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By David Opinko

Canadians weigh in on discrimination during COVID-19 pandemic

Sep 18, 2020 | 1:30 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Statistics Canada reports that feelings of discrimination have intensified in recent months during the global health crisis.

From August 4 to 24, 2020, over 35,000 people took part in a crowdsourcing initiative where people filled out a survey on their experiences relating to discrimination, trust, a sense of belonging, and access to health surveys.

It should be noted that the crowdsourcing method cannot guarantee Stats Canada a true representative sample as people must reach out to the organization themselves.

28 per cent of participants say they have experienced discrimination or have been treated unfairly by others since the beginning of the pandemic.

When looking at the breakdown by ethnicity, the highest percentages were seen among those who are Korean (64.4 per cent), Chinese (59.6 per cent), have multiple visible minorities (59.3 per cent), and black (54.6 per cent).

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People in the age 15-24 demographic were twice as likely to experience a form of discrimination than those aged 65 or older.

Those sentiments were echoed among immigrants who have been in Canada for less than ten years compared to those who are “established” immigrants.

Among those who reported that they have experienced discrimination during the pandemic, 34 per cent said it had to do with their race or skin colour, which was followed by age (30 per cent), physical appearance (26 per cent), ethnicity and culture (25 per cent), and sex (20 per cent).

It was most common for these incidents to happen in a store (36 per cent) while one-third experienced it in a public space such as a park or sidewalk. Almost one-third occurred online.

Incidents of discrimination are leading impacted Canadians to have lower levels of confidence in public institutions like governments, police, the courts, media, school systems, and public health agencies.

Proportion of participants who reported having experienced discrimination or having been treated unfairly by others during the pandemic, selected groups, August 2020. (Supplied by Stats Canada)

Proportion of participants who reported having experienced discrimination or having been treated unfairly by others during the pandemic, groups designated as visible minorities, August 2020. (Supplied by Stats Canada)

Situations identified by participants who reported having experienced discrimination or having been treated unfairly during the pandemic, August 2020. (Supplied by Stats Canada)

Proportion of participants who have a low level of trust in institutions, August 2020. (Supplied by Stats Canada)

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