By David P. Ball
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On systemic racism, NDP and BC Liberals slammed for what they said. But on Indigenous issues, it was actually for what they didn't.
British Columbia observers have questioned the leadership hopefuls' qualifications on issues of racism and Indigenous issues in the days after B.C.'s only televised election debate — in a snap election called a year before the 2021 vote mandated by law.
Two remarks in particular during Tuesday night's face-off between NDP leader John Horgan, the BC Liberals' Andrew Wilkinson and Sonia Furstenau with the Greens drew particular attention since debate.
"For me, I did not see colour, I felt that everyone around me was the same," Horgan said. "And I brought that through my entire adult life and instilled that in my children, and this generation and the generation after continues to see everyone equally — gays, lesbians, people of colour."
He swiftly realized the import of his "did not see colour" remark, apologizing immediately after the debate and issuing a statement on his Twitter feed: "Saying ‘I don’t see colour’ causes pain and makes people feel unseen,” he tweeted. “I’m sorry. I’ll never fully understand, as a white person, the lived reality of systemic racism."
Debate-watchers on social media expressed horror and surprise at the answer to a question on how white leaders "personally reckoned with your own privilege."
Sunshine Coast writer Megan Cole wrote on Wednesday, "I've got to say I'm still reeling from John Horgan's 'I don't see colour' comment in last night's debate," the nonfiction author of 'Water & Wood: Recipes from a Coastal Community' wrote on her Twitter feed. "This is not an effective response to questions about race and racism."
"Andrew Wilkinson talked about an Indigenous baby being named after him, and John Horgan said he doesn’t see colour. These two both need unconscious bias training ASAP.
Impact matters more than intention and BC residents deserve better answers than these
And as controversy spiraled over his debate remarks in multiple media articles and social media outrage even from longtime supports of the NDP, Horgan was forced to expand on his regrets the next day: "I profoundly regret that I alienated and hurt people," he told reporters on Wednesday.
The original comments came in answer to a question from debate moderator and Angus Reid Institute president Shachi Kurl: “How have you personally reckoned with your own privilege and unconscious bias as a white political leader?" she asked.
It wasn't just Horgan, who has served as premier since gaining a minority government in 2017, who found himself in hot water over racism. BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson was also criticized for his response to Kurl's question, in particular his reply that as a former doctor in First Nations, an Indigenous mother named her baby after him.
"Andrew Wilkinson talked about an Indigenous baby being named after him, and John Horgan said he doesn’t see colour," tweeted Alexis Sheridan, a Vancouver-based writer. "These two both need unconscious bias training ASAP. Impact matters more than intention and BC residents deserve better answers than these."
And observers remarked that there was no excuse for the seeming lack of awareness just months after global mass-protests over police brutality and discrimination against unarmed Black civilians — which in B.C. saw large-scale protests in Vancouver, Victoria and other cities, a blockade of the busy Georgia Viaduct for which Vancouver's former Black neighbourhood Hogan's Alley was demolished — and the same year as Canada-wide economic blockades by supporters of Wet'sweten opponents of a gas pipeline on their territories after an RCMP tactical raid.
"We are all equal, we all have to feel like we belong here," Wilkinson said. "When I hear John Horgan talking about us and them, good and bad, friends and enemies, it's actually kind of sad to see a leadership figure like John Horgan degrade himself by dividing communities instead of uniting them."
And although Wilkinson discussed his time as a physician in First Nations relating with Indigenous patients, and Horgan reflected on playing lacrosse as a child with South Asian and Indigenous peers, Kurl interrupted the NDP leader to remind him her question was "this is a question about your own personal reflections."
Instead, Horgan did not add any further personal reflections after being provided the chance, instead saying he supports people "sharing their stories" of diversity.
Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau starter her answer with a personal anecdote.
"I think the moment, for me, that really hit it home was imagining being a mother and saying to my child, 'If you're approached by a policeman, don't do anything, just put your hands up,'" she said. "I can't imagine being a mother imaging my son might die because of the colour of his skin.
"We aren't all equal. I wish we were, but we're not … The three of us cannot reckon what's that's like because we are white. But we have to, in our roles, end that systemic racism."
Dr. Katrina Plamondon, co-chair of the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research and a University of B.C. associate health and social development professor, wrote that both Wilkinson and Horgan's remarks warranted some close reflection.
"Andrew Wilkinson, John Horgan and anyone who doesn’t know how to reflect on their privilege — we need you to do better," Plamondon tweeted on Wednesday. "Even admitting that the question is uncomfortable, and realizing that you have reflective work to do — even that would be a step forward."
The B.C. election will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, but advance polls open across the province from Thursday until Oct. 21, as well as voting by mail as long as the ballot is received in Victoria by voting day.