04/07/2021
Equity, Inclusion, Diversity & Anti-Oppression
Board & Management Statement of Commitment
The wellbeing of all people connected to Youville Centre is extremely important to the Board of Directors and Management of Youville Centre. We believe that we cannot understand health and wellbeing, nor foster it, without an explicit acknowledgement of the social, political and economic contexts in which we all exist as humans, in which we operate as an organization and the impacts these factors have on health and wellbeing.
Our commitment is to cultivate and sustain an anti-oppressive, inclusive, diverse and equitable workplace. We are committed to developing
our critical consciousness as individuals and as an organization and taking concrete actions to achieve equity,
inclusion and diversity throughout all
levels and processes of the organization. This will include the composition of the Youville Board, by-laws, staff composition, policies, processes, procedures, practices,
resource allocation and structures. At Youville, we are committed to doing the
work of anti-racism and anti-oppression, which includes acknowledging and addressing ongoing colonialism and the way it manifests within healthcare institutions. We
believe diversity and equity makes
our organization and our world
stronger, more vibrant and beautiful and is fundamental to our vision and our mission.
The Board Directors of Youville
acknowledge that colonialism, racism,
sexism, ageism, able-bodied-ism, homophobia,
transphobia, lslamophobia, xenophobia,
discrimination and other forms of oppression are ever present in Canadian society and institutions and are harmful. Additionally, we acknowledge privilege in all its forms and the impact power and privilege dynamics have on how individuals and groups experience the world.
An
Anti-oppressive Youville will respect the unique and intersecting identities of
staff and of those we provide service
to, and address the unique historic and current impacts of oppression faced by
individuals, groups and communities.
Every individual within an organization has a role to play in creating and sustaining a culturally safe, anti oppressive workplace. All organizational members
share in these efforts and we
will require collective commitments to action.
The Youville Board also recognizes the importance of the explicit commitment and endorsement to equity, diversity and inclusion of the governance
members and management teams. To
this end, Youville Board of Directors
is excited to sign this commitment statement to collaboratively take action to co-create and sustain an organization that delivers anti-oppressive, equitable services and supports.
Kathleen Messner, Board Chair and Toni Tilston-Jones, Executive Director
Youville acknowledges that we are on original
lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and the homeland of the Metis
Nation. We respect the treaties that were made on these territories and
acknowledge the history and legacy of settler colonialism, the harms of the past and that continue today. We are committed to taking transformative actions now, on
this sacred land, to contribute to reconciliation and equity in any and all ways that we can. In solidarity.