New West resident disappointed in racist remarks during Fraser Health meeting

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When Tanushree Pillai was invited by Fraser Health to attend a working group about food systems, she was keen to bring her perspectives on food insecurity and food justice to the table. Pillai started the South Asian Food Pantry during the COVID-19 pandemic to help people gain access to more culturally appropriate food options.

“[Fraser Health] wanted to set up what’s called a community food action initiative – New West Food Justice Project – and you have to basically apply to be a member of that group,” explains Pillai, who wanted to help after having met many food insecure people through her work. “I wanted them to know what’s happening within the South Asian community because we’re not very vocal.”

During the meeting – which took place on Tuesday, July 5 at Royal City Centre – Pillai says she was seated next to a white person who began making inappropriate comments towards another woman of colour.

“I don’t know if anyone heard that, but I did, and then they did it again. The third time, they basically said, ‘oh, you’re stinking,’ or something, and they just kept moving farther away from this person,” explains Pillai, who began to type an email to the facilitator to say the person was creating an uncomfortable environment. Things came to a head when a slide regarding issues around food injustice came up.

“[The slide talked about] how food injustice and insecurity are basically a result of white supremacy, colonialism and racism, and how racialized people experience food insecurity differently,” she says.

Pillai says that is when the person interjected to say that white supremacy came from the Ku Klux Klan, and that it doesn’t exist anymore, then asked why the group was talking about white supremacy. The speaker added their skin was white and that they were Scottish and Irish and that they were Caucasian. Pillai says they then said they didn't know what this had to do with racism. "And that’s when I got up and said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m leaving. I can’t stand this.’ ” recounts Pillai, who then turned to the person to say that her comments were a form of white supremacy.

“Then I said to the facilitators, ‘you need to shut this down, and you need to do a better job at that. This is really inappropriate, and shouldn’t be going on,’ ” explains Pillai.

After she left, Pillai was expecting a facilitator to come out and apologize, but she says that didn’t happen. So she decided to take the issue to Twitter.

“I came back home and that’s when I was like, ‘I need to amplify this because I know I can raise my voice, but there’s so many other thousands, millions of people out there who experience this and, we know racism is so common in health care, I just didn’t know it would happen in such a setting.”

Racism in BC’s health care system has been top of mind the last few years, and while a November 2020 report discussed the experiences of those who are Indigenous, it’s prompted a number of changes, including the addition of a phone line and email address for people who have experienced or witnessed racism while receiving care to share their experiences.

New West Anchor reached out to Fraser Health for comment, which provided a response to us after deadline. "During the meeting, one of the community members perceived behaviour and comments made by another community member as inappropriate," it reads. "This led to both community members abruptly leaving the meeting separately. We regret this occurred and apologize for the experience."

While Pillai says she’s been in touch with someone from the health authority, the person who initially reached out identified themselves as a wellness manager.

“[She said] I received your phone number, and I understand you’ve experienced some harm and you’re at risk.’ And I said, 'are you calling from Fraser Health?’ She said ‘yes, I just have your phone number. I’m sorry, I don’t have your name.’ ” Pillai says this made the situation more upsetting. “They didn’t think it was decent enough for them to share my details. My name, at the bare minimum.”

While an apology would be beneficial, Pillai says her experience proves there is much work to be done when it comes to handling racism in health care.

“Really, who needs to experience this? Especially in a setting where you start off your discussion by making empty land acknowledgements and then saying, ‘we’re a safe space, we’re a cultural space, let us know what you need for cultural safety.’ But the bare minimum is, you shut the behaviour down when you see it.”