The Vancouver Coastal Health authority says it has changed the name of a long-term care home that was named after George Pearson, a B.C. politician who stoked anti-Japanese sentiment during the Second World War.

The health authority says the former George Pearson Centre has been renamed the Oak Care Centre B次元官网网址渢o better reflect the diversity of the communities the organization serves.B次元官网网址�

The facility opened in 1952, and the authority says that in 2021 the Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian CitizensB次元官网网址� Association B次元官网网址渆xpressed concernB次元官网网址� about the centreB次元官网网址檚 name because Pearson led the charge B次元官网网址渁gainst the rights and enfranchisement of racialized people, including Japanese Canadians, in the 1940s.B次元官网网址�

The health authority says PearsonB次元官网网址檚 beliefs and actions run counter to its inclusive values and commitment to B次元官网网址淚ndigenous cultural safety, anti-racism, and equity, diversity and inclusion.B次元官网网址�

Vancouver Coastal Health president Vivian Eliopoulos says renaming the facility was B次元官网网址渄eeply meaningful.B次元官网网址�

A 2020 report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the National Association of Japanese Canadians says Pearson was part of a B.C. delegation to Ottawa to lobby for the B次元官网网址渇orced evictionB次元官网网址� of the Japanese population.