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As a society, we are at a critical moment. Too many people are facing racism and discrimination, and it’s time for all of us as British Columbians to say enough.

In my new role as parliamentary secretary for multiculturalism, I think every day about how I can use my position to help bring about change. I believe that one of our most powerful weapons in fighting against hatred is building connections with each other as people.

I’m optimistic that we can create a better future, and a world where people treat each other with dignity and kindness, because we all have the same basic desires. We all want to live freely. We want to be able to express ourselves. And we want to live in a world where our families, friends, colleagues and neighbours feel safe.

And so I encourage everyone in B.C. to think about how you, too, can be a part of this change through the small choices we each have everyday. We can choose to lend a hand to someone who may be having a hard time. We can choose to learn about a custom or history we hadn’t known about previously. And we can simply offer a smile to someone in our community, who we may not have connected with before.

For our part, the B.C. government is having these conversations every day. We’re asking ourselves how we can better support communities in bringing about positive change. We are working to put supports in place that will help create safer spaces for everyone to live in. One way we’ve done this is by re-establishing the Human Rights Commission to promote and protect human rights for all people in B.C. But we know that there is much more we can do as a government to create a better future, and will continue to focus on celebrating diversity, building connections, and fighting against racism and hate.