Affirmative action, someone once said, is the attempt to deal with malignant racism by instituting benign racism.

It will bode well for fire chief Jim Hancock in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond to ponder this before he embarks on his aggressive recruitment campaign of women and visible minorities.

Hancock apparently is trying to reverse the stigma attached to his department which saw all four female firefighters in his unit walk off the job because of workplace harassment issues.

Right now, Richmond Fire-Rescue, responsible for Canada’s most Asian city has 191 active members with only eight vis-mins.
So what?

We don’t hear anyone screaming that they should only be rescued by an Asian fireman.

Hancock’s “white man need not apply technique” is a self-serving preferential treatment program that no firefighter - white or non-white – should be a part of.

Affirmative action erodes and undervalues the genuinely earned achievements of women and members of the visible minority.

Neither the employer nor the employee can ever be sure that the job was granted as a result of colour or credentials.

You think that is going to make a better work place?

Hancock and other Canadian employers should abandon the affirmative action quick-fix and start to look at why visible minorities are not being attracted to them in the first place.

A recent study in Canada found that visible minorities can’t get at jobs because employers don’t value their foreign education and training.

New immigrants are driving cabs, working in grocery stores or telemarketing because Canadian employers refuse to recognize their degrees and qualifications from Pakistan, India and other parts of Asia.

These talented and experienced workers come to Canada after getting their visas based on their professional certification and experience, only to find the doors slammed in their face.

The study also found that;

-Half of visible minority participants educated outside Canada felt employers didn’t value their foreign credentials as highly as Canadian diplomas, degrees and certificates.

- They were twice as likely to feel this way as their white/Caucasian counterparts who had studied abroad.

-They were also least satisfied in their careers and more likely to pursue opportunities outside Canada.

-Richmond’s fire chief Hancock said if he gets the green light for his new hiring program, there may not be a hire of another white male in his department for the next five years.

Here is a suggestion for you chief?

Why don’t you go back into your records for five years and see how many visible minorities did not get a job in your department because you refused to recognize their overseas qualifications.

Affirmative action programs like Hancock’s are an insult to visible minorities.

Our message is simple.

Recognize our credentials not our colour.