We, members of the Chinese Canadian community here in British Columbia, are very concerned about the incident of Carla Waldman hurling racial slurs to Amy Xu and her three-year old daughter on August 23, 2019 in the parking lot of Richlea Square Shopping Centre on No. 3 Road of a Richmond, BC. As CTV News reported, this caught on camera incident was a “racist rant” by its nature.

It was shocking to know that after the incident occurred Waldman shamelessly told reporters “I do not regret anything I said to her” and “I am not a racist person”. Clearly, considering the language used, this attack on Amy Xu and her child was also an attack on all of us in the community of Chinese Canadians. Canadians of all ethnic origins must vigorously fight racism and defend our fundamental values. Therefore, we are inviting you and your party to join us in a call of fighting racism of all kinds and demanding an open apology from Ms. Waldman to Ms. Xu and the Chinese Canadian community in British Columbia.

The RCMP conducted a timely investigation of the incident. However, the announcement of the result of the investigation was misleading. When the decision of not to press a charge was announced, no clear reason was given to the public. Further, those who condemned the racist slurs on the internet were told that they could run into trouble by doing so. Apparently, this has given the public an impression that our system will tolerate such racist attacks on Chinese Canadians and punish those who fight racism.

By any definition, in our opinion, what Ms. Waldman did to Ms. Xu and her child was indeed a racist attack in the form of hate speech in public, which violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the BC Human Rights Code, even though if it was not serious enough to justify a charge of hate crime. And those who lawfully condemned such racist behaviors are entitled to the freedom of speech and should be encouraged and protected by the legal system. To correct this misperception, we invite you to join us in requesting the RCMP and the Government of BC to render a clarified decision on the investigation of this incident which will clearly state their stand against racism. Finally, we hope Ms. Waldman now understands the harm she inflicted and will extend an apology to the community of Chinese Canadians in British Columbia.

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