A social services agency isn’t shying away from talking about immigration despite it being a hot button issue and the subject of rallies in Vancouver and across North America.
In fact, the executive director of SUCCESS says there is no better time than now to talk about how newcomers are fitting in to local communities and a roundtable talk is planned on the subject Wednesday, Aug. 30 in Coquitlam.
For Queenie Choo, who immigrated to Canada 36 years ago and is now heading one of B.C.'s largest immigrant-services agencies, it’s better to talk about immigration than leave emotions and concerns festering to take root in racism.
“We want to talk about discrimination sentiments, whether it’s across the border or in our community,” Choo told The Tri-City News.
Members of the public are invited to attend the discussion called All Our Neighbours that will be held at the Coquitlam Public Library, city centre branch, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m on Aug. 30.
A professional facilitator will help get the conversation going so everyone has a chance to speak their mind and information coming out of the discussion will be collected and passed on to cities, agencies and others.
The Coquitlam event is one of six round tables hosted by SUCCESS as a continuation of a forum held in Vancouver in February, called Safeguarding Our Communities, Upholding Our Values that was held in response to the distribution of anti-immigrant flyers in Richmond and anti-immigrant sentiments in the media.
Choo said it made sense to further the discussion in other Metro Vancouver cities to find ways to create friendly, welcoming communities where everyone feels at home.
The discussion will be in English and everyone will be encouraged to speak.
• To save a spot and vote on questions for the roundtables, visit http://www.allourneighbours.com. There is also an All Our Neighbors Facebook page.
