B.C. university launches 1st peace and reconciliation centre in Canada

The University of the Fraser Valley hopes its newPeace and Reconciliation Centre (PARC) which the school says is the first of its kind in Canada will help contribute to a more equitable society.

Professor Keith Carlson, the centre's chair, saidinstitutionslike universities and governmentscan often reinforce unequal power structures byexcludingknowledge and experience from historically-marginalized communities.

The PARC was established to counter that by "bringing new voices to the table," he told Margaret Gallagher, guest host of CBC's On the Coast on Thursday.

Aside fromcollaborating with academic departments like Peace and Conflict Studies, the PARC will offer funding and scholarships to students and faculty, as well as community members not affiliated with UFV "who are looking for partners and allies to change the world," said Carlson.

The Abbotsford-based university says ithas received substantial funding from the Oikodome Foundation, a local Christian charity.

UFV launched the PARC Thursday with a virtual event featuring speeches from Steven Point, the first-ever Indigenous chancellor of UBC, and former Ontario Premier Bob Rae, now Canada's ambassador to the United Nations.

'Deep listening'

Jacqueline Nolte, dean ofUFV's college of arts, said the university envisions the PARC as a hub for constructive dialogue, research and creative expressionaimed at building trust among diverse communities.

"We will facilitate deep listening and mediation such that all people will feel heard and acknowledged," she said in a news release.

The scope of the centre won't benarrow.

Along withrelations between Indigenous people and settlers, Carlson said the centre could address everything from domestic violence to interfaith conflicts in the Middle East and Ireland.

Carlson,who holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous and community-engaged history, echoed Nolte's words.

"What we're saying [is] that we value Indigenous ways of knowing,"Carlson said.

"The structures that underlie racism need to be dismantled so that everybody in this country [...] will be able to enjoy all the privileges that anybody who's of European descent [has]."