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Spike in reports of anti-Asian hate incidences follows ‘speak English’ video

Fear and ignorance, the culprits behind increase in anti-Asian hate: MP Bains
Parm Bains Liberal candidate
MP Parm Bains of Steveston-Richmond East.

Video of an anti-Asian incident at a Richmond Canada Line station prompted several reports of hate to the office of a local MP.

In a media statement, Parm Bains, MP for Steveston-Richmond East, said his office received several reports of hate directed towards Asians specifically after a man was filmed asking a woman of Asian descent why she wasn’t speaking English while being in Canada.

Bains also said he recognized the man in the videos posted on social media on Aug. 13 as an individual who previously “corresponded with his office” and had “a lot to say regarding anti-immigrant sentiments.”

“We took action by assembling the history of our correspondence with this person and provided it to the RCMP,” said Bains in a statement.

“I will not tolerate discrimination or race-based hatred of any kind in my city.”

While there was a spike in reports directly after the recent incident, Bains said his office had receive numerous reports of Asian hate incidents in recent months.

“There’s been a rise in Asian hate. Community members generally feel scared that nobody likes their community anymore and that no one is really taking the issue on,” said Bains.

Bains, a person of colour who was born and grew up in Canada, said he witnessed racism growing up in the 1980s and relates to the Chinese community’s fears.

He believes hate-motivated crime and racist incidents in Richmond are usually born of fear and ignorance.

While the city has created inclusive events such as the World Festival to share one another’s cultures, Bains said education needs to be improved.

“We have to educate and learn more about one another to break down the barriers,” he said.

He highlights Richmond’s famous Highway to Heaven, where multiple faith groups are located, and associations as well as groups that come together to support others during times of need.

“I’m encouraged by the fact that we have strong leadership in this community,” he said.

“Our immigrant communities have been here for over 100 years, and they’ve contributed to the success of this nation. I think this nation was built on immigration and the success of this nation is because of immigration.”

Fear, on the other hand, may also be a contributing factor to the increase of hate-motivated crimes in Richmond, he added.

“The challenge is, when people who may be struggling in their life and they look at certain immigrant communities who are successful here, they may fear that they are being replaced.

“They may think that these communities are getting ahead. Meanwhile, they’re not, and that is a big factor as to where I think the resentment and hatred comes from.”

Reporting hate-motivated crimes

Most importantly, people need to report any hate crimes they see, said Bains.

Richmond RCMP has initiated a campaign to battle anti-Asian hate and racism, an initiative Bains said he fully supports and “stands beside the city and RCMP” on it to encourage community members to report the incidents.

“Our Chinese-Canadian community often don’t understand that it’s very simple to go and report (incidents), and they can get assistance,” he explained.

“It’s just something that, maybe, they’re not used to or they feel … nothing will happen if they report it, so they choose to not bring this up to authorities.”