On Feb 23rd 2022, Peter Smailes addressed the VPFO as part of our annual Pink Shirt Day event. The following is a transcript of his speech to the team:
Good afternoon and welcome to our 5th annual VPFO Pink Shirt Day Celebration. As ever, I am so impressed with the passion and thoughtfulness that people from across our portfolio bring to this event. My special thanks to both the contributors and organizers, as well as all who have made the time to attend.
Today is about raising awareness about the negative impacts caused by bullying. At the VPFO we see this as part of our work fostering equity, diversity and inclusion, which today we demonstrate by showing our support for an inclusive and welcoming environment at work, school, and home.
I think many of us, at some point in our lives, have been bullied in one form or another. I am lucky that it hasn’t been an everyday part of my life, but one story from when I was young still stands out.
I had a friend I spent a lot of time with. I considered him to be a good friend. However, slowly, over time, he became a very different person. Our friendship changed to one where I felt picked-on, marginalized, and bullied. At the time, I was too embarrassed to tell anybody, but to this day I can still recall how powerless I felt and the impact it had on my mental health.
As an adult, I can see my friend was going through a traumatic time in his life and, in his immaturity, he took it out on me. But that experience has never left me. And it has made me aware of how lucky I was. I was able to remove myself from the situation. A privilege not everyone has.
I know my very limited experience with bullying in no way compares to what so many others face on a daily basis. My ethnicity, my gender, my position at work, my relationship with my family, with my community — all of these give me privilege. A privilege that I am increasingly aware of. That is why I wear my pink shirt. I want to proudly show my solidarity, and celebrate diversity, inclusion and tolerance.
And I believe right now is the time for tolerance.
We are in a period of transition, both locally and globally. The pandemic, even in its final stages, has put immense pressures on us all. Some pressures have opened old fault lines while other complicating new challenges have emerged.
The hardest part about going through change is that our instinct is often to try to hold onto the way things were. We can want to “return to normal,” unchanged by the events around us.
But, we cannot hide from change and we cannot go backwards.
As we grapple with change, I can see that being spread apart and isolated by the pandemic has left many of us exhausted and disconnected.
When you are alone and going through a difficult time — like my childhood friend — it can be hard to see others. It can be hard to find your compassion. To lift each other up, rather than pushing down.
But, we are all fortunate to be at UBC. Collectively, we are doing the difficult work to understand where we have come from and how to map a path for us all to have a brighter future.
Along with leading social change, it is clear to me we are also at the centre of a change in our work. Our response to the pandemic has opened a door we cannot close. Our use of telepresence and automation technologies is going to accelerate rapidly — and our jobs and our approach to work will change just as rapidly.
In both efforts, we cannot leave people behind. The answer to this challenge cannot be more marginalization or the diminishment of people or their experiences. As we redefine our culture and our work, our answers must include all of us in a meaningful way.
In this change there is an opportunity. An opportunity to come back together in a new way. A better way. A way that lifts us all.
So, I’m asking you today to reflect. Think about what you offer to your colleagues and the university. Think about what you can do to lift people and open doors for others. Think about what you can do to make the table big enough for everyone to have a place.
Neither you nor I can fix the past, but we can build something new that integrates and respects all we have learned and brings new opportunities for us to come together.