Centennial Commemoration of the Chinese Exclusion Act & EDI Awards Ceremony

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. In this centennial year of this infamous piece of legislation, CPAC is presenting a public forum to commemorate this historical event, in conjunction with the presentation of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Awards. The program of the event includes:

1) A keynote speech about the past 100 years since the Chinese Exclusion Act – the historical context of the legislation, the discrimination endured by Chinese Canadians before and after the legislation, the contributions made by Chinese Canadians in the past century despite racism, the many forms of racism that Chinese and Asian Canadians still face today, the work ahead of us in advancing equity, diversity and inclusion and eliminating racial discrimination, and other relevant contents.

2) Presentation of the CPAC Institute Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Awards, which recognize Canadians in any region of the country who have made significant contributions to the advancement of EDI. The recipients will be Wendy Cukier, Director of Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Teresa Woo-Paw, Chair of the ACCT Foundation and of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

3) A community forum on the past and present of racism in Canada.

Program

2:30 pm: Doors Open

3:00 pm: Opening

Andi Shi, Executive Director, CPAC

3:05 pm Welcome Remarks

Ti Wang, President, CPAC

3:10 pm: Keynote Speech on the Centenary of the Chinese Exclusion Act

Timothy Stanley, Professor Emeritus, University of Ottawa

4:15 pm: Award Ceremony

Hugh Zhao, Chair, EDI Award Committee

Recipients: Wendy Cukier, Teresa Woo-Paw

5:15 pm: Community Forum

6:00 pm: Refreshments

6:45 pm: Close

For more information, please visit: https://cpac-canada.ca/2023-edi-awards-cea-forum/

About the CPAC Institute

The CPAC Institute is an independent research, education and training organization that provides research-based support for the understanding and elimination of systemic racism and barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion and for addressing specific issues concerning the well-being of Chinese Canadians. For more information, please visit https://cpac-canada.ca/about-cpac-institute/

About CPAC EDI Award

The Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Award was established in 2022 by the CPAC Institute to recognizes outstanding Canadians, in any region of the country, who have made significant contributions to the advancement of human rights, equal access, equity, diversity and inclusion within an organization, a sector, a community or nationally.

By recognizing the contributions of these champions, the Institute wishes to amplify their impact and inspire more individuals from the racialized communities and those who are in positions of power to take action to acknowledge, confront, and eventually eradicate racism and all forms of discrimination from Canadian society.

The inaugural EDI awards were presented on May 29, 2022 to Ms Jennifer Tory and Dr. Joseph YK Wong, in celebration of the Asian Heritage Month, along with the release of Canada’s first comprehensive Anti-Racism Community Information Handbook, produced by the CPAC Institute.