During this coronavirus pandemic, Chinatowns across Canada have been under attack, experiencing property destruction, vandalism, theft, and graffiti, and have been the sites of numerous physical and verbal assaults. Combined with recent real estate development pressures, these ethnic enclaves have encountered tremendous amounts of turmoil that have had major impacts on local businesses, community organisations, and the people who live there.
The 2022 CCHSBC Paul and Eileen Lin Commemorative Lecture will convene a panel of representatives from four Canadian Chinatowns - Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal - to discuss the impact the pandemic has had on their communities, the issues they've faced and continue to face, and the damage that has been done to their historical legacies. Panelists will also offer suggestions on what a recovery would entail and any current efforts that have are underway to facilitate this.
Date: Saturday, November 26, 2022
Time: 11am - 12:30pm PST
Location: Online via Zoom
The Battle for Chinatowns Across Canada is part of our Paul and Eileen Lin Commemorative Lecture series that is held annually in the Fall / Winter starting in 2017. This year, the Paul and Eileen Lin Commemorative Lecture is co-sponsored by the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC (CCHSBC), UBC Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies (UBC ACAM), the City Program at SFU Continuing Studies, and SFU Global Asia.
The 2022 CCHSBC Paul and Eileen Lin Commemorative Lecture will convene a panel of representatives from four Canadian Chinatowns - Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal - to discuss the impact the pandemic has had on their communities, the issues they've faced and continue to face, and the damage that has been done to their historical legacies. Panelists will also offer suggestions on what a recovery would entail and any current efforts that have are underway to facilitate this.
Date: Saturday, November 26, 2022
Time: 11am - 12:30pm PST
Location: Online via Zoom
The Battle for Chinatowns Across Canada is part of our Paul and Eileen Lin Commemorative Lecture series that is held annually in the Fall / Winter starting in 2017. This year, the Paul and Eileen Lin Commemorative Lecture is co-sponsored by the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC (CCHSBC), UBC Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies (UBC ACAM), the City Program at SFU Continuing Studies, and SFU Global Asia.
SPEAKERS
Photo Credit: John Atkin
Fred Mah (Vancouver): For the last six decades, Mah has been a respected BC leader. Through advocacy for water quality, anti-racism, heritage conservation, cultural celebration, community building, international trade and cultural exchange, Mah’s volunteer initiatives have had provincial, national and international impact.
Mah has helped found a number of different community organisations and trade delegations including the Vancouver-Guangzhou Friendship Society, the BC-Guangdong Business Council, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver, the Vancouver International Dragon Boat Festival Society, the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC, the Friends of False Creek, and the Chinatown Society Heritage Buildings Association. He has chaired and/or sat on a number of organisational boards including those he helped found, as well as the committees that built the memorial statues and Shanghai Alley projects in Vancouver's Chinatown, the housing committee of the Chinese Benevolent Association, Chinatown Visioning Committee for Chinatown Revitalisation (vice-president), the Vancouver Centennial Commission, Chinese Canadian Museum, and the Chinatown Legacies stewardship committee. It was also under Mah's vision and leadership that guided the process that led to the federal designation of Vancouver's Chinatown as a national heritage site in 2012, a crucial step in fulfilling his vision that Chinatowns should be recognised as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Since 2012, Mah has been honoured and recognised by various organisations for his tireless work in Chinatown and in the Chinese Community in Vancouver including the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) City of Vancouver for the Vancouver Civic Merit Award (2013), the Chinese Canadian Historical Society (2013), and most recently the Order of BC (2022). (Source: Order of BC, Government of BC)
Mah has helped found a number of different community organisations and trade delegations including the Vancouver-Guangzhou Friendship Society, the BC-Guangdong Business Council, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver, the Vancouver International Dragon Boat Festival Society, the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC, the Friends of False Creek, and the Chinatown Society Heritage Buildings Association. He has chaired and/or sat on a number of organisational boards including those he helped found, as well as the committees that built the memorial statues and Shanghai Alley projects in Vancouver's Chinatown, the housing committee of the Chinese Benevolent Association, Chinatown Visioning Committee for Chinatown Revitalisation (vice-president), the Vancouver Centennial Commission, Chinese Canadian Museum, and the Chinatown Legacies stewardship committee. It was also under Mah's vision and leadership that guided the process that led to the federal designation of Vancouver's Chinatown as a national heritage site in 2012, a crucial step in fulfilling his vision that Chinatowns should be recognised as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Since 2012, Mah has been honoured and recognised by various organisations for his tireless work in Chinatown and in the Chinese Community in Vancouver including the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) City of Vancouver for the Vancouver Civic Merit Award (2013), the Chinese Canadian Historical Society (2013), and most recently the Order of BC (2022). (Source: Order of BC, Government of BC)
Photo Credit: Honourable Teresa Woo-Paw
Honourable Teresa Woo-Paw (Calgary): Woo-Paw is a tireless advocate for diversity, social inclusion and active civic participation for over 45 years. She is known for her ability in bringing diverse people together to joint efforts, break new grounds and create bigger impacts in society. She is the first Canadian woman of Asian descent elected to the Calgary Board of Education (1995-2000), and the Alberta Legislature and Cabinet Minister in Alberta (2008-2015).
Woo-Paw holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from the University of Calgary. She founded and built eight non-profit entities over a span of 44 years including Action Dignity (Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary) and DiverseCities (Calgary Chinese Community Service Association). She has worked with almost 100 organisations in Canada.
Woo-Paw received Governor in Council appointment and is the Chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation since 2018. She is the Founder and Chair of ACCT Foundation and created the Inspire to Lead Chinese Canadian Leaders' Summit and the Aspire to Act Leadership Training Program. In response to Anti-Asian racism, Woo-Paw created the Asia Canadians Together - ACT2EndRacism Network. She is the founder and current Co-Chair of Asian Heritage Foundation; Board Member of Calgary Arts Foundation; City of Calgary-Tomorrow's Chinatown and Lougheed House Advisory Committees.
Woo-Paw holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from the University of Calgary. She founded and built eight non-profit entities over a span of 44 years including Action Dignity (Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary) and DiverseCities (Calgary Chinese Community Service Association). She has worked with almost 100 organisations in Canada.
Woo-Paw received Governor in Council appointment and is the Chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation since 2018. She is the Founder and Chair of ACCT Foundation and created the Inspire to Lead Chinese Canadian Leaders' Summit and the Aspire to Act Leadership Training Program. In response to Anti-Asian racism, Woo-Paw created the Asia Canadians Together - ACT2EndRacism Network. She is the founder and current Co-Chair of Asian Heritage Foundation; Board Member of Calgary Arts Foundation; City of Calgary-Tomorrow's Chinatown and Lougheed House Advisory Committees.
Photo Credit: Chiyi Tam
Chiyi Tam (Toronto): Tam is an urban planner and anti-gentrification organizer raised in Vancouver, on unceded Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) lands and waters, in the translation between places and culture.
She is currently the executive director of the Kensington Market Community Land Trust. She also organizes with the Toronto Chinatown Land Trust, which is also exploring community ownership as an anti-displacement strategy for racial & economic justice in Toronto’s Chinatowns.
She frequently consults with groups regarding social enterprise legislation, governance and cooperative strategies. She aims to reciprocate knowledge into community.
She is currently the executive director of the Kensington Market Community Land Trust. She also organizes with the Toronto Chinatown Land Trust, which is also exploring community ownership as an anti-displacement strategy for racial & economic justice in Toronto’s Chinatowns.
She frequently consults with groups regarding social enterprise legislation, governance and cooperative strategies. She aims to reciprocate knowledge into community.
Photo Credit: Mei Chiu
Mei Chiu (Montreal): Chiu is a family lawyer, community activist and a co-coordinator of the most recent Chinatown Round Table in Montreal. Her past work has included the Head Tax campaign, climate justice, and in solidarity with anti-Black racism, Chiu was a member of Extinction Rebellion.
The Chinatown Roundtable is a multisectoral community board that is designed to be a liasion between various levels of governments and the community, share information among different community sectors, and help build consenus around issues facing Montreal's Chinatown. Chiu continues to work on the preservation of Montreal's Chinatown.
The Chinatown Roundtable is a multisectoral community board that is designed to be a liasion between various levels of governments and the community, share information among different community sectors, and help build consenus around issues facing Montreal's Chinatown. Chiu continues to work on the preservation of Montreal's Chinatown.
Moderator
Photo Credit: John Atkin
John Atkin (Vancouver): Atkin is a civic historian and author who conducts many walking tours around the city and province. His tours offer interesting and offbeat insight to the city's architecture, history, and neighbourhoods. John's publications include: Heritage Walks Around Vancouver, Strathcona: Vancouver's First Neighbourhood, Vancouver Walks, Skytrain Explorer, and Changing City. He co-founded and served as Vice-President and President of Heritage Vancouver Society. Atkin has been a CCHSBC board member since 2012, and has served as Co-Chair, President and Co-Vice-President.