Grace Wong’s parents have an immigrant story not unlike many others.
Her father came to Canada from China in the early 1920s and, after a few trips back and forth, he married her mother in China and they had a son. He returned to Vancouver, but he was unable to bring his new family to Canada for many years because of anti-Asian immigration policies.
It wasn’t until the early 1950s, after Canada amended its laws, that Wong’s mother and brother could come to Vancouver. Soon after, Grace was born.
“This is part of my history but then it’s [also] part of something that helped to build British Columbia and our community. So to share that with more people, I think it’s very meaningful,” she said.
Wong is heading up the new Chinese Canadian Museum Society of British Columbia, which will oversee the development and operation of a new museum in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Earlier this week, the B.C. government announced a $10-million investment into the establishment of the museum.
Grace Wong, chair of the Chinese Canadian Museum Society of British Columbia, believes the recent uptick in anti-Chinese racism makes now the right time to highlight Chinese-Canadian contributions to B.C. (Vancouver Chinatown Foundation)
“For the families that have stories like [mine], I think it’s a wonderful affirmation of the places that people came from,” she said.
Wong, who is a former senior advisor in UBC’s office of the international vice-provost, says these immigrant stories are important to highlight, especially in light of a recent spike in anti-Chinese racism related to COVID-19.
Lisa Beare, B.C.’s minister of tourism, arts and culture agrees.
“Now more than ever, we need to come together and learn from each other,” Beare said in a news release. “People told us they want a museum to showcase the diversity of Chinese-Canadian history and culture, past and present. This museum will help foster a more inclusive society.”
Museum will cover community’s past and its present
The new museum’s central location will be in Vancouver’s Chinatown — in the Hon Hsing building at 27 East Pender Street — but the plan is to have several regional hubs through the province, and an interactive online component as well.
The society plans to not only explore the history of the province’s Chinese-Canadian community but also document the ongoing Chinese-Canadian experience, delving into current events and visions of the future.
It will also be interactive. Visitors will get a chance to tell their Chinese-Canadian story on camera or place pins on a map to indicate their family’s migration.
A cook at Kirin Seafood Restaurant in New Westminster roasts a suckling pig for Chinese New Year in January, 2020. The restaurant industry is key to the history of Canada’s Chinese community. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Wong remembers as a young girl sitting on the stools in her father’s restaurant on Granville Street while he worked. Despite the intolerance experienced by many early Chinese immigrants, it’s the friendships her father made at his restaurant that have stayed with Wong years later.
One non-Chinese customer her father befriended gave Wong her first name.
“You have these stories, and people sometimes will grow up and not necessarily share them because they’re too busy establishing their lives […or feel] either a combination of embarrassed that [their family’s story] is different than maybe other people’s stories or they just think, ‘Oh, well, who’s interested?'” she said.
“But to actually show that this is meaningful, and the more people understand about each other’s backgrounds, the better the society, the more we’re going to hopefully reduce the kind of racism and other things that we see.”
B.C.’s new investment follows $1 million the province gave to the City of Vancouver last year to support the initial planning behind the museum.
In mid-August, the museum will officially kick off with a temporary exhibition called A Seat at the Table at the Hon Hsing building. The exhibit will explore the pivotal role of food and restaurant culture in the evolution of the Chinese-Canadian community in B.C.
The museum plans to unveil a larger sister exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) in the fall.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
