BC's anti-racism research priorities (flickr.com)

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Backgrounders

Anti-racism research priorities

The Anti-Racism Data Act (ARDA), which came into effect in June 2022, requires the Province to establish and release research priorities every two years by June 1, and release statistics or other information related to systemic racism and racial equity on an annual basis.

The research priorities were developed in collaboration with the Anti-Racism Data Committee and Indigenous partners, including representatives of First Nations governments and Métis Nation British Columbia.

Eighty priority topics were initially identified and shared with the Anti-Racism Data Committee and Indigenous Peoples, who used this information to guide discussions and determine what research priorities were most important to them.

The seven research priorities identified by the Anti-Racism Data Committee for 2023-2025 are:

  • racial diversity within the BC Public Service and equity in hiring and career development;
  • interactions with the justice system and analysis of complaints model;
  • health outcomes, building upon the health-system performance framework to understand how the system is performing for different demographic groups;
  • understanding how students across demographic groups access and use education supports and their outcomes (from early childhood through to post-secondary education);
  • children, youth and family wellness in home and away from home;
  • economic inclusion, including analysis of unpaid work and foreign credential recognition; and
  • homelessness, housing supply and security.

The five priorities identified by Indigenous Peoples, include three research priorities:

  • health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples to understand experiences from an intersectional and holistic perspective;
  • education outcomes for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students from kindergarten to Grade 12 to understand experiences, including their access to and use of available supports; and
  • social determinants of safety from a holistic lens and fill related data gaps.

And two priorities that set out how government should approach anti-racism research:

  • commitment to Section 3.14 of the Declaration Act Action Plan: Advance the collection and use of disaggregated demographic data, guided by a distinctions-based approach to Indigenous data sovereignty and self-determination, including supporting the establishment of a First-Nations-governed and mandated regional data governance centre in alignment with the First Nations Data Governance Strategy; and
  • research will be conducted using a distinctions-based approach that acknowledges, respects and upholds the distinct rights of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.