The BC Muslim Association Tolko Industries Hemmera, an Ausenco Company Lawson Lundell LLP Director, Corporate Affairs Earnscliffe Strategy Group LNG Canada Bridgitte Anderson Don Coulter John Hepburn PhD, FRSC/msrc Sherry Marceil Mark Stock President & CEO President & CEO CEO & Scientific Director Surrey Interfaith Council David Podmore Senior Vice President Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Concentra Bank MITACS Chairman & Co-Founder Human Resources & IT Jon Marks Concert Properties Interfor Corporation Ian Anderson Bryan Cox Debra A. Hewson Vice-President, Human Resources President & CEO President & CEO President & CEO Justice Institute of BC Pino Pucci Sandra J. Stuart Trans Mountain Corporation BC LNG Alliance Odlum Brown Limited VP, Sales & Marketing Logistics President & CEO Lori Mathison FCPA, FCGA, LLB Tolko Industries HSBC Canada Chris Atchison John D. Crawford FCPA,FCA,ICD.D,CFE, James Hoffele M.R.M., PMP President & CEO President & CEO CA (Scotland) Socio-Economic Project Management Chartered Professional Accountants of BC Chohre Rassekh David Sung BC Construction Association President and Chief Executive Officer Specialist Representative President Pacific Blue Cross Port of Vancouver Sean McAdam Bahá’í community to the Multi Faith Nicola Wealth Management Michael Audain President Summit Council Chairman Rob Crosby-Shearer Paul Hollands Everything Wine Bill Tam Polygon Homes Ltd. Reverend Chair Derek Ratchford Co-Chair The Emmaus Community and the Abbey A & W Corporation Brian McCauley VP, US Operations Digital Technology Supercluster Pritam Singh Aulakh Church (Anglican / United) President & Chief Executive Officer Tolko Industries Member of the Board Rick Ilich Concert Properties Carole Taylor Akali Singh Sikh Society Michael Crothers CEO Peter Reid M.Eng., P.Eng., CSAP, MBA Canada Chair President & Country Chair Townline Ken McCormack Vice President, SAR Trilateral Commission Kevin Au-Yeung Shell Canada Ltd. President & CEO Hemmera, an Ausenco Company President Rabbi Jonathan Infeld Construction Labour Relations Association Kathryn Teneese Association of Chinese Dr. Robert Daum Congregation Beth Israel (CLRA) of BC Salima Remtulla Chair Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACCE) Chair, Board of Directors Member-at-Large Ktunaxa Nation Council The Laurier Institution Trevor Jahnig Jason McDaniel BCBC Board of Governors Alan Baratz Chief Financial Officer & VP Finance Vice President, Corporate Affairs Martin Thibodeau CEO Alan Davies PhD Tolko Industries Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Bob Rennie Regional President DWave Systems President & Vice Chancellor Founder RBC Royal Bank Kwantlen Polytechnic University Kevin Jewett Neil McKenzie The Rennie Group Jimenez Baskerville Vice President, Woodlands The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Scott Thompson VP, Strand Based Business Kevin Desmond Tolko Industries Saints Craig Richmond CEO Tolko Industries Chief Executive Officer President & CEO Finning International Inc. TransLink Nicolas Jimenez Reverend Monica McKinlay Vancouver Airport Authority Stewart Beck President & CEO Kitsilano Christian Community Brad Thorlakson President & CEO Gavin Dew Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Ian Ricketts President & CEO Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Chief Strategic Advisor Rick Mclean President Tolko Industries Abbotsford Tech District Lara Johnson Chief Ocean Brands Stuart Belkin Vice President, Marketing and Tahltan Band John Tognotti Chairman & CEO Mike Dickens P.Eng Communications Craig Robinson Chair Belkorp Industries Inc. Vice President BCIT Ron McNeil CEO Haywood Securities Kerr Wood Leidal CEO & Co-Founder Earnscliffe Strategy Group Mark Betteridge Kendra Johnston PGeo, MBA LMS Reinforcing Steel Group Lane Trotter EdD President & CEO Gavin Dirom M.Sc., P.Ag President & Chief Executive Officer Sara J. Roth President & CEO Betteridge Inc. President & Chief Executive Officer Association for Mineral Exploration Jamie McTavish President & CEO Langara College Geoscience BC President BC Cancer Foundation Mark Blamey Darrell Jones Dunarday Investments Darren Turchansky President Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan President Chris Rousch Executive Vice President, British Columbia Kerr Wood Leidal Vancouver School of Theology Save on Foods George Meadows M.Sc. Pl. President & CEO & Regional Managing Partner Vice President, Human Environment Veresen Midstream Limited Partnership MNP Andy Balser Dr. Patricia Dutcher-Walls Stephanie Jones Hemmera, an Ausenco Company Vice President Reverend President Mike Rusch Reverend Katrina Vigen TELUS Home Solutions Marketing Presbyterian Church of Canada BC Maritime Terminal Operators Bishop Greg Mohr President Redeemer Lutheran Church TELUS Corporation Association BC Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Jim Pattison Lease David Earle Church in Canada Dick Vollet Robert