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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Keith Baldrey: Diversity on display in B.C.'s changing legislature (VANCOUVER IS AWESOME)


One of my favourite things to show visitors to the B.C. legislature are the “class photos” of every parliament that are hung in the second-floor corridors, as they illustrate the changing demographic makeup of our elected representatives.



The photos, which date back to 1952, show that for well more than 35 years the legislature chamber was the domain of proverbially older white men, dressed in dark suits (and invariably short or non-existent hair!). Few women and even fewer people of colour are present in them.


Things slowly began to change in the 1990s and have really picked up momentum in the last decade or so.



The current “class of 2020” photo has not taken its place in the corridor just yet (there literally is a shortage of wall space), but it shows a makeup of a B.C. legislature that was perhaps unimaginable even back in the 1980s.



Of the 87 MLAs, almost 40 are women and more than a quarter are from ethnic or First Nations communities. When I point out these changes to visitors, they are almost always deeply impressed by the positive changes ...


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