Former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh had a message on Sunday for anyone directing racial hatred to anyone else in what is a multicultural province.
“I say to those that say (to people of Asian descent) to go home. Contend with your racism, clean yourself up and become a good Canadian like all of us are,” Dosanjh told a rally of 500 outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. “The Asian community has been here for more than 150 years and are as Canadian as anyone else in this country and are here to stay.”
Sunday’s rally was well-organized, with several volunteer photographers, security, printed signs, and masks and a recorded broadcast of people chanting “stop Asian hate.”
At one point, a group of counter-protesters appeared, claiming the rally was organized by people with strong links to the government of China — which they claimed conducts racist actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority in that country. Another rally held by anti-maskers also passed the anti-racism rally, with one of that group (holding a sign saying “I will never wear a mask”) making an anti-Asian comment.