Navigating Human Rights and Expression Rights with an Ethic of Care

Navigating Human Rights and Expression Rights with an Ethic of Care

January 26, 2024

Dr. Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity & Inclusion

The Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) joins students, faculty, and staff in expressing care and concern for those experiencing and/or witnessing immeasurable loss and grief as a consequence of the Israel-Palestine conflict and ongoing war.

Through this ongoing difficult time, the EIO continues to provide confidential advising and community capacity building to promote safety, dignity and equity in learning and working environments.

This discussion document has been issued by EIO to provide guidance to the UBC community1 in the following areas:

  1. reporting and addressing discrimination, bullying and harassment – with a discussion of antisemitism and Islamophobic, as well as ‘hate speech’; 
  2. understanding obligations and limits of freedom of expression and academic freedom, and
  3. fostering critical and constructive dialogue across difference.

1 To the extent there is any difference on how issues are discussed in this document and UBC’s policies the UBC policies will govern. 

1.      Reporting and addressing discrimination, bullying and harassment

UBC’s commitment and responsibility to provide an environment that is free of discrimination, as well as harmful behaviours such as bullying and harassment, are set out in the university’s Discrimination Policy,  Respectful Environment Statement, and Student Code of Conduct.

  • Contact Campus Security or the Student Conduct Office to report concerns of conduct violating the Student Code of Conduct.

Antisemitism, Islamophobia and ‘Hate Speech’

*Content Warning: The section below describes some harmful stereotypical tropes that could constitute forms of discrimination under human rights law.

Antisemitism and Islamophobia are specific examples of discrimination. The EIO has a particular role to play when it comes to the prevention and timely response to concerns of discrimination. When the EIO receives concerns or complaints of antisemitism and/or Islamophobic discrimination, we are guided by what the human rights case law says constitutes these forms of discrimination. The EIO takes every report of antisemitism, anti-Jewish racism, Islamophobia, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab racism and other forms of discrimination seriously, and we respond accordingly, commensurate with the nature of the incidents, in compliance with UBC policies and relevant laws. It is important to note that, with both antisemitism and Islamophobia, a common tactic is to assign collective guilt and blame to all members of the religion, “race”, and/or ethnicity when individuals or sub-groups (including state or non-state actors) commit objectionable or heinous acts (OHRC, 2015, p.17)1. This tactic might amount to discrimination whereas criticizing a state or government regime might not.

UBC’s Discrimination Policy (SC7) states that the prohibited grounds under this Policy will be interpreted in the same way as they are interpreted by the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

(i) Antisemitism:

According to the BC Human Rights Tribunal and BC courts, harmful stereotypical tropes about Jewish peoples may constitute discrimination – such as presumed links to conspiracies, control of the media, control of money, characteristics of dishonesty, deception, and disloyalty. The Tribunal and Courts have also been very clear that denying or minimizing the occurrence or impact of the Holocaust, linking the behaviour of Jewish people with Nazis, and/or celebrating and promoting Hitler and Nazi regimes, including related symbols and artefacts, are discriminatory acts.

(ii) Islamophobia:

According to the BC Human Rights Tribunal and BC courts stereotypical tropes, acts of hostility, racial profiling, greater scrutiny or security surveillance directed at Muslim peoples or those perceived to be Muslim may constitute discrimination. As well, comments and conduct that broadly view the Islamic religion and traditions as well as cultures of Muslim peoples as “barbaric” or inherently threatening are discriminatory. It is notable that some experts prefer to use the term anti-Muslim discrimination to distinguish it from lawful critiques of Islam, among critiques of other organized religions.

(iii) ‘Hate Speech’

‘Hate speech’ is a colloquial term that is generally used to describe speech that might violate the various laws that govern certain types of hateful or derogatory speech or public displays. For example the Criminal Code of Canada has laws against the “Wilful Promotion of Hatred” and the BC Human Rights Code has provisions against “Discriminatory Publications”. Other provisions in these statutes might govern ‘hate speech’ as well. Allegations of ‘hate speech’ are addressed at UBC using its own policies such as the Student Code of Conduct or the Discrimination Policy. The following website contains some helpful information about what constitutes ‘hate speech’ according to the Human Rights Code and the Human Rights Tribunal and also discusses the Criminal Code provisions: https://bchumanrights.ca/hate-speech-qa/.

Allegations of discrimination require careful analysis as there is a difference between, on the one hand, the legitimate criticism of states or governments or their actors, and on the other hand, comments and conduct that promote discriminatory tropes targeting a religion, culture, or peoples. Many factors need to be analyzed in each case, including evidence that there is a connection or nexus between the negative treatment experienced and at least one of the Code protected grounds or characteristics.

However, as a general practice, members of the UBC community should avoid and reject rhetoric that is or may activate discriminatory stereotypical tropes about religious, racial, and/or ethnic groups or that makes broad assumptions and/or targets particular groups based on their group identities or personal ideologies. While some conduct or comment may not rise to the legal definition of inciting hatred or discrimination, that behaviour may still be hurtful and not in keeping with UBC’s commitment to respect, inclusion, and safety for all. 

Click here to review UBC’s Discrimination Complaint Process.

2.      Understanding obligations and limits to freedom of expression and academic freedom

Freedom of expression is a foundational right in a free and open society and should, therefore, be strongly protected. Academic freedom is also a fundamental right unique to the academy, permitting members of the university and invitees to teach, learn, and consider a wide range of opinions without interference from the university administration and others.   

Neither freedom of expression nor academic freedom are limitless. For example, speech can be limited if found to rise to the level of inciting hatred or discrimination, as set out by the Criminal Code and human rights laws. It may also constitute defamation or a violation of copyright law. However, impassioned expression does not necessarily equate to illegality.  

The following four strategies may be used by instructors/educators to protect academic freedom and promote curiosity and inclusivity in educational environments (Manning, 2018)2:

  • Foster an educational space that invites divergent viewpoints on contentious subjects, while facilitating respectful and non-discriminatory engagement with ideas. To support such approaches, we encourage instructors to enrol in a workshop on facilitating conversations across difference (Contact the EIO, for form information). 
  • Examine and invite examination of personal assumptions about and intolerance towards differing cultural and political perspectives and experiences. 
  • Introduce material and commentary that is germane to the subject of instruction, which is academically and/or pedagogically relevant and rigorous. 
  • Be mindful that academic topics and education methods of instruction do not move towards “indoctrination” of opinions and ideologies. Be cautious of claims of “facts”, and allow for counter arguments.

2 Organizational Theory in Higher Education, Kathleen Manning, Routledge, 2018.

Academic freedom not only includes the subject matter of research and courses, but also instructional style. As a result, instructors can teach subjects – in accordance with their expertise and the course topic they have been assigned – using methods and procedures they find aligns with educational goals.  This may include adding topics of discussion given current affairs. Of course, topics should not be discussed in ways that are hateful or discriminatory as described above. Moreover, academic freedom may allow instructors to weave in a diversity of teaching and learning pedagogies where the matter relates to their course topic. With respect to syllabus changes, Senate Policy V-130 suggests that where there is a “material change” to the syllabus, students should be given an opportunity to discuss the changes with the instructor if they perceive any potential impacts on their progress.

For more information, visit UBC’s online resources on academic freedom. 

3.      Fostering Critical and Constructive Dialogue Across Difference

The EIO is guided by human rights and social justice frameworks that not only call for timely and trauma-informed responses to reports of discrimination in accordance with UBC policies, but also call for proactive campus-wide prevention and education efforts to foster dialogue across difference. Skillful dialogue across difference has the potential to support critical and constructive engagement on social justice topics between and among social groups who may perceive and/or experience incompatible or irreconcilable values or goals. 

For maintaining respectful relations while maximizing learning within the conversation, Özlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo (2017, p. 4)3 offer the following guidelines:

  • Strive for intellectual [and emotional] humility.
  • Recognize the difference between opinions and informed knowledge.
  • Let go of personal anecdotal evidence and look at broader societal patterns.
  • Notice your own defensive reactions and attempt to use these reactions as entry points for gaining deeper self-knowledge.
  • Recognize how your own social positionality (such as your race, class, gender, sexuality, ability-status) informs your perspectives and reactions to your subjects and to the individuals whose work you study in the course.

3 Sensoy, Ö. & D’Angelo, R. (2017). Is everyone really equal? 2nd ed. Teachers College, Columbia University.

Please note that consideration of individuals’ relationships with the war is important when determining whether and how to approach interpersonal or intergroup conversations. 

Explore the following additional guides and tools:

Relevant EIO Contacts

The EIO’s Equity Strategists are available to support intragroup discussion and listening sessions as well as to provide advice about or help facilitate intergroup dialogue across difference. Please complete the online Form to Request a Consultation or email info@equity.ubc.ca.

The EIO’s Human Rights Advisors are available to provide confidential, impartial, and accessible consultation, information, and referrals for concerns about discrimination. Please complete the online Form to Request Advising or email humanrights@equity.ubc.ca (UBCV) or humanrights.ubco@equity.ubc.ca (UBCO).

 

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National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia

January 25, 2024

January 29 has been designated by the Canadian government as the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia – an opportunity to honour the survivors and victims of a violent hate-motivated attack on Muslim worshipers at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Sainte-Foy, Quebec in 2017. It is also a day to commit to ongoing efforts to combat Islamophobia in all of its manifestations from biased and bigoted attitudes, to individual and systemic acts of discrimination, to hate-motivated violence.  

Sadly, Islamophobic hate crimes in Canada are on the rise, along with other forms of bias motivated hate crimes. In 2021, police-reported hate crimes in Canada demonstrated a rise in hate crimes motivated by race or ethnicity as well as by religion. While Islamophobia represented 4 per cent of all reports, it increased by a staggering 71 per cent over the previous year. And, because the Muslim Ummah (community) is ethno-racially and globally diverse, Islamophobia often manifests in intersecting ways with other forms of race or ethnicity based hate, and particularly with anti-Black, anti-Arab, and/or anti-Asian racism. Anti-Black hate crimes represented the greatest proportion of hate crimes reported, at 19 per cent, while hate crimes targeting Arab/West Asian and South Asian people represented 5 per cent and 5 per cent of all reports, and increased by 46 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively.

Join UBC students, faculty, and staff to honour the survivors and victims of the Quebec attack and other violence targeting Muslims, to learn more about Islamophobia and intersecting forms of racism, and to personally commit to combating hate in all of its forms. Click here for more information.

While hate speech and bias motived violence are criminal offenses in Canada and should be reported to the police, bias motivated discrimination contravenes UBC’s Discrimination Policy, which is guided by the BC Human Rights Code. For more information about how to report hate, Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination on campus, view the UBC Discrimination Complaint Process found on the Human Rights Advising page.

Arig al Shaibah, PhD 

Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

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International Holocaust Remembrance Day

January 25, 2024

On January 27, UBC community members are encouraged to pause to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, designated by the United Nations to honour the memory of six million people of Jewish identity and millions of others who were killed through the genocidal regime of Nazi Germany, including those targeted based on their ability, ethnicity, religious and political beliefs, and/or sexual orientation (for example, people with disabilities, 2SLGTBQIA+ people, Roma, Black people, Slavic people and Jehova’s witnesses). It is also a day to recognize and resist the racial and religious bias, stereotypes, and intolerance that historically enabled human atrocities against Jewish peoples and which persist to this day. According to Statistics Canada, anti-Semitic hate crimes represented 15 per cent of the 2021 police-reported hate crimes in Canada, and they increased by 47 per cent over the previous year. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was established as an aspirational international humanitarian effort to promote universal human rights.

Join UBC students, faculty, and staff in learning more about the importance of preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism, and to reflect on our individual and collective responsibilities to safeguard human rights locally and globally. Click here for more information.

While hate speech and bias motived violence are criminal offenses in Canada and should be reported to the police, bias motivated discrimination contravenes UBC’s Discrimination Policy, which is guided by the BC Human Rights Code. For more information about how to report hate, antisemitism and other forms of discrimination on campus, view the UBC Discrimination Complaint Process found on the Human Rights Advising page.

Arig al Shaibah, PhD 

Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

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Update on the progress of strategic equity and anti-racism efforts

December 11, 2023

Launched in January 2023, UBC’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework set out the university’s integrated approach to advancing equity and anti-racism commitments and priorities drawn from across a number of institutional plans. Now, a year since the launch of the framework, at the January 2023 townhall, a number of efforts have moved the implementation of this work forward.

In June 2023, the Equity & Inclusion Office expanded on the framework by developing and publishing a more detailed StEAR Roadmap for Change, setting out 18 objectives and 135 institutional-level strategic actions to be implemented over the next three to five years. 

In September 2023, the EIO launched an institution-wide assessment of the current status of each of the 135 strategic actions. In December 2023, the EIO also launched an institution-wide effort to compile an inventory of decentralized EDI practices and initiatives that advance more generally the goals and objectives of the StEAR framework. Completion of the inventory will be coordinated at Faculty and portfolio levels by an inventory contact designated by a Dean or Vice-President.

Results of these two initiatives will contribute to efforts to evaluate StEAR progress, support information sharing amongst UBC’s EDI champions, and will inform the inaugural StEAR progress report to be published in June 2024. The inventory of decentralized practices will also be published in an online database.

To learn more about the progress of institutional-level actions, join the upcoming StEAR Roadmap for Change update: Reporting on equity and anti-racism progress townhall:

Recognizing the importance of community engagement and involvement in advancing the StEAR roadmap, the Office of the Vice-President for Students and the EIO collaborated to launch a $300,000 StEAR Enhancement Fund to support projects that seek to advance racial equity, disability equity and/or equity in relation to sexual and gender identity (with consideration of intersectionality). Since the fund was launched in September 2023, 78 applications have been received. A public update on applications received and funded will be shared in mid-January 2024. Applications continue to accepted at any time and are assessed on a rolling basis until August 2024, or until funds are depleted.

To support decentralized efforts and accountability, a governance model for StEAR implementation has now been confirmed and efforts are underway to stand-up various groups and elements of the model. This includes decentralized leadership roles – Equity Leads – in each Faculty and portfolio and efforts to strengthen communication and engagement channels with community-led groups and committees. Additional efforts included updates to the EDI Action Network, now with some 240 members, and the suite of planning and evaluation guides, tools and templates – both vital resources designed to support UBC community members working to incorporate EDI into their strategic planning, priority initiatives, and systems and structures.

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Inas Ettayebi

December 11, 2023

Strategist, Institutional Initiatives

Campus: UBC Vancouver

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Bio

Inas’ academic journey encompasses a BA in Political Science, an MA in International Political Economy, and an MBA with a specialization in strategy development. Inas excels at blending smart planning skills with a strong understanding of how to deliver services effectively. Her professional path showcases her adeptness at transforming overarching objectives into actionable, growth-driven strategies that enhance operational efficiency. Inas has also spearheaded training sessions and workshops aimed at strengthening inclusive workplace cultures, partnering with leadership to introduce educational resources and programs that cultivate an environment of inclusivity among staff.

Email:
inas.ettayebi@ubc.ca

Address:
Brock Commons South Building
6180 Walter Gage Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

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Remarks: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

December 6, 2023

The following remarks were delivered by Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion during the University Women’s Club of Vancouver Federation Committee Panel Discussion: “Are Students Safe on Post-Secondary Campuses?” on December 6, 2023.

Good evening. Thank you to the University Women’s Club of Vancouver for inviting me to join in this commemorative event and discussion.   

As mentioned, I am UBC’s Associate Vice-President, Equity & Inclusion. I feel honoured and privileged to work at UBC, with campuses located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Syilx Okanagan Nations. With humility, I want to give thanks to the First Nations peoples for their gracious reception of guests such as myself who have come to work and live on the lands they have stewarded since time immemorial. I recognize my positionality and privilege as an immigrant settler and as a representative of a BC educational institution, and the personal and professional responsibility I have to work towards decolonization and reconciliation.  

Today we remember the 14 women who were killed at the École Polytechnique de Montréal on December, 6, 1989 – targeted because they were or were perceived to be women and feminists. It was a shocking example of the fatal manifestation of hatred towards a group of individuals based on their inalienable human characteristics and their ideas.  

Earlier today, I attended the annual vigil on the UBC Vancouver campus organized by the Engineering Undergraduate Society and UBC Applied Science. It is so important that the community continue to come together to commemorate the lives lost and reflect on the persistence of gender based violence today. 

We recognize gender-based violence as being rooted in misogyny and intersecting with homophobia and transphobia – specifically targeting cis and trans women and more broadly 2SLGBTQIA+ groups as well as transgender and non-binary peoples .We also recognize the risk is disproportionately higher for women who are Indigenous, racialized, disabled, and 2SLGBTQIA+. There is much evidence of this truth and a need for more initiatives to effectively address this reality.  

One notable intervention, after decades of calls to action, is the Canadian government’s launch of a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), which has resulted in a National Action Plan. Despite this action plan, efforts must continue to keep this community issue on the nation’s agenda. 

We can certainly point to progress we have made in Canada with respect to recognizing and seeking to address the various forms of gender-based violence in our society and our social and educational institutions, including evolving our human rights and criminal codes to define what is and what is not lawful.  

However, we cannot rest on our hard-fought legal and moral victories because there are some strong elements of resistance and backlash that, if ignored, can take hold and undermine our progress. It has been said that, “ “gender-based violence (GBV)… is one of the most pervasive, deadly, and deeply rooted human rights violations of our time. GBV can take many forms, including physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, and financial abuse, as well as technology-facilitated violence.”1 

1 Government of Canada (n.d.). National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. Available Online: The National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence – Women and Gender Equality Canada 

On June 28 of this year, an individual, described as a former male student, targeted and attacked members of a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo – police assessed that the attack was motivated by hate. While such incidents are not common occurrences, post-secondary institutions across Canada, including at UBC, quickly moved to take additional precautionary safety measures to put information about class locations and professor names behind a firewall.  

While there are questions about whether this is an effective intervention, rather than debating the statistical risk of such occurrences and cost-benefit of various interventions, it may be more helpful to acknowledge and address the sense of safety of campus community members. Students, faculty, and staff need to have avenues to voice their feelings of unsafety and to hear that schools are doing everything in their power to enhance the range of available security measures and, perhaps most importantly, to improve communication of and training on available security measures to our students, faculty and staff.  

Safety of students on campuses is paramount to their wellbeing and success, and the federal government sponsored report entitled The Courage to Act provides guidance on best practices for post-secondary institutions. Campus security, student services, and equity offices need to continue to collaborate to foster a sense of dignity, belonging, and safety for all community members. I want to also recognize the role of students as critically important change agents and partners in this space.  

Those of us working in the human rights field recognize that hate-motivated violence occurs along a continuum. While we have laws to protect against discriminatory comments and conduct that violates inalienable human rights, we have laws to protect against hate speech, and we have laws to protect against physical and sexual violence, the question of safety in society and on campuses must also include conversations about whether and how unchallenged biased and bigoted attitudes and behaviours – that may not meet the high bar of legally defined discrimination and hate – may nonetheless cause psychological harm and contribute to a culture permissive of more egregious acts. In other words, it serves us well not to ignore any form of implicit or explicit bias and bigotry.  

In our increasingly globally connected world, we are navigating a great number of social and political forces acting on our society and on our institutions of higher education. Consequently, there are renewed questions about the role of the university in relation to advancing just societies locally and globally. As we consider the most appropriate ways to join the fight to prevent, if not end, gender-based violence at home and on our campuses, we will most certainly be more effective in doing so by connecting that fight to broader intersectional and international liberation movements to combat a diversity of contemporary local and global human rights violations and injustices.  

Thank you. 

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International Day of Persons with Disabilities

December 1, 2023

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Recognizing the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

December 1, 2023

December 3 marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), established by the United Nations in 1992. At UBC, we recognize the significance behind this day, and I invite your reflection on and engagement in its observance.

The purpose of IDPD is to “promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities”, to raise awareness of the diversity and intersectionality of lived experiences as well as to advocate for further accessibility and disability equity. 

Learn more about the history of IDPD.

Accessibility and disability equity are paramount in facilitating the success and wellbeing of disabled students, faculty and staff. As we emerge from the COVID pandemic, we must remain vigilant in fostering accessibility and disability equity as we embrace the future of hybrid working and learning environments. 

With the launch of UBC’s Accessibility Committee, the university is well-positioned to advance its commitments to addressing disablism and academic ableism, removing environmental and attitudinal barriers to accessibility, and to fostering accessibility and disability equity. The committee comprises disabled students, faculty and staff as well as campus service providers who will together play an integral role in shaping the development of UBC’s Accessibility Plan, expanding on the priorities in the Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework and Roadmap for Change.

The work of the Accessibility Committee will build on the invaluable past and present organizing efforts of the Disability Affinity Group and the Disability United Collective – community-led faculty, staff, and student groups committed to holding space for and amplifying the voices of disabled UBC community members, identifying barriers to and opportunities for change, and promoting disability justice.  

I invite you to learn about the diverse experiences of persons with disabilities and proactively make efforts to advance accessibility and disability equity. The EIO’s StEAR Enhancement Funds provides a funding stream to support disability justice related initiatives. 

Explore learning opportunities and resources.

If you have feedback on accessibility planning or disability equity at UBC, I invite you to share them with the Accessibility Committee. If you have concerns around discrimination related to disability, please contact a human rights advisor for confidential consultation.

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Remarks: Two-Spirit Coast Salish Mosaic Reveal

November 15, 2023

The following remarks were delivered by Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion during the Two-Spirit Coast Salish Mosaic Reveal on November 14, 2023.

Thank you, Corinna.

Good afternoon, everyone. 

First, I want to thank the Coast Salish First Nations peoples for the gracious reception of guests like myself to your traditional, ancestral and unceded territories. It is a privilege and an honour to live and work on the lands you have stewarded since time immemorial. I am here today with gratitude and humility as an immigrant settler of West Asian and Afro-Arab ancestry, and as a representative of the UBC senior leadership.

I’m thrilled to be a part of unveiling this beautiful Two Spirit Pride Mosaic created by Musqueam artist, kʷəlasəltən, Mack Paul. 

As we have heard, Mack developed and gifted this Mosaic to UBC and all Coast Salish 2Spirit/Indigequeer people to offer a visual representation of Coast Salish Two Spirit/Indigenous LGBTQ+ unity, dignity and respect, to recognize the land that the UBC Vancouver Campus is situated upon, and to acknowledge the historic role of 2Spirit/Indigequeer peoples in local cultures.

Publicly installed artistic works can make profound statements about a society’s values and cultural norms. As a queer racialized Muslim, myself, I know first hand the power of claiming space through visual representation to validate one’s identity, sense of belonging and value in the world. 

This mosaic contributes to a movement to revive and reclaim language, space and place for two-spirit people within Indigenous cultures and broader society. The impacts of colonialism, and particularly residential schools, on Two Spirit identified peoples is shared in volume 5 of the TRC report on Canada’s Residential Schools. It invites reflection on pre-colonial Indigenous values and traditions that viewed sexual and gender identity as more fluid than did Europeans. 

When this project first came up for discussion – very much grounded in community efforts and aspirations – it presented a wonderful opportunity for UBC to enact its various commitments and aspirations – for example, to advance goal 5 of 8 of UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan to “[enrich] the UBC campus landscape with a stronger Indigenous presence”. This mosaic also specifically advances several of the Plan’s 43 calls to actions, including:

  • The call to dedicate spaces for Indigenous students, faculty and staff to practice and celebrate their cultures (Action 21), and
  • The call to identify and make visible the generational connections of Indigenous peoples to culturally significant places across UBC campuses (Action 22).

Likewise, UBC’s Campus Vision 2050, includes a policy to ensure “a strong Musqueam presence through landscapes, plantings and other prominent campus features that embody Musqueam values and create a sense of welcome to Musqueam territory” – the mosaic will now be a lasting reminder of UBC’s aspirations towards decolonization and reconciliation.

Most importantly, perhaps, the Mosaic serves to honour the lived experiences and contributions of Coast Salish 2Spirit/Indigequeer people, and it will be a beacon of belonging and inclusion for 2Spirit/Indigequeer students, faculty and staff at UBC, a goal that is also aligned with priorities identified by UBC’s Trans, Two-Spirit, and Gender Diversity Task Force.

This Mosaic in this place will serve as a space where Two Spirit/Indigenous LGBTQ+ community members can come to find solace and validation – to feed their holistic spiritual, emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. Others who visit will be invited by the Mosaic’s message to reflect on their allyship. The positive impacts of this installation will no doubt be felt by thousands of students, faculty, staff and community members for many generations to come.

While the journey to this unveiling was long and fraught with some unfortunate delays, the mosaic is now finally here to our collective joy.

I want to recognize the patience and commitment of a diversity of partners for their unwavering commitment on this journey to ensure the project was completed in a good way.

  • Of course we thank the artist, kʷəlasəltən (Mack Paul)
  • Corrina Sparrow, Musqueam community member, UBC student, and President of Transforming Embers 2Spirit Wellness Society
  • Leona Sparrow, Musqueam-UBC liaison
  • Former and current project members from Campus and Community Planning and Infrastructure Development: Shiloh Bouvette, Dean Gregory, Gabriella Scali, Jennifer Dick
  • Liz Calvin, mosaic artist and fabricator
  • Vanessa Campbell and Oddette Wilson, Musqueam First Nation staff
  • Former and current First Nations House of Learning team members: former Director, Margaret Moss, current interim director, Joely Viveiros, and team members Christine Wasiak, Cody Bugler and Ryanne James

“The Longhouse is a safe and welcoming space for Indigenous 2-spirit and LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals.”

  • Karleen Delaurier-Lyle and Kayla Lar-Son, Librarians, Xwi7xwa  (whei-wha) Library
  • Marko Pajalic and Vanessa Kim from the Equity & Inclusion Office
  • UBC Ceremonies and Events
  • Photographer, Martin Dee
  • Potluck Café Society (a not for profit) that operates Potluck Catering, located in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside that employs neighbourhood residents and returns all revenue to the community through programming. 

In closing, I’d like to call kʷəlasəltən (Mack Paul) to please come up to the stage to accept a gift from UBC as a small token of our appreciation. 

Please join me in once again thanking kʷəlasəltən (Mack Paul).

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Trans Day of Remembrance: A call to safeguard hard-won freedoms and rights 

November 14, 2023

People across Canada will be participating in Trans Awareness Week events from November 13-19, which culminates in the recognition of Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) on November 20.

This year marks the inaugural year that the transgender flag will be flown in place of the UBC flag from November 13-20 in observance of Transgender Awareness Week from November 13-19 and Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20. Additionally, the flags will be lowered on Monday, November 20.

TDOR commemorates transgender and non-binary (TGNB) people who have disproportionately lost their lives in hate-motivated crimes. This last year has been very distressing to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and allies, locally and nationally, as we have seen the surfacing of bigotry and rise in hate-motivated violence targeting 2SLGBTQIA+ citizens.

TDOR is therefore also a call to safeguard hard-won 2SLGBTQIA+ – and particularly TGNB – freedoms and rights and to sustain efforts to further extend these rights and freedoms into all domains of society. Attempts to curtail, if not eliminate, universal and inalienable freedoms and rights to dignity and equality for any members of the citizenry and the UBC community must be rejected. Promoting the rights of one group cannot be done at the expense of the rights of another group. 

Sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression are among the protected characteristics under the BC Human Rights Code. The Equity & Inclusion Office Human Rights Advising team offers confidential advising for any student, faculty or staff who may have concerns or complaints related to discrimination. 

Join members of the UBC community in learning more about how you can support trans rights, trans inclusion and trans affirming care, available resources, and forthcoming events at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses – visit events.ubc.ca/tdor.

Arig al Shaibah, PhD 

Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

“It is absolutely imperative that every human being’s freedom and human rights are respected, all over the world.”

– Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

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