This year’s theme for API month is ‘Preserving the Past, Embracing the Future: Amplifying Asian Canadian Legacy’. The Asian Heritage encapsulates many varying identities - including those who have come to Canada from East Asia, Southern Asia, Western, Central, and Southeast Asia. The rich cultural heritage represents many languages, ethnicities, and religious traditions in our vibrant growing API communities that continue to make meaningful contributions from arts and sciences to sport, business, and government. In preserving the past we must acknowledge that Canada and its laws have not always been welcoming or kind to Asian and South Asian Workers. For example; the Chinese Head tax, Japanese internment camps during World War 2, the Komagata Maru incident where a ship arriving from India was denied entry and sent back to be persecuted by the British in India. More recently we’ve dealt with Islamophobia and COVID-19 related racism and hate crimes that have been on the rise for Asians and South Asian Canadians. There are an abundance of examples of API contributions being featured this month which I encourage you all to take in. 

What I’d hope people take from this is that the API encompasses so many overshadowed Asian groups that aren’t always included such as Filipinos, Vietnamese, those of Indian descent... including but not limited to Muslims, Hindus, those from Punjab, Sikh, and the ‘Pacific Islanders’ .. Malaysian, Polynesia, Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, and the list goes on. It is also worth noting that a large chunk of APIs (approx 40%) are not immigrants but were born and raised here with some families living in the Country for multiple generations. For some, like myself - feel more Canadian than Asian and have a family that left everything behind to come to Canada in hopes of escaping areas of conflict, giving their family a better life and better opportunities to contribute to society. I hope my fellow APIs have found moments this month to celebrate their roots and the struggles their ancestors have gone through that led us to where we are today. 

Jonathan Wu
DGC BC Assistant Location Manager Member
DGC BC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee Member (2024-25)