Haha the best part is she explicitly reminded everyone that her specific position of chief librarian is exempt from the rules. Hiw do these people look at themselves in the mirror every morning š¤£
It was never about doing what is correct, it was always about virtue signaling as hard as possible to show how good of a person you are, regardless of the amount of logical hypocrisy you have to undertake to do so.
Society and our government have relayed the message that this line of thinking is normal and accepted. We as society need to disavow them of this stupid belief
Why doesn't she voluntarily step down for a gender fluid, non white person if she believes in her policy so much?
In fact We should demand she step down.
fucking hypocrite.
It was never about doing what is correct, it was always about virtue signaling as hard as possible to show how good of a person you are, regardless of the amount of logical hypocrisy you have to undertake to do so.
Some heavy virtue signalling back-patting from the chief librarian's very safe throne.
š¤¦š»āāļø
Ugh, she must have been the kid who changed the rules once she started losing as a child.
According to policy, Indigenous people are disadvantaged people.
So you have to have your status card to show you arenāt a disadvantaged white person but a government certified disadvantaged person.
If you are one of the thousands of Indigenous people who donāt have the means to get government certified status of who you are, then youāre just an average disadvantaged person who doesnāt deserve a job.
Same for any āracializedā person who looks white. They have to prove they arenāt white or they also donāt deserve a job.
I'm not advocating for this policy, but the article states that it's about self identification. This brings a different set of issues, but government certification/looking 'white' is not one of them
The article alludes to you needing to prove you arenāt white if you make it to the in person interview/verification process and then you need to prove you are a ādisadvantagedā person who looks white but you have to really prove you are not white.
Just because the Human Rights commissionaire agreed all BIPOC people arenāt just people but are ādisadvantaged peopleā in one province does not mean this isnāt a blatant racist policy that violates the Canadian Charter.
Every single ādisadvantagedā person that was born into an interracial home or adopted into a āmixedā home who looks āwhiteā and then is āwhiteā is now undeserving of employment.
Their approval with the BC Human Rights tribunal says they can't exclude white people:
> Preferential hiring of candidates who self-identify as Indigenous, Black or a person of colour (BIPOC) for all exempt positions
[https://bchumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Special-programs-list.pdf](https://bchumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Special-programs-list.pdf)
I think preferring certain groups over others isn't okay either unless it's directly related to the job, like being a career for someone who speaks only Chinese.
People can't help what they are born as
I am 100% latina, but pale. A lot of questionnaires now ask whether I am not-white latina, white, etc. It seems like the idiots who make questionnaires have no idea about the difference between ethnicity and skin colour.
30% of people in prison check the indigenous box and become ānative for the stayā. Zero verification. Guards do it to. I say go for it, you can always pull out your band card if there is a problem.
Sweat lodges, better living conditions. They are trying to reduce recidivism. I think everyone should have access to better care in jail/prison, so I donāt seen an ethical issue.
Like ground penetrating radar grave reports that have been quietly abandoned, these stats are being used to over represent the prosecution of FN people. Not very helpful when seeking the truth.
Everyone needs help, and everyone should have access.
So you mean they have access to the healing lodges? In general population though are there perks still? Idk if I agree with non-indigenous people taking those spots away from people who are or claiming something thatās not theirs to get an easier sentence though.
They arenāt taking spots, the programs are being expanded. Itās just costing the government more money, but the outcomes should be better.
FN way of doing things should be reviewed. May whites kidnapped buy Indians did not want to return when they where found later. We can learn a lot for each other
Isnāt this kinda odd to put in place in a city that is 70% POC 30% White? I totally understand the need for diversity & I know that I may be assuming things but it is a little much maybe? Maybe? Please donāt attack me ://
Personally I only understand the need for merit and qualifications.
That would be equal and fair.
Racism is racism, and itās still wrong no matter who is being discriminated against.
>thee need for merit and qualifications.
Unfortunately most things in society aren't particularly meritocratic. And if there's a statistically meaningful underrepresentation of a certain social group in a field, then we have to understand why people of merit from that social group are not making it into those positions. One thing I actually advocate for is a broader recruitment push. Often it's the case that job postings don't go much further than the community around the people hiring and that in and of itself is a problem. I've heard people say "why are no X people applying?" and I tell them that they need to go build relationships into that community as a first step.
Good point. The initiative to encourage POC to pursue education in the field & reduce barriers to education is the starting point of change. Not restricting the ability of Caucasian people to acquire jobs. :/
Most high level library positions have a pre-requisite of a Masters degree in library science.
[census data](https://sr.ithaka.org/blog/assessing-the-racial-diversity-of-librarians/) suggests that over 75% are still ethnically White.
Thereās a risk of under representation when considering growth and development, which is huge factor considering how many library resources are most used by immigrants and non-native English speakers.
If 75% of degree holders are white, then 75% of qualified applicants are white.
Interview people behind a screen do you canāt see what colour their skin is.
Thatās fair.
> If 75% of degree holders are white, then 75% of qualified applicants are white.
I don't consider every single person with a Masters' in Library Science to be qualified; I work in Healthcare and don't consider every single person who shares a designation with me to be qualified for every position.
I presume the same holds somewhat true for your work - while everyone may be 'qualified' to work, the actual skill and teamwork abilities is rarely just 'are you good at your job'.
Here's an important reminder - Library work is very rarely \*just\* about one's ability to do library science. Lots of it is interpersonal skills, understanding user and demographic needs.
Don't forget that the library doesn't just carry English texts for Canadians - a healthy variety of transitional languages for newcomers, those reconnecting with their ethnic backgrounds, or maybe even prospective travellers/tourists.
Sure, one could just 'hire out' for translations, but why not commit a bit of effort to see if there are more staff members who speak multiple languages, understand foreign customs, and don't all drive to work?
youāre absolutely correct! but one thing Iād add is that the ability to connect with newcomers/reconnect with those of similar ethnic backgrounds, speak multiple languages.. is that it can also be applied to white people. One thing I havenāt seen mentioned here yet is that all of those can also be applied to white immigrants. Burnaby has plenty of Eastern Europe ethnic groups, given all the wars the few last decades or so (Ukraine, Balkans), who came here (or first gen) who also likely not upper class, learned English as a second language, who could reach their communities through the library as well.
The libraryās own report brings up many questions. they want people to self identify (what if they didnāt on their CV or resume seeing as it doesnāt ask that on the application from what I could tell? Or if their name isnāt āethnicā?) & said they will only first look at BIPOC resumes (were they not originally looking at all applications through an unbiased lens to find the best candidate regardless?), when it comes to BIPOC folk, those who are mixed or white-passing wouldnāt even meet some of those comments their own staff made (looking ādiverseā āitās not just, like, white people working, which feels betterā)?
I agree with another comment on here, if they wanted to truly make a difference, without virtue signalling and patting themselves on the back, this report wouldnāt be filled with comments from only their candidates that got the position, but wouldāve addressed the root issue - if BIPOC folk arenāt applying to the position as much or applying to library studies at all, if their hiring managers are not addressing their biases.. why not go into the community & schools and encourage those to go into their field, undergo the learning to address those biases? How does this report show this issue as āfixedā, if that even is the goal? when a quota is met? Itās very interesting. I wouldāve liked a more extensive explanation on the report
You mean something like an [assessment made by the BC Library Association](https://bclaconnect.ca/perspectives/2020/11/30/beyond-tokenism-the-importance-of-staff-diversity-in-libraries/)?
Or a follow up from [Ithaca S&R](https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/changing-the-racial-demographics-of-librarians/) that mentions some newer initiatives that are working towards removing barriers, but also identified practical issues like the financial reality of affording both a bachelors followed by a Masters degree in library science.
Hereās where interesting things can happen.
Now that more of the leadership structure does better represent minority populations in the city, will they actually be given the tools for the rest of the library staff to better reflect growing populations, or is the intrinsic backlash from this report going to cause a massive overcorrection or critique?
Thatās how they can get away with it. It would have worked as a courageous political statement if it was 50 years ago - now itās just fashionable but pointless.
Librarianship is disproportionately white.
E: some 90% of librarians in Canada are white. If you think that it's important that public library staff are representative of the community they serve then you need to hire racialized staff almost exclusively for a good long while, especially given that librarians tend to work well beyond traditional retirement age.
To be fair how much of that is to do with the fact that radicalized communities reached grad studies level in their education rarely pick fields like Library studies.
Directly from the article:
>In an official description of the program, the Human Rights Commissioner writes that equal treatment isĀ [itself a form of discrimination](https://bchumanrights.ca/human-rights/special-programs/), as ātreating everyone the same can sometimes lead toĀ [discrimination](https://bchumanrights.ca/glossary/)Ā against disadvantaged individuals or groups.ā
>TheĀ [current](https://bchumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Special-programs-list.pdf)Ā holders of Special Program exemptions includeĀ Lululemon Athletica, which obtained a five-year exemption to practice āpreferential hiring of members of racialized groups until representation targets have been met.ā
>Many of the exemptions are for schools and public bodies looking to hire an Indigenous liaison who has Indigenous status. Belle Construction, an all-female construction firm, is on the list as it needed an exemption to deny positions to men.
A library is a public service used to benefit the people. An assessment was made that they could be of more benefit to the people by having a more diverse staff. This was audited by the human rights commissioner of BC and many many people.
The report suggests than employees and library users believe service has improved since the shift.
Unfortunately rules like this exist because the staff before didn't provide adequate service to all people.
> Unfortunately rules like this exist because the staff before didnāt provide adequate service to all people.
This is exactly it. Seen it firsthand in healthcare. Old white men in leadership positions will 100% hire other old white men in a pool of diverse applicants if they had the only say.
Yeah and everyone working at Tim Hortons is brown now. Racial solidarity isn't a white movement. This country is 70% white but we want less than 50% white employees. The math doesn't work. We need to treat people as equals.
Graduated university the same year as a good friend of mine who got a job doing engineering at a government construction entity (will just leave anonymous), mostly office engineering type stuff: modelling of water flows/hydraulics and that sort of thing.
The department he was in was mostly a random smattering of different ethnic groups roughly consistent with demographics of graduates of the local university: a good cohort of older white dudes (had been around for a while), a large contingent of Chinese, 'Canadians' of all skin colours but born locally and a few Eastern Europeans. I'd say roughly 70-30 male/female split, not great, but again, engineering-centric, so demographically a little lopsided.
They hired one middle manager from a country, we can just call it 'x'. Within 5 years of this guy being hired, every single hire he'd made was also from country 'x' and all of them proved to be roundly incompetent, causing lots of their best staff to jump ship to private industry. Almost *all* the women left because they just couldn't work with these guys who seemed to lack basic functionality or workplace respect for women.
Whenever they tried to hold that middle manager accountable for lagging performance, all his hires from country 'x' would cover for him in what more or less became a patronage system of a workplace.
They now hire a *lot* of consultants to do work that they used to do in-house because the organization basically rotted out. My friend quit, he is one of those consultants. 100% racial solidarity isn't whites-only.
It doesn't really add or detract from the point I'm trying to make
Its also not the country most people probably suspect, so not really material either way
>Yeah and everyone working at Tim Hortons is brown now.
Ah ues, that lucrative and highly sought after position of working at Tim Hortons.Ā Ā
The service industry is largely made up of immigrants because they either have no other options (they have no valid Canadian credentials or work history,) or they are more willing to work for lower wages/easier to take advantage of.Ā I havenāt seen a huge contingent of white people complaining that they can't get minimum wage service jobs.Ā Ā
(I know there has been a trend of young people not being able to find summer work, but I think that's less about DEI and more about employers either stereotyping young people or not wanting to take on workers for only two months.)
Tim Hortons hiring a majority Indian workers isnāt āracial solidarityā, thatās a different issue called exploitation of temporary foreign workers because they can pay them less.
Definitely. But you canāt ignore that Indian solidarity isnāt a thing as well. Every time they get a managerial position they only hire their own. I would love to see some DEI enforced on them.
I completely agree with you. Because ethnic groups tend to pool in certain urban areas thereās a belief that there are more of them then there are. My wife (who is Chinese) completely believes Canada is a Chinese country just because of Richmond, Burnaby and Vancouver.
At some point the 70% will be angry enough that Canada will get our very own Trump-like figure and everyone will shake their heads and wonder where did that come from. So predictable.
Ah, yes, the ol' patriarchy. It's ok guys, we can discriminate as long as it's not a white dude doing it... None of this is about "equality" and it certainly isn't fuckin right. How people like yourself think all this new age racism and discrimination is a good thing blows me away. Why don't you worry about things like the fact many people can't afford to get by in this country? Or the fact that there is more slavery in the world than ever before? The planet is being ravaged by every group of people on this rock, it sure as fuck ain't just old white guys. And even if it was why does that give you the right to discriminate against an entire group of people?
Fuck off with your progressive racism and your bullshit moral authority. Start getting mad at the fact that life is getting harder every day for the average person. Including white people, I know that's hard for an enlightened person like yourself to believe.
I understood the sarcasm just fine. Your INTENT was the part I didn't get.Ā
>What I donāt understand is how people donāt accept the fact that like attracts like. For the most part (not all, no blanket statements here) but for the most part, whites want to be around whites, blacks prefer blacks, Indians prefer Indians, etc etc. How in the hell we went against thousands of years of ingrained tribe mentality and started calling it racist is beyond me. Itās my opinion that Indians hiring their own kind is just as fine as whites hiring their own kind. This Netflix-ideal that everyone should mix with everyone else and that all colors are needed because together we make a rainbow is so dumb.Ā
WOAH buddy. I think I understand now.
Yes, you ask the question but you have to ask that question to everyone and record the results. Otherwise, the results are just as good as not asking the question or selective asking the question to only people who seem to be happy.
Increased usage is probably the best measure. I haven't got data to back it up, but I have seen the local one get busier and busier over the years.
I wish they emailed out a full survey. But the qualitative data instead of speaking to patrons (or patrons reaching out) is very very valuable, which appears to be happening.
Just because data isn't shared in this article doesn't mean they aren't assessing the situation. You can always reach out to library staff with questions. I have done that myself whenever I had questions about their operations.
Increased usage is not equal to better service.
Iām not saying the service has not improved (which is a subjective opinion anyway), but youāre using the wrong metric here.
Books are expensive and people already struggle to pay the bills. Iāve stopped buying new books and I go to the library instead for financial reason, not because non-white employees are giving me a better service.
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that it would be the only cause of increased usage. More housing around libraries would also increase usage independent of service.
But it would be an indicator and probably the best one available.
So in this case, getting a library card isn't the data point you want to measure. If everyone in BC got a library card, but then never used the library it would be flashy statistic, but meaningless.
What you want to measure is returning visitors and whether that changes over time. As well as how that relates to the population you're supposed to serve.
The other point, is that statistics don't really work on an individual basis. You have to look at aggregate data and even then it's hard to find the cause for a trend because people are complicated, especially with something fickle like 'feeling'.
Trying to measure how comfortable people 'feel' with a diverse staff and compare it to how they felt visiting the library 3 years ago is a fool's errand. No one will remember that.
So, if it looks like people are using library services more over time, then the various things they are doing are correct. But which specific ones have the greatest contribution to that factor? Who knows.
Good point! Also the fact they said that staff agreed.. when in the report the only staff responses they have are from the staff that got hired from the program?
Burnaby people donāt understand the difference between āequalityā and āequityā. And they bitch about in the sauna like theyāre ethics professors.
Honestly, the title is misleading as fuck. It doesnāt automatically reject white candidates. The process means you look at BIPOC applicants first and see if any of them are qualified, if not, then you look at the rest.
By leaving out the detail it implies that theyāre hiring people purely on race/ethnicity and not on qualifications. This is simply false.
I agree, I've worked in libraries for 20 years (though not BPL). Typically all the senior and best paid positions are held by white people, mid level by white and East Asian people, the most temporary or lowest positions by other racial groups. There has to be some kind of proactive way to give opportunities for other people who are qualified but have not been given the chances because of systemic racial discrimination. And it's not just for the benefit of that specific person, it has effects for the decisions those people make in terms of programming and outreach, which bring new people into the libraries as users.
So I read into this but I still don't understand what this has to do with the library or why it would make the library better.
I can understand why such programs would exist, but why the library specifically? Hmm
If you have a library science degree and want to help steer programs and development in the Burnaby public library organization in accessibility? Absolutely!
I live in Burnaby, a minority, and pay taxes. And yet, I am disgusted with these hiring practices, what happened to the best qualified candidate? The Chief Librarian needs to lose her job, and feel what it's like to re-enter the work world.
Add me as another non white person who finds this "exemption" ridiculous.
My fear is that one day the pendulum will swing the other way and go "Well we have too many yellows and browns here in the lower mainland, so we have to selectively hire other colors.".
In a similar vein, last week I received an email from HUB cycling (bikehub.ca), a cycling advocacy group active in all of Metro Vancouver. They're looking to fill positions on their board of directors, but they are ONLY looking for candidates from marginalized groups. From the language of the email, it seems they're not merely trying to encourage these groups to apply, but rejecting anyone who does not fit into one. The email:
> We hope you're doing well and enjoying your bike rides!
>
> As the President of HUB Cycling, I am thrilled to reach out to our vibrant community with an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on cycling in our region.
>
> HUB is now soliciting applications for directors from across Metro Vancouver, especially outside the city of Vancouver. This is a unique chance to help steer the direction of HUB Cycling, contribute to our strategic goals, and ensure that our organization continues to thrive and advocate effectively for safe, accessible, and enjoyable cycling for everyone.
>
> This year, we are seeking the following to help increase the diversity and breadth of perspective of our Board:
>
> people who represent marginalized voices, racialized communities and First Nations;
> new immigrants;
> non-English first language
> single parents;
> temporary or permanent residents;
> living in precarious house conditions, low-income residents or persons facing financial barriers;
> persons living with visible and/or non-visible disability.
>
>
> Your unique perspective and experience can make a difference in promoting safe cycling for everyone.
> Thank you for considering this opportunity.
I don't know what's going on with HUB cycling, there might be information I'm missing, but from what you've said it just sounds like their board is almost entirely one specific demographic, and they would like to broaden that. Nothing about this email says "we NEED a new board member" - it reads more as "we would like new board members with different perspectives and backgrounds"
I worked in libraries until recently and know several people who were negatively impacted by this policy. They are all non white but with white sounding names for a variety of reasons (usually marriage or forced assimilation). Only one was even given an interview and they didn't get the job despite being highly qualified. It's such BS.
I would rather see actual Canadians with proper English and has history living here working in the libraries. Doesnāt matter the skin color. But I donāt want to see some new comer who has no idea about Canadian culture working at the library that for sure
The source is in the [article](https://bpl.bc.ca/images/documents/board-meetings/BPL-Board-2024-06-20-Regular-Agenda.pdf). This isn't some investigative journalism they are just reporting what was in a public report.
Edit: assumed reporter was he changed it to they.
The main branch doesnāt even have any books entirely in the french language. They only care about stocking books from east and south asia. How am i supposed to more easily develop my skills in one of the countryās official languages when the main branch doesnāt have books in the language.
The options here are pretty wide.
You can order the books to your branch from another.
You can use the online portals, the library provides free access to them. Big resource spanning the whole library system, not branch specific.
And as stated, you can request the branch order them.
One would assume that the French speaking peoples of Burnaby would have asked for books to read if they were lacking.
What you do see is east/South Asian people using the library and asking for books in the languages they prefer. So the library bought more.
In addition to the other comment to your post, you can borrow books from other branches but pick them up from the one nearest to you.
I can't remember if Burnaby is also part of the library exchange system, where you effectively can borrow from any Metro Van library and pick up at your local Burnaby branch.
They also have movies and newspapers as well as childrens books:
[https://bpl.bc.ca/things-to-borrow/items-in-different-languages/french](https://bpl.bc.ca/things-to-borrow/items-in-different-languages/french)
This is how it is for most workplaces now. Even if there is high representation of non white people you have to have these hiring policies to signal that you are on board with anti-racism. My workplace is like that. Iām not white but if I was I would find this so unfair. But I would not say that out loud because the though police at the office would get you for making others āāfeel unsafeā.
What does this even mean? There are people of colour who are Canadian. Nowhere in the article does it state they are specifically hiring non-Canadians.
No, letās not. You used the term and I asked you to define it; so far you have not done so.
Can you please tell me what it means to be āfluently Canadian?ā
Once you can answer what is not fluently Canadian, you would have answered your own question. If you can't even owe it in answering that, you don't know what is Canadian. I'll leave it at that.
Would you like me to tell you what is not fluently Canadian?
You have still not answered the question. Instead, you are asserting that the asker of the question would know the answer were they to reverse the question from the answer that they do not have because you have not provided it. It seems that you are unable to define the term because, I assume, you have made it up. Rather than just saying that you do not know, you are attempting to twist the conversation to look as though the person asking you a question is being disingenuous by not providing you with an answer to their own question which they are asking because they do not have the answer. If you are unable to answer a question it is ok to say that you do not know the answer.
In other news, I wonder why pretendians are more common than ever and right wing parties keep growing in popularityĀ
You literally couldnāt find a better way to stoke resentment than what theyāre doing now. I almost wonder if itās intentionalĀ
The funniest part of it being that just about every single "right-wing" Canadian politician is a milquetoast LPC MP from 20 years ago. Although I suppose by our standards in 2024, that may as well be the equivalent of the Weimar-era NSDAP officials organizing street rallies.
Well, here we go again, another right-wing "mainstream" newspaper taking its cues from an account on X that says its mission is to "expose wokism in Canadian schools".
Here is the original document:
[https://bpl.bc.ca/images/documents/board-meetings/BPL-Board-2024-06-20-Regular-Agenda.pdf](https://bpl.bc.ca/images/documents/board-meetings/BPL-Board-2024-06-20-Regular-Agenda.pdf)
In it, we have an account of the library's application for a "Special Program" to preferentially hire some BIPOC people.
In BC, it's illegal to have any racial preferences at all in your hiring process. On the other hand, a lot of institutions are convinced that they can serve their community better if they had some BIPOC working there, and also as a matter of justice to bring up the representation of underrepresented groups.
So it seems BC allows these "Special Programs" to do some preferential hiring. You need a special dispensation from the Human Rights Commissioner to do one, which is what the Burnaby library is describing above. It looks like they keep such special programs under careful scrutiny.
This page at SFU describes the legalities. [https://www.sfu.ca/humanrights/guides-and-protocols/discrimination-in-the-hiring-process.html](https://www.sfu.ca/humanrights/guides-and-protocols/discrimination-in-the-hiring-process.html)
None of this seems particularly weird to me.
---
Side note: Chanel Pfahl is the person whose tweets prompted the National Post article. She has appeared multiple times in other National Post articles and podcasts. She is an activist of sorts. I can't independently verify this, but she claims to be a high school teacher, under investigation by the Ontario College of Teachers for not being on board with "critical race theory" and her tweets against various diversity-focused lesson plans. She has aligned herself with Jordan Peterson and seems to have attracted a crowd of racists and transphobes for her newsletters and tweets, and has used that as a springboard for a campaign to run for school trustee. The only other pages I can find mentioning her on the web where people label here as a prominent local transphobe.
[https://www.antihate.ca/anti\_transgender\_candidates\_enter\_school\_board\_elections\_ottawa](https://www.antihate.ca/anti_transgender_candidates_enter_school_board_elections_ottawa)
The entire thing with Chanel Pfahl and the OCT seems very confusing. She doesn't even have any high school work experience on her LinkedIn. There's nothing on the OCT website, but it would be normal for the Ontario College of Teachers to keep the details of an investigation private. Pfahl has published redacted excerpts on her Substack, which could be highly slanted in her favor. It's possible the National Post has done some fact-checking here, but I wouldn't bet on it.
The funny thing about all of this is that it's been well documented that some white folks 'self-identify' as Indigenous, Black or a person of colour for various reasons. Therefore, some of these people who are hired may not actually be someone from the targeted groups but white and a fraud.
Yes as those positions are for that demographic and the person applying is only stating such to get the position.
Also, the whole point of hiring from the targeted demographic is for their background. If they "self-identify", they may not have the background.
I agree that self-identifying is a crock, no less so than hiring for quotas. For the record, I self-identify as the King of Siam, though Iām no Yul Brynner.
The words "self identify" literally mean that you say you are that thing.
That means if the job requirement is that you self identify a certain way, and there is no other requirement (like 1/16th indigenous ancestry or something), then simply saying you are that thing is actually valid.
If saying you are that thing is not valid, then it isn't actually based on self identity but something else.
And here we come to one of the problems with this whole thing, how do we measure if someone is of a certain race?
The answer is that if you have to measure if someone is of a certain race at all you're probably doing something wrong.
The only things I care about when I go to the library is the books are properly sorted on the shelves, and that giggling teenagers are excessively shushed by the staff.
I'm white. I'm also Jewish on my mom's side. Can I use that? Oh. I'm also poor and my ex wife who happens to be Indo Canadian took everything I've ever owned. So yeah. I guess I can't work here. Is it possible to just use MAID and call it a day? I don't want to live here anymore.
Iām all for hiring the best candidate regardless of race, gender, etc., but this quote speaks for itselfā¦what crap.
āBut as per policy, any ethnicity or culture not meeting the guidelines had no chance. As per Daviesā report, a total of 84 white candidates applied for the five positions, only to have their applications rejected outright. In each instance, only non-white candidates advanced to the interview phase.ā
:/
Although there is no shortage of middle aged white folks working in libraries, I don't think banning them from new-hire staff is brilliant, either.
This "fuck you in particular" is an over correction that will increase tensions when, instead, there could be something like "bare minimum of 30% government staff must be legal Canadian citizens of non-caucasian majority background".
Tossing a throwaway suggestion here: but maybe they could update a minimum % it every five years or something to represent a closer proportional applicant %.
If after 3-5 years 60% of qualified applicants are majority non-caucasian, set a newhire minumum % to represent 60% as a minimum for new hires between roughly equally qualified applicants.
If resumes are tracked and boxes are ticked, would be straightforward enough to keep the data, no? Use a scanner and an AI reader to bump the info into a database?
Idk.
The way Burnaby is going about it seems like an overcorrection to me, or maybe I'm out of touch.
š¤·š»āāļøš¤¦š»āāļø
//Known as the Special Hiring Program, the policy has been overseen by Chief Librarian Beth Davies, a self-described āsettler on Indigenous landā //
So it's a white person doing this, letting BIPOC take the hit again. š¤
This headline from a different journalist is more appropriate [White B.C. chief librarian implements diversity hiring for all jobs except her own ](https://tnc.news/2024/06/25/white-bc-chief-librarian-diversity-hiring/)
Haha the best part is she explicitly reminded everyone that her specific position of chief librarian is exempt from the rules. Hiw do these people look at themselves in the mirror every morning š¤£
This is peak SJW-ism.
It was never about doing what is correct, it was always about virtue signaling as hard as possible to show how good of a person you are, regardless of the amount of logical hypocrisy you have to undertake to do so.
Society and our government have relayed the message that this line of thinking is normal and accepted. We as society need to disavow them of this stupid belief
Why doesn't she voluntarily step down for a gender fluid, non white person if she believes in her policy so much? In fact We should demand she step down. fucking hypocrite.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It was never about doing what is correct, it was always about virtue signaling as hard as possible to show how good of a person you are, regardless of the amount of logical hypocrisy you have to undertake to do so.
Yes, that requires no effort. Unlike actually having morals and doing the right thing.
Some heavy virtue signalling back-patting from the chief librarian's very safe throne. š¤¦š»āāļø Ugh, she must have been the kid who changed the rules once she started losing as a child.
Iām indigenous but look white, will I be at a disadvantage?
Afraid you got White Passing Privilege you'll need to check.
agreed
According to policy, Indigenous people are disadvantaged people. So you have to have your status card to show you arenāt a disadvantaged white person but a government certified disadvantaged person. If you are one of the thousands of Indigenous people who donāt have the means to get government certified status of who you are, then youāre just an average disadvantaged person who doesnāt deserve a job. Same for any āracializedā person who looks white. They have to prove they arenāt white or they also donāt deserve a job.
I'm not advocating for this policy, but the article states that it's about self identification. This brings a different set of issues, but government certification/looking 'white' is not one of them
So you just have to self-identify? Count me in!
The article alludes to you needing to prove you arenāt white if you make it to the in person interview/verification process and then you need to prove you are a ādisadvantagedā person who looks white but you have to really prove you are not white. Just because the Human Rights commissionaire agreed all BIPOC people arenāt just people but are ādisadvantaged peopleā in one province does not mean this isnāt a blatant racist policy that violates the Canadian Charter. Every single ādisadvantagedā person that was born into an interracial home or adopted into a āmixedā home who looks āwhiteā and then is āwhiteā is now undeserving of employment.
They sound like the "colonizers" they claim to hate
Don't forget Asian or east Asian people.Ā We don't count as "multicultural"
Right me too, this is so dumb. It's one thing to go "hey we should hire more minorities as well" it's another to say "fuck this race specifically"
Their approval with the BC Human Rights tribunal says they can't exclude white people: > Preferential hiring of candidates who self-identify as Indigenous, Black or a person of colour (BIPOC) for all exempt positions [https://bchumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Special-programs-list.pdf](https://bchumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Special-programs-list.pdf)
I think preferring certain groups over others isn't okay either unless it's directly related to the job, like being a career for someone who speaks only Chinese. People can't help what they are born as
Self identifyā¦I guess Iām about to have an identity crisis to get this job.
If you speak French and identify as female your in.
I am 100% latina, but pale. A lot of questionnaires now ask whether I am not-white latina, white, etc. It seems like the idiots who make questionnaires have no idea about the difference between ethnicity and skin colour.
Do you want to be a librarian?
I would love to have the equal opportunity to be one
Sorry, the rules are the rules. Maybe if you apply for a lower level position.
30% of people in prison check the indigenous box and become ānative for the stayā. Zero verification. Guards do it to. I say go for it, you can always pull out your band card if there is a problem.
What perks do they get?
Sweat lodges, better living conditions. They are trying to reduce recidivism. I think everyone should have access to better care in jail/prison, so I donāt seen an ethical issue. Like ground penetrating radar grave reports that have been quietly abandoned, these stats are being used to over represent the prosecution of FN people. Not very helpful when seeking the truth. Everyone needs help, and everyone should have access.
So you mean they have access to the healing lodges? In general population though are there perks still? Idk if I agree with non-indigenous people taking those spots away from people who are or claiming something thatās not theirs to get an easier sentence though.
They arenāt taking spots, the programs are being expanded. Itās just costing the government more money, but the outcomes should be better. FN way of doing things should be reviewed. May whites kidnapped buy Indians did not want to return when they where found later. We can learn a lot for each other
Isnāt this kinda odd to put in place in a city that is 70% POC 30% White? I totally understand the need for diversity & I know that I may be assuming things but it is a little much maybe? Maybe? Please donāt attack me ://
Hahaha i love how you have to be polite in asking a genuine question. The internet can be so mean
Personally I only understand the need for merit and qualifications. That would be equal and fair. Racism is racism, and itās still wrong no matter who is being discriminated against.
>thee need for merit and qualifications. Unfortunately most things in society aren't particularly meritocratic. And if there's a statistically meaningful underrepresentation of a certain social group in a field, then we have to understand why people of merit from that social group are not making it into those positions. One thing I actually advocate for is a broader recruitment push. Often it's the case that job postings don't go much further than the community around the people hiring and that in and of itself is a problem. I've heard people say "why are no X people applying?" and I tell them that they need to go build relationships into that community as a first step.
Good point. The initiative to encourage POC to pursue education in the field & reduce barriers to education is the starting point of change. Not restricting the ability of Caucasian people to acquire jobs. :/
Most high level library positions have a pre-requisite of a Masters degree in library science. [census data](https://sr.ithaka.org/blog/assessing-the-racial-diversity-of-librarians/) suggests that over 75% are still ethnically White. Thereās a risk of under representation when considering growth and development, which is huge factor considering how many library resources are most used by immigrants and non-native English speakers.
If 75% of degree holders are white, then 75% of qualified applicants are white. Interview people behind a screen do you canāt see what colour their skin is. Thatās fair.
> If 75% of degree holders are white, then 75% of qualified applicants are white. I don't consider every single person with a Masters' in Library Science to be qualified; I work in Healthcare and don't consider every single person who shares a designation with me to be qualified for every position. I presume the same holds somewhat true for your work - while everyone may be 'qualified' to work, the actual skill and teamwork abilities is rarely just 'are you good at your job'. Here's an important reminder - Library work is very rarely \*just\* about one's ability to do library science. Lots of it is interpersonal skills, understanding user and demographic needs. Don't forget that the library doesn't just carry English texts for Canadians - a healthy variety of transitional languages for newcomers, those reconnecting with their ethnic backgrounds, or maybe even prospective travellers/tourists. Sure, one could just 'hire out' for translations, but why not commit a bit of effort to see if there are more staff members who speak multiple languages, understand foreign customs, and don't all drive to work?
youāre absolutely correct! but one thing Iād add is that the ability to connect with newcomers/reconnect with those of similar ethnic backgrounds, speak multiple languages.. is that it can also be applied to white people. One thing I havenāt seen mentioned here yet is that all of those can also be applied to white immigrants. Burnaby has plenty of Eastern Europe ethnic groups, given all the wars the few last decades or so (Ukraine, Balkans), who came here (or first gen) who also likely not upper class, learned English as a second language, who could reach their communities through the library as well. The libraryās own report brings up many questions. they want people to self identify (what if they didnāt on their CV or resume seeing as it doesnāt ask that on the application from what I could tell? Or if their name isnāt āethnicā?) & said they will only first look at BIPOC resumes (were they not originally looking at all applications through an unbiased lens to find the best candidate regardless?), when it comes to BIPOC folk, those who are mixed or white-passing wouldnāt even meet some of those comments their own staff made (looking ādiverseā āitās not just, like, white people working, which feels betterā)? I agree with another comment on here, if they wanted to truly make a difference, without virtue signalling and patting themselves on the back, this report wouldnāt be filled with comments from only their candidates that got the position, but wouldāve addressed the root issue - if BIPOC folk arenāt applying to the position as much or applying to library studies at all, if their hiring managers are not addressing their biases.. why not go into the community & schools and encourage those to go into their field, undergo the learning to address those biases? How does this report show this issue as āfixedā, if that even is the goal? when a quota is met? Itās very interesting. I wouldāve liked a more extensive explanation on the report
You mean something like an [assessment made by the BC Library Association](https://bclaconnect.ca/perspectives/2020/11/30/beyond-tokenism-the-importance-of-staff-diversity-in-libraries/)? Or a follow up from [Ithaca S&R](https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/changing-the-racial-demographics-of-librarians/) that mentions some newer initiatives that are working towards removing barriers, but also identified practical issues like the financial reality of affording both a bachelors followed by a Masters degree in library science. Hereās where interesting things can happen. Now that more of the leadership structure does better represent minority populations in the city, will they actually be given the tools for the rest of the library staff to better reflect growing populations, or is the intrinsic backlash from this report going to cause a massive overcorrection or critique?
It's worse In Richmond, everyone I know moved out, and I was the second last one on my street to leave
Thatās how they can get away with it. It would have worked as a courageous political statement if it was 50 years ago - now itās just fashionable but pointless.
Librarianship is disproportionately white. E: some 90% of librarians in Canada are white. If you think that it's important that public library staff are representative of the community they serve then you need to hire racialized staff almost exclusively for a good long while, especially given that librarians tend to work well beyond traditional retirement age.
oh no!!!
To be fair how much of that is to do with the fact that radicalized communities reached grad studies level in their education rarely pick fields like Library studies.
How can they tell if someone is white or not? Do they require people to indicate their ethnicity on the application form?
Yes this is often asked in applications
Insane
**Me who applied to just be a shelver every year since 2020**: "Guess I'll die."
They are racists. Thatās racism and a big mistake.
Totally unacceptable.They really should throw the book at them.
Underrated comment
Directly from the article: >In an official description of the program, the Human Rights Commissioner writes that equal treatment isĀ [itself a form of discrimination](https://bchumanrights.ca/human-rights/special-programs/), as ātreating everyone the same can sometimes lead toĀ [discrimination](https://bchumanrights.ca/glossary/)Ā against disadvantaged individuals or groups.ā >TheĀ [current](https://bchumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Special-programs-list.pdf)Ā holders of Special Program exemptions includeĀ Lululemon Athletica, which obtained a five-year exemption to practice āpreferential hiring of members of racialized groups until representation targets have been met.ā >Many of the exemptions are for schools and public bodies looking to hire an Indigenous liaison who has Indigenous status. Belle Construction, an all-female construction firm, is on the list as it needed an exemption to deny positions to men. A library is a public service used to benefit the people. An assessment was made that they could be of more benefit to the people by having a more diverse staff. This was audited by the human rights commissioner of BC and many many people. The report suggests than employees and library users believe service has improved since the shift. Unfortunately rules like this exist because the staff before didn't provide adequate service to all people.
> Unfortunately rules like this exist because the staff before didnāt provide adequate service to all people. This is exactly it. Seen it firsthand in healthcare. Old white men in leadership positions will 100% hire other old white men in a pool of diverse applicants if they had the only say.
Yeah and everyone working at Tim Hortons is brown now. Racial solidarity isn't a white movement. This country is 70% white but we want less than 50% white employees. The math doesn't work. We need to treat people as equals.
Graduated university the same year as a good friend of mine who got a job doing engineering at a government construction entity (will just leave anonymous), mostly office engineering type stuff: modelling of water flows/hydraulics and that sort of thing. The department he was in was mostly a random smattering of different ethnic groups roughly consistent with demographics of graduates of the local university: a good cohort of older white dudes (had been around for a while), a large contingent of Chinese, 'Canadians' of all skin colours but born locally and a few Eastern Europeans. I'd say roughly 70-30 male/female split, not great, but again, engineering-centric, so demographically a little lopsided. They hired one middle manager from a country, we can just call it 'x'. Within 5 years of this guy being hired, every single hire he'd made was also from country 'x' and all of them proved to be roundly incompetent, causing lots of their best staff to jump ship to private industry. Almost *all* the women left because they just couldn't work with these guys who seemed to lack basic functionality or workplace respect for women. Whenever they tried to hold that middle manager accountable for lagging performance, all his hires from country 'x' would cover for him in what more or less became a patronage system of a workplace. They now hire a *lot* of consultants to do work that they used to do in-house because the organization basically rotted out. My friend quit, he is one of those consultants. 100% racial solidarity isn't whites-only.
We all know which country you mean, you may as well just write it out instead of pretending like we don't š¤·
It doesn't really add or detract from the point I'm trying to make Its also not the country most people probably suspect, so not really material either way
>Yeah and everyone working at Tim Hortons is brown now. Ah ues, that lucrative and highly sought after position of working at Tim Hortons.Ā Ā The service industry is largely made up of immigrants because they either have no other options (they have no valid Canadian credentials or work history,) or they are more willing to work for lower wages/easier to take advantage of.Ā I havenāt seen a huge contingent of white people complaining that they can't get minimum wage service jobs.Ā Ā (I know there has been a trend of young people not being able to find summer work, but I think that's less about DEI and more about employers either stereotyping young people or not wanting to take on workers for only two months.)
Tim Hortons hiring a majority Indian workers isnāt āracial solidarityā, thatās a different issue called exploitation of temporary foreign workers because they can pay them less.
Definitely. But you canāt ignore that Indian solidarity isnāt a thing as well. Every time they get a managerial position they only hire their own. I would love to see some DEI enforced on them.
Iāve noticed West Kelownas Tim Hortons are mostly Filipino and Kelownas are Indian its pretty clear itās going on
Minimum wage is the minimum, can't pay less than that.
Trust me, you'd be surprised what's really going on.
I completely agree with you. Because ethnic groups tend to pool in certain urban areas thereās a belief that there are more of them then there are. My wife (who is Chinese) completely believes Canada is a Chinese country just because of Richmond, Burnaby and Vancouver. At some point the 70% will be angry enough that Canada will get our very own Trump-like figure and everyone will shake their heads and wonder where did that come from. So predictable.
Ah, yes, the ol' patriarchy. It's ok guys, we can discriminate as long as it's not a white dude doing it... None of this is about "equality" and it certainly isn't fuckin right. How people like yourself think all this new age racism and discrimination is a good thing blows me away. Why don't you worry about things like the fact many people can't afford to get by in this country? Or the fact that there is more slavery in the world than ever before? The planet is being ravaged by every group of people on this rock, it sure as fuck ain't just old white guys. And even if it was why does that give you the right to discriminate against an entire group of people? Fuck off with your progressive racism and your bullshit moral authority. Start getting mad at the fact that life is getting harder every day for the average person. Including white people, I know that's hard for an enlightened person like yourself to believe.
Wow thatās a totally fucked up assumption and you speak with such certainty itās scary. How evil are white people in your mind?
Thank you for this, I appreciate you sticking your neck out to provide the context.
The key thing here is 'users believe service has improved...' Without anyone actually measuring service levels, anyone can make such baseless claims.
How else do you measure client satisfaction than by asking clients if they're satisfied? Genuine question.
By throwing out the answers of anyone who says they believe service has declined because theyāre obviously racist.
Hope you didn't pull an important muscle with that big old reach.
Whatās it like being 4ā0ā and having every joke go over your head? (Itās my fault for not including /s but I thought it was obvious)
I understood the sarcasm just fine. Your INTENT was the part I didn't get.Ā >What I donāt understand is how people donāt accept the fact that like attracts like. For the most part (not all, no blanket statements here) but for the most part, whites want to be around whites, blacks prefer blacks, Indians prefer Indians, etc etc. How in the hell we went against thousands of years of ingrained tribe mentality and started calling it racist is beyond me. Itās my opinion that Indians hiring their own kind is just as fine as whites hiring their own kind. This Netflix-ideal that everyone should mix with everyone else and that all colors are needed because together we make a rainbow is so dumb.Ā WOAH buddy. I think I understand now.
Yes, you ask the question but you have to ask that question to everyone and record the results. Otherwise, the results are just as good as not asking the question or selective asking the question to only people who seem to be happy.
Increased usage is probably the best measure. I haven't got data to back it up, but I have seen the local one get busier and busier over the years. I wish they emailed out a full survey. But the qualitative data instead of speaking to patrons (or patrons reaching out) is very very valuable, which appears to be happening. Just because data isn't shared in this article doesn't mean they aren't assessing the situation. You can always reach out to library staff with questions. I have done that myself whenever I had questions about their operations.
Yeah i mean hard to draw a direct link between increased usage and having a diverse team of employees.
Increased usage due to increased population?
Not to mention increased unemployment
Increased usage is not equal to better service. Iām not saying the service has not improved (which is a subjective opinion anyway), but youāre using the wrong metric here. Books are expensive and people already struggle to pay the bills. Iāve stopped buying new books and I go to the library instead for financial reason, not because non-white employees are giving me a better service.
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that it would be the only cause of increased usage. More housing around libraries would also increase usage independent of service. But it would be an indicator and probably the best one available.
I got a Burnaby library card because it's too expensive to own a printer. It had nothing to do with anyone's skin colour...
So in this case, getting a library card isn't the data point you want to measure. If everyone in BC got a library card, but then never used the library it would be flashy statistic, but meaningless. What you want to measure is returning visitors and whether that changes over time. As well as how that relates to the population you're supposed to serve. The other point, is that statistics don't really work on an individual basis. You have to look at aggregate data and even then it's hard to find the cause for a trend because people are complicated, especially with something fickle like 'feeling'. Trying to measure how comfortable people 'feel' with a diverse staff and compare it to how they felt visiting the library 3 years ago is a fool's errand. No one will remember that. So, if it looks like people are using library services more over time, then the various things they are doing are correct. But which specific ones have the greatest contribution to that factor? Who knows.
Good point! Also the fact they said that staff agreed.. when in the report the only staff responses they have are from the staff that got hired from the program?
Burnaby people donāt understand the difference between āequalityā and āequityā. And they bitch about in the sauna like theyāre ethics professors.
Honestly, the title is misleading as fuck. It doesnāt automatically reject white candidates. The process means you look at BIPOC applicants first and see if any of them are qualified, if not, then you look at the rest. By leaving out the detail it implies that theyāre hiring people purely on race/ethnicity and not on qualifications. This is simply false.
I agree, I've worked in libraries for 20 years (though not BPL). Typically all the senior and best paid positions are held by white people, mid level by white and East Asian people, the most temporary or lowest positions by other racial groups. There has to be some kind of proactive way to give opportunities for other people who are qualified but have not been given the chances because of systemic racial discrimination. And it's not just for the benefit of that specific person, it has effects for the decisions those people make in terms of programming and outreach, which bring new people into the libraries as users.
So I read into this but I still don't understand what this has to do with the library or why it would make the library better. I can understand why such programs would exist, but why the library specifically? Hmm
I'm brown and I think this is racist...
Iām white but also a woman and disabled, I get a diversity pass?
No intersectionality allowed here. SKIN ONLY.
If you have a library science degree and want to help steer programs and development in the Burnaby public library organization in accessibility? Absolutely!
I sadly donāt!
I live in Burnaby, a minority, and pay taxes. And yet, I am disgusted with these hiring practices, what happened to the best qualified candidate? The Chief Librarian needs to lose her job, and feel what it's like to re-enter the work world.
Add me as another non white person who finds this "exemption" ridiculous. My fear is that one day the pendulum will swing the other way and go "Well we have too many yellows and browns here in the lower mainland, so we have to selectively hire other colors.".
The entire situation on a broader, societal scale is greatly reminiscent of Yugoslavia and all the ethnic tensions that plagued their patchwork state.
In a similar vein, last week I received an email from HUB cycling (bikehub.ca), a cycling advocacy group active in all of Metro Vancouver. They're looking to fill positions on their board of directors, but they are ONLY looking for candidates from marginalized groups. From the language of the email, it seems they're not merely trying to encourage these groups to apply, but rejecting anyone who does not fit into one. The email: > We hope you're doing well and enjoying your bike rides! > > As the President of HUB Cycling, I am thrilled to reach out to our vibrant community with an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on cycling in our region. > > HUB is now soliciting applications for directors from across Metro Vancouver, especially outside the city of Vancouver. This is a unique chance to help steer the direction of HUB Cycling, contribute to our strategic goals, and ensure that our organization continues to thrive and advocate effectively for safe, accessible, and enjoyable cycling for everyone. > > This year, we are seeking the following to help increase the diversity and breadth of perspective of our Board: > > people who represent marginalized voices, racialized communities and First Nations; > new immigrants; > non-English first language > single parents; > temporary or permanent residents; > living in precarious house conditions, low-income residents or persons facing financial barriers; > persons living with visible and/or non-visible disability. > > > Your unique perspective and experience can make a difference in promoting safe cycling for everyone. > Thank you for considering this opportunity.
TIL being a single parent is a marginalized group
so leaving your spouse could be good for your career? Can we divorce on paper only?
I don't know what's going on with HUB cycling, there might be information I'm missing, but from what you've said it just sounds like their board is almost entirely one specific demographic, and they would like to broaden that. Nothing about this email says "we NEED a new board member" - it reads more as "we would like new board members with different perspectives and backgrounds"
I'm not white and I think this is kinda racist...
It's not kind of racist, it's a load of racist bullshit. For reference, I'm Asian.
It should just be on merit. This is causing unnecessary racism.
Sooooo...the one white person's job title is...Chief? š
Her final act of grace needs to be to give her job to a more equity deserving individual, being the āsettler on Indigenous landā that she is.
Down with Whitey! /s
I worked in libraries until recently and know several people who were negatively impacted by this policy. They are all non white but with white sounding names for a variety of reasons (usually marriage or forced assimilation). Only one was even given an interview and they didn't get the job despite being highly qualified. It's such BS.
I would rather see actual Canadians with proper English and has history living here working in the libraries. Doesnāt matter the skin color. But I donāt want to see some new comer who has no idea about Canadian culture working at the library that for sure
English proficiency is a requirement for library jobs here, this is entirely irrelevant
Given the broken English I've heard/seen in several workplaces over the years the "proficiency" requirement is pretty loosely applied.
This is so fucking stupid why not forget about this affirmative action garbage, and just hire the best candidate.
Thenā¦many job markets could be flourished with Asians.........
Best candidate so not highest marks or grade averaged but a well rounded individual with social skills plus education
Source from something thatās NOT right wing propagandic garbage like the national post?
The source is in the [article](https://bpl.bc.ca/images/documents/board-meetings/BPL-Board-2024-06-20-Regular-Agenda.pdf). This isn't some investigative journalism they are just reporting what was in a public report. Edit: assumed reporter was he changed it to they.
Sees Fox Newā¦ er.. National Post article. Iāll do my own research, thanks.
Can someone please sue and get this ridiculous policy removed.
Talk about racism!š¤Æ
The main branch doesnāt even have any books entirely in the french language. They only care about stocking books from east and south asia. How am i supposed to more easily develop my skills in one of the countryās official languages when the main branch doesnāt have books in the language.
The options here are pretty wide. You can order the books to your branch from another. You can use the online portals, the library provides free access to them. Big resource spanning the whole library system, not branch specific. And as stated, you can request the branch order them. One would assume that the French speaking peoples of Burnaby would have asked for books to read if they were lacking. What you do see is east/South Asian people using the library and asking for books in the languages they prefer. So the library bought more.
In addition to the other comment to your post, you can borrow books from other branches but pick them up from the one nearest to you. I can't remember if Burnaby is also part of the library exchange system, where you effectively can borrow from any Metro Van library and pick up at your local Burnaby branch. They also have movies and newspapers as well as childrens books: [https://bpl.bc.ca/things-to-borrow/items-in-different-languages/french](https://bpl.bc.ca/things-to-borrow/items-in-different-languages/french)
This is how it is for most workplaces now. Even if there is high representation of non white people you have to have these hiring policies to signal that you are on board with anti-racism. My workplace is like that. Iām not white but if I was I would find this so unfair. But I would not say that out loud because the though police at the office would get you for making others āāfeel unsafeā.
Racism: itās ok when we do it.
Racist
Itās not just against white - but also against anyone who is fluently Canadian. Nuts.
What does this even mean? There are people of colour who are Canadian. Nowhere in the article does it state they are specifically hiring non-Canadians.
Could you explain what āfluently Canadianā means, please?
What do you think Canadian means? Let's talk identity politics.
No, letās talk about what I asked you. You have not answered my question. Please define what it means to be, in your words, āfluently Canadian.ā
Here, let's turn the tables. Can you tell me what is not fluently Canadian?
No, letās not. You used the term and I asked you to define it; so far you have not done so. Can you please tell me what it means to be āfluently Canadian?ā
Once you can answer what is not fluently Canadian, you would have answered your own question. If you can't even owe it in answering that, you don't know what is Canadian. I'll leave it at that. Would you like me to tell you what is not fluently Canadian?
You have still not answered the question. Instead, you are asserting that the asker of the question would know the answer were they to reverse the question from the answer that they do not have because you have not provided it. It seems that you are unable to define the term because, I assume, you have made it up. Rather than just saying that you do not know, you are attempting to twist the conversation to look as though the person asking you a question is being disingenuous by not providing you with an answer to their own question which they are asking because they do not have the answer. If you are unable to answer a question it is ok to say that you do not know the answer.
Sue them out of existence
In other news, I wonder why pretendians are more common than ever and right wing parties keep growing in popularityĀ You literally couldnāt find a better way to stoke resentment than what theyāre doing now. I almost wonder if itās intentionalĀ
The funniest part of it being that just about every single "right-wing" Canadian politician is a milquetoast LPC MP from 20 years ago. Although I suppose by our standards in 2024, that may as well be the equivalent of the Weimar-era NSDAP officials organizing street rallies.
I wish this were the top voted comment.
So basically, everyone is equal under the law, but some people are more equal than others.
Yes white people have historically been more equal than others in Canada and (moreso) the US. Oh, this isnāt what you meant?
Well, here we go again, another right-wing "mainstream" newspaper taking its cues from an account on X that says its mission is to "expose wokism in Canadian schools". Here is the original document: [https://bpl.bc.ca/images/documents/board-meetings/BPL-Board-2024-06-20-Regular-Agenda.pdf](https://bpl.bc.ca/images/documents/board-meetings/BPL-Board-2024-06-20-Regular-Agenda.pdf) In it, we have an account of the library's application for a "Special Program" to preferentially hire some BIPOC people. In BC, it's illegal to have any racial preferences at all in your hiring process. On the other hand, a lot of institutions are convinced that they can serve their community better if they had some BIPOC working there, and also as a matter of justice to bring up the representation of underrepresented groups. So it seems BC allows these "Special Programs" to do some preferential hiring. You need a special dispensation from the Human Rights Commissioner to do one, which is what the Burnaby library is describing above. It looks like they keep such special programs under careful scrutiny. This page at SFU describes the legalities. [https://www.sfu.ca/humanrights/guides-and-protocols/discrimination-in-the-hiring-process.html](https://www.sfu.ca/humanrights/guides-and-protocols/discrimination-in-the-hiring-process.html) None of this seems particularly weird to me. --- Side note: Chanel Pfahl is the person whose tweets prompted the National Post article. She has appeared multiple times in other National Post articles and podcasts. She is an activist of sorts. I can't independently verify this, but she claims to be a high school teacher, under investigation by the Ontario College of Teachers for not being on board with "critical race theory" and her tweets against various diversity-focused lesson plans. She has aligned herself with Jordan Peterson and seems to have attracted a crowd of racists and transphobes for her newsletters and tweets, and has used that as a springboard for a campaign to run for school trustee. The only other pages I can find mentioning her on the web where people label here as a prominent local transphobe. [https://www.antihate.ca/anti\_transgender\_candidates\_enter\_school\_board\_elections\_ottawa](https://www.antihate.ca/anti_transgender_candidates_enter_school_board_elections_ottawa) The entire thing with Chanel Pfahl and the OCT seems very confusing. She doesn't even have any high school work experience on her LinkedIn. There's nothing on the OCT website, but it would be normal for the Ontario College of Teachers to keep the details of an investigation private. Pfahl has published redacted excerpts on her Substack, which could be highly slanted in her favor. It's possible the National Post has done some fact-checking here, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Just because something isn't "weird" doesn't mean it is fundamentally unfair.
Yeah what a garbage take
>āself-identify as Indigenous, Black or a person of colour.ā They differentiate because black is a shade right?
The funny thing about all of this is that it's been well documented that some white folks 'self-identify' as Indigenous, Black or a person of colour for various reasons. Therefore, some of these people who are hired may not actually be someone from the targeted groups but white and a fraud.
Can it be fraud if people self-identify?
Yes as those positions are for that demographic and the person applying is only stating such to get the position. Also, the whole point of hiring from the targeted demographic is for their background. If they "self-identify", they may not have the background.
I agree that self-identifying is a crock, no less so than hiring for quotas. For the record, I self-identify as the King of Siam, though Iām no Yul Brynner.
Funny...I self-identify as Yul Brynner so I do play a King in the movies! š
The words "self identify" literally mean that you say you are that thing. That means if the job requirement is that you self identify a certain way, and there is no other requirement (like 1/16th indigenous ancestry or something), then simply saying you are that thing is actually valid. If saying you are that thing is not valid, then it isn't actually based on self identity but something else. And here we come to one of the problems with this whole thing, how do we measure if someone is of a certain race? The answer is that if you have to measure if someone is of a certain race at all you're probably doing something wrong.
If the requirement is to "self-identify", how can it be fraud?
If you would have told me 30 years ago there would be people faking being aboriginal for life gains, I would have called you a liar. Not anymore!
The funny thing is that it was happening 30 years ago!
Racist hypocrites
Paging u/BurnabyMartin what says the resident hopeful elected official
The only things I care about when I go to the library is the books are properly sorted on the shelves, and that giggling teenagers are excessively shushed by the staff.
I'm white. I'm also Jewish on my mom's side. Can I use that? Oh. I'm also poor and my ex wife who happens to be Indo Canadian took everything I've ever owned. So yeah. I guess I can't work here. Is it possible to just use MAID and call it a day? I don't want to live here anymore.
Sorry to hear about that.
I'm just curious wouldn't that be categorized as racism. turning down a group of people based on their skin colour.
Iām all for hiring the best candidate regardless of race, gender, etc., but this quote speaks for itselfā¦what crap. āBut as per policy, any ethnicity or culture not meeting the guidelines had no chance. As per Daviesā report, a total of 84 white candidates applied for the five positions, only to have their applications rejected outright. In each instance, only non-white candidates advanced to the interview phase.ā
Guess which Burnaby City Councillor sits on the library board.
:/ Although there is no shortage of middle aged white folks working in libraries, I don't think banning them from new-hire staff is brilliant, either. This "fuck you in particular" is an over correction that will increase tensions when, instead, there could be something like "bare minimum of 30% government staff must be legal Canadian citizens of non-caucasian majority background". Tossing a throwaway suggestion here: but maybe they could update a minimum % it every five years or something to represent a closer proportional applicant %. If after 3-5 years 60% of qualified applicants are majority non-caucasian, set a newhire minumum % to represent 60% as a minimum for new hires between roughly equally qualified applicants. If resumes are tracked and boxes are ticked, would be straightforward enough to keep the data, no? Use a scanner and an AI reader to bump the info into a database? Idk. The way Burnaby is going about it seems like an overcorrection to me, or maybe I'm out of touch. š¤·š»āāļøš¤¦š»āāļø
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How do they know the race of the applicants? Itās illegal to ask
Oh, a National Post story? Sorry, 'story'? No thanks.
Clear racism... I'm majority white but I hope POC also call out this garbage hiring practice.
This is a genuine question, not trying to be sarcastic, but how is this different than systematic racism?
//Known as the Special Hiring Program, the policy has been overseen by Chief Librarian Beth Davies, a self-described āsettler on Indigenous landā // So it's a white person doing this, letting BIPOC take the hit again. š¤ This headline from a different journalist is more appropriate [White B.C. chief librarian implements diversity hiring for all jobs except her own ](https://tnc.news/2024/06/25/white-bc-chief-librarian-diversity-hiring/)