A safe and welcoming place for everyone

The measure of an inclusive city is how safe and welcomed every resident feels - and we know that we can make Victoria a more welcoming city.

A WELCOMING CITY FOR NEWCOMERS
Victoria is becoming a more diverse community, and we have an opportunity to become one of the best cities for immigrants and refugees in Canada. As a first step, let’s reinforce our values by actively confirming that people of colour and Indigenous people will not be subjected to racial profiling or “carding”, implementing recommendations from the Greater Victoria Police Diversity Advisory Committee to improve relations between police and communities of colour, instituting mandatory anti-racism training for all municipal staff to make sure our City is free from racism and discrimination, and ensuring that refugee claimants, particularly people of colour, can access community services without questions of immigration status or involvement of the police.

Inclusivity is a moral imperative, but it is also an economic driver - cities that successfully integrate immigrants and refugees benefit from unleashing their talents. We will launch a City Immigrant Mentorship Program, where city professionals help immigrant and refugee professionals make the transition to practicing their profession in Canada. We want international students to make lifelong connections that keep them living and doing business in Victoria. We would also support efforts to bring back an annual multicultural festival on the scale of the original FolkFest.

Back to An Inclusive City
Back to full Platform