Have You Helped Fight COVID-19, Chinese Canadians? Tell us!
As Covid-19 started to spread in communities across Canada, Chinese Canadians were among the first to stand up and support Canada’s fight against the pandemic. They have contributed in multiple ways, such as monetary donation, PPE donation, mental health support, and information sharing. However, these contributions do not seem to be recognized by the mainstream society.
In the meantime, anti-Chinese and anti-Asian racism has been on the rise. Canadians of East Asian descent have become targets of racist attacks, both verbal and physical, due to the pandemic.
In order to have the contributions of the Chinese Canadian community recognized and reduce the stigma and racism against Chinese and East Asians, CPAC is now collecting Chinese Canadian contribution data through its online tool at: https://form.jotform.com/cpac/gta-chinese-canadian-contributions. The online data collection will close at the end of August.
It is believed that thousands of Chinese Canadians through dozens of community groups have made contributions in the Greater Toronto Area. CPAC invites these organizations and individuals to report their contributions and share their stories and reflections as not only a historical record, but also an inspiration to each other and to the greater society.
CPAC believes that while modesty is a virtue in Chinese culture, this is the time to think reversely. This is the time for Chinese Canadians to show the society how powerful they are together and bring the attention of anti-Asian racism to the public. Canada needs to know your contributions, your stories, and your voices regardless of the forms.
CPAC and CPAC Foundation are non-profit and charitable organizations that help immigrants gain employment and career advancement and access international business opportunities. They have also been active in assisting disaster relief in Canada and other parts of the world. During the coronavirus outbreak, the two organizations had raised $68,000 for Wuhan and shipped three batches of PPE to hospitals in Hubei Province. When the pandemic hit Canada, CPAC and CPAC Foundation started another fundraising campaign, this time to support Canadian frontline healthcare workers. After raising more than $65,000, the organizations joined the “STOP Covid-19” community coalition, which has raised more than $500,000 for PPE to local hospitals and anti-racism activities across Canada.
In response to the recent rise of racism against Asian Canadians, CPAC has written to the Prime Minister, the Ontario Premier, the Toronto Mayor, and all the school boards in the GTA to draw their attention on this serious issue and call for action. Meanwhile, as a member of the ACT2endracism network, CPAC has been vigilant on the racism issue during the pandemic and promoted several network initiatives, such as “Report Racist Incidents” and “Nominate Asian Essential Workers.” For more information about CPAC ‘s activities during the Covid-19 pandemic, please visit CPAC’s official website at https://cpac-canada.ca/