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Vikki Mungre (73)
Vikki Mungre


Racial Discrimination at Work......................

Posted Wednesday, November 12, 2008 (1 year 12 days ago.) Viewed 153 times.

Statistics Published until March, 2006.



The Human Rights Commission staff dealt with

  • over 43,000 inquiries by telephone
  • 1,760 by letter, and
  • 760 in-person visits
It also received 824,887 unique visits to its website. In addition, the Commission's public education activity on its policies and the Code reached a further 10,428 people. These contacts resulted in 2,399 new complaints being filed at the Commission.

  • 2,117 cases were completed at the Commission: Average age 12.9 months
  • 143 cases were referred to the Tribunal: Average age 27.6 months
  • An additional 27 cases were sent to the Tribunal after a reconsideration by the Commission of a previous decision
  • Over the last few years, the Commission has received more cases than it has capacity to address resulting in a backlog of 581 cases
Wow Just look at those numbers, regarding Racism, Racial Discrimination, Racial Harassment, Racial profiling and so on. These are words that are frequently heard, feared yet spoken although most times in a whisper. Almost like an "R" word. Painful yet Real.

What do these mean in reality?

Simply put, when someone is treating you unfairly, bothering you and or threatening you because of your race, color, ancestry, ethnic background, religious beliefs, even where you were born, this amounts to Racial Harassment. Hopefully you know that there is legislation in this country to protect you Human Rights Code. Protect you at work, home or even when you are availing a service from a medical clinic, restaurant, mall, schools or hospitals.

How does Racial Harassment happen or take place?

Well, it can happen in a variety of ways, for example when somebody:

  • Insults you or ridicules you because of your racial identity
  • Treats you unfairly or differently based on your race, color, ethnicity
  • Calls you names because of your religious beliefs, color, country of origin, etc
  • Makes racial jokes all the time
  • Attempts to degrade you as a person of a particular group by using cartoons, pictures


What can / should you do?

To begin with you can tell the person to stop. Keep in mind, that it is not your responsibility alone. It is equally the responsibility of employers, owners, contractors and authority figures of establishments that provide work, facilities or services to make sure that racial discrimination does not take place in their premises, offices or homes. Furthermore, you can contact the Human Rights Commission to make a complaint and contact the Police as well, in case you are in danger or being threatened.

Finally some advice from a fellow immigrant Do not accept wrong because it encourages the wrongdoer to continue with the unwanted behavior towards other people. It is the duty of each one of us, to make Canada a wonderful place to live.


        Comments (1)

Do's and Don'ts of Successful Interviewing

Posted Saturday, July 01, 2006 (3 years 146 days ago.) Viewed 369 times.


Having spent a good number of years within the Staffing Industry, I have come to understand and believe in certain concepts and principles that relate directly to a Successfull Interview. These hold true, irrespective of the Industry, Role, Level of position and Interviewer.

Here they are:

Get there on Time - actually a couple of minutes before time. Not too early since you might appear to be desperate and definitely not late. Hopefully I do not have to say why. Obviously you are disrespecting the Interviewer's time by strolling in late. In case you are stuck in traffic, please call and apologize. On meeting with the interviewer, please apologize again to break the ice.

Dress Professionally - it is always a pleasure interviewing a candidate that is professionally attired. What I mean by that is appropriate clothing. It does not matter if the company follows a Casual Dress Code or it is Casual Friday. You are there to conduct serious business and hence you must appear to be so.

Smokers Beware - make sure that you do not have a smoke before the interview. You may not understand or realise, that as soon as you walk in, you blast the environment with the smell of your cigarette. Very annoying and discomforting and more so in the case of your interviewer being a Non smoker.

Perfumes/Deodorant - aha! this is another No Brainer. Please for God's sake, do not sport a very strong and powerful perfume or scent. Since most interviews are held behind closed doors, you might choke the interviewer. Use a very soft lingering perfume and for those with B.O(Body odor) - you must use a Deodorant. There is no option here.

Pleasing Demeanour - You are interviewing for a potential position in that company. Be happy about the fact and let it show. Smile. This is the least you can do to make it appear that you are excited about the opportunity, inspite of your nervousness and anxiety. Interviewers understand that and will make a conscious attempt to make you feel comfortable at the beginning of the interview. Making use of ice breakers yourself is even better - like the weather, traffic, sports etc. Keep it relevant though. Companies today want to hire candidates that are energetic and enthusiastic.

Express yourself - Most candidates interviewing nowadays, use cliches and standard replies for questions asked. This is not going to work with a seasoned and trained interviewer. Be yourself and answer questions that reflect the true you. Please note that it is the true you that is going to work with the company and not the projected you. Remove the mask. Enjoy the interview.

Ask for the Job - at the end of the discussion, you may get a feel as to how it went. In case it went very well, share your interest and excitement and ask for the job directly eg. When can I start? Is there anything else you need to know from me before I start? I know it is a bold statement to make, but it works, believe me. In the event that it did not go as per your expectations, ask for the next steps in the process eg. Where do we go from here? How many more interviews will there be? By when can I expect a response?

In addition to the above mentioned simple principles, there are a lot more skills and techniques that will help you get closer to the job, however these are guaranteed to build a positive framework - within which your specific skills and experiences will help further to create an amazing interview.

Vikki Mungre
Immigrant Coach

        Comments (0)

My First Experience with Infinite Intelligence!

Posted Monday, May 08, 2006 (3 years 200 days ago.) Viewed 328 times.

The Birth of my son in Dec - 2001 in the back seat of a car, outside the hospital gates, delivered by my own hands!

Kissed my wife goodbye in the morning and left for work. She was due in about a week or two and had complained of some pain in the morning. Inspite of this she insisted that she was OK and that there was no concern.

Called her from work at 10.00 am and she was in terrible pain, that was coming every 20 minutes. Asked her to call the doctor - she already did and he mentioned that all was well. I was a bit concerned so after some time I left for home without informing her. On reaching, I found her screaming and yelling in pain. It was about 12.00 noon. Called up my friend, who rushed with his car.

Unfortunately we had to go to a hospital that was downtown and 45 mins from where we were. My friend and his wife were in front and I was in the back with my wife. She was really screaming loud and my friend who was driving was zipping past red lights. By now my wife is yelling " Something is coming out" and my response being " Don't worry - our first kid took almost 12 hours".

We reached the gates of the hospital and the car broke down - started smoking, coolant leaking, etc. My friend and his wife rushed into the hospital to get help. In the meanwhile, I heard a shriek that did not sound like my wife, so I picked up the gown and there was a kid's head.

Instinctively, I grabbed the kid as he was coming out(being born) - my wife was in a sitting position still. By then a paramedic had seen me frantically waving and had rushed to help. The baby was in my hands, completely soaked in blood - messy!! The hospital had declared an emergency on the public address system and our car was surrounded by about 100 people. A doctor entered through the front door of the car and cut the cord. An emerg Nurse came in and draped her sweater around the newborn - God bless her!

My wife was then picked up and put on a stretcher. Walking into the hospital, hundreds of people were tapping me on the shoulder - " CONGRATULATIONS DAD - YOU DID A WONDERFUL JOB" and I am wondering why? My wife carried the kid for 9 months, went through this ordeal and people were congratulating me.

Everything went well - both mother and son were and are fine.

It has to be the intervention of a Superpower that could make this happen.

Gratitude and Faith is all I have in return.

Vikki Mungre


        Comments (2)

  


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