<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="gmail-title" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:24.64px;line-height:1.74rem;color:rgb(61,61,61);font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif">No Mandarin please: Mom complains against English policy in visits with kids in B.C. government care</h1><p class="gmail-subtitle gmail-sans-pro" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0.5rem 0px;padding:0px;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif;font-weight:600;line-height:1.3rem"></p><div class="gmail-submitted" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.875rem;font-style:italic;color:rgb(168,168,168);margin-top:0.1875rem;margin-bottom:1.5rem;margin-left:0px"><span class="gmail-sans-pro" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif">by <a href="https://www.straight.com/users/carlito-pablo" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(168,168,168);text-decoration-line:none;outline:0px;border-bottom:1px dotted;font-style:normal">Carlito Pablo</a> </span>on <span class="gmail-sans-pro" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif">May 22nd, 2019</span> at <span class="gmail-sans-pro" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif">3:27 PM</span></div><h4 id="gmail-pressboard-ad-sponsorship-tag_0.5066368091376581" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:0.875rem;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif"></h4><div class="gmail-social gmail-cf gmail-sans-pro" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;border:1px solid rgb(224,224,224);border-radius:0.25rem;display:inline-block;color:rgb(48,48,48);font-size:16px;letter-spacing:0.2px"><div class="gmail-social--article gmail-cf gmail-social--article_js" style="box-sizing:border-box"><span class="gmail-icons gmail-facebook" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;border-left:none;color:rgb(144,144,144);float:left;font-size:0.75rem;text-align:center"><span class="gmail-icon" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;background:url("/sites/all/themes/straight2014/assets/img/gs_sprites.png") -0.5% 62.5%/1000% no-repeat transparent;margin:0.25rem;width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem"></span></span><span class="gmail-icons gmail-twitter" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;border-left:1px solid rgb(224,224,224);color:rgb(144,144,144);float:left;font-size:0.75rem;text-align:center"><span class="gmail-icon" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;background:url("/sites/all/themes/straight2014/assets/img/gs_sprites.png") 10.25% 62.25%/1000% no-repeat transparent;margin:0.25rem;width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem"></span></span><a class="gmail-icons gmail-reddit" target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.straight.com/news/1244166/no-mandarin-please-mom-complains-against-english-policy-visits-kids-bc-government-care&title=No%20Mandarin%20please:%20Mom%20complains%20against%20English%20policy%20in%20visits%20with%20kids%20in%20B.C.%20government%20care" title="Reddit" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(144,144,144);text-decoration-line:none;display:block;overflow:hidden;outline:0px;border-left:1px solid rgb(224,224,224);float:left;font-size:0.75rem;text-align:center"><span class="gmail-icon" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;background:url("/sites/all/themes/straight2014/assets/img/gs_sprites.png") 66% 62.75%/1000% no-repeat transparent;margin:0.25rem;width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem"></span></a><a class="gmail-icons gmail-mail" href="mailto:?subject=No%20Mandarin%20please%3A%20Mom%20complains%20against%20English%20policy%20in%20visits%20with%20kids%20in%20B.C.%20government%20care%20via%20Straight.com&body=B.C.%20Ministry%20of%20Children%20and%20Family%20Development%20denies%20discrimination%20because%20the%20mother%20and%20her%20two%20children%20are%20fluent%20in%20English.%0D%0A%0D%0AFull%20story%20at%3A%0D%0Ahttps://www.straight.com/news/1244166/no-mandarin-please-mom-complains-against-english-policy-visits-kids-bc-government-care" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(144,144,144);text-decoration-line:none;display:block;overflow:hidden;outline:0px;border-left:1px solid rgb(224,224,224);float:left;font-size:0.75rem;text-align:center"><span class="gmail-icon" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;background:url("/sites/all/themes/straight2014/assets/img/gs_sprites.png") 77.5% 40.5%/1000% no-repeat transparent;margin:0.25rem;width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem"></span></a><a href="https://www.straight.com/news/1244166/no-mandarin-please-mom-complains-against-english-policy-visits-kids-bc-government-care#comment--1244166" class="gmail-icons gmail-comment-icon" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(144,144,144);text-decoration-line:none;display:block;overflow:hidden;outline:0px;border-left:1px solid rgb(224,224,224);float:left;font-size:0.75rem;width:auto;text-align:center"><span class="gmail-icon" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;background:url("/sites/all/themes/straight2014/assets/img/gs_sprites.png") 77.75% 51%/1000% no-repeat transparent;margin:0.25rem;width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem"></span><span class="gmail-comment--count" style="box-sizing:border-box;padding:0px 0.5rem 0px 2rem;line-height:2.25rem;width:auto;font-size:0.9rem;font-weight:900">2</span></a></div></div><div class="gmail-bucket" id="gmail-article" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(48,48,48);font-family:georgia,"Times New Roman",times,serif;font-size:16px;letter-spacing:0.2px"><div class="gmail-media gmail-media--view-master gmail-media--view-master_js" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:1rem auto;overflow:hidden"><div class="gmail-media--reel_container" style="box-sizing:border-box"><ul class="gmail-media--reel" style="box-sizing:border-box;padding:0px;background:url("/sites/all/themes/straight2014/assets/img/loading-small.gif") 50% 50% no-repeat rgb(34,34,34);margin:0px"><li class="gmail-asset gmail-image gmail-shown" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block"><span class="gmail-picturefill" style="box-sizing:border-box"><span class="gmail-image_small" style="box-sizing:border-box"></span><span class="gmail-image_large" style="box-sizing:border-box"><img alt="Language is an important aspect of cultural expression and preservation, according to B.C. Human Rights Tribunal member Pamela Murray." src="https://d2ciprw05cjhos.cloudfront.net/files/v3/styles/gs_large/public/images/19/05/xixinxing.jpg?itok=5qreZ_J5" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; text-align: center; width: 652px; height: 435.203px; margin: auto; line-height: 1em; opacity: 100;"></span></span></li></ul><div class="gmail-media--reel_controls" style="box-sizing:border-box"></div></div><ul class="gmail-media--reel_meta" style="box-sizing:border-box;padding:0px;margin:0px"><li class="gmail-asset gmail-shown" style="box-sizing:border-box;padding:0px;display:block;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(224,224,224)"><span class="gmail-sans-pro" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif;color:rgb(112,112,112);display:block;font-size:0.85rem;margin:0.25rem 0px">Language is an important aspect of cultural expression and preservation, according to B.C. Human Rights Tribunal member Pamela Murray.</span><small class="gmail-sans-pro gmail-icon" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:"Source Sans Pro",sans-serif;display:block;overflow:hidden;background:url("/sites/all/themes/straight2014/assets/img/gs_sprites.png") -10% -10% no-repeat transparent;color:rgb(112,112,112);font-size:0.625rem;text-transform:uppercase;margin:0.25rem 0px">XIXINXING/GETTY IMAGES</small></li></ul></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">The mother and her two kids have no trouble with English. They speak the language fluently.</p><div class="gmail-doodads" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;float:left;width:auto;margin:auto"><div id="gmail-ad-Skyscraper_Adsense" class="gmail-ad gmail-ad--Skyscraper_Adsense" style="box-sizing:border-box;text-align:center;margin-right:1rem;width:10rem;margin-bottom:1.5rem;margin-top:0px"><div id="gmail-google_ads_iframe_/1025923/Skyscraper_Adsense_0__container__" style="box-sizing:border-box;border:0pt none"></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">English is not their first language. It’s Mandarin.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">In 2016, the kids were taken into government care by the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development.</p><div id="gmail-ad-unit--BigBox--mobile" class="gmail-ad-unit gmail-ad-unit--BigBox gmail-ad-unit--mobile" style="box-sizing:border-box"></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">Mom was allowed supervised visits, subject to certain conditions, including having to speak with her children in English only.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">The woman was originally from Beijing. She works with the Canadian federal government with some rank.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">She doesn’t think it’s right that she cannot talk with her kids in Mandarin. She filed a complaint of discrimination based on race before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">Whether or not the government can prohibit a parent from talking to their children in their first language if that language is not English is something that the tribunal has to decide.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">Meantime, the ministry sought a dismissal of the complaint on grounds that it has no prospect of succeeding.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">According to the ministry, there was no discrimination because the family can speak English.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">However, tribunal member Pamela Murray was not convinced.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">In reasons for decision issued Wednesday (May 22), Murray rejected the government’s request to dismiss the complaint filed by the woman, who was anonymized as M.L.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">“Assuming that M.L. and her children were fluent in English, that the family has English skills does not answer the question of whether requiring them to speak English had an adverse impact on M.L. because of her race – or ancestry or place of origin, although I acknowledge the complaint does not refer to the latter protected characteristics,” Murray wrote.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">The ministry had also argued that language is not a protected characteristic in the human rights law.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">Although Murray noted that language is indeed not a free-standing ground for discrimination, it can be protected “only if language is tied to a prohibited ground – such as race, colour, or place of origin”.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">“I cannot find that there is no reasonable prospect that M.L. would be able to show she was adversely impacted in the services provided by the Ministry by the requirement that she only speak English to her Children,” Murray wrote. “Where the Ministry uses its powers to remove a child from a family, that can have a lasting impact on the parent and the child.”</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">Murray also noted that language is an “important aspect of cultural expression”.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">“Our language has a connection to our race but arguably more commonly to our ancestry or place of origin,” Murray explained. “Passing down one’s language to children can be seen as an important part of preserving a family’s connection to its roots.”</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">The woman did not respond to the ministry’s now failed application to have her complaint dismissed.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">Murray noted that the human rights code requires complainants to pursue their cases diligently.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem;padding:0px">Murray ordered the mother to get in touch with the tribunal’s case manager by June 22, 2019 to confirm that she is interested in proceeding with her complaint. Otherwise, the tribunal member will dismiss the complaint without notice to her.</p></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>