Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
The Children's Aid Society of the District of Thunder Bay (TBCAS) acknowledges the harmful role that child welfare has played, and continues to play, in the lives of African Canadians, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children, youth, and families in Ontario. We are committed to addressing the over representation of African Canadian, First Nation, Inuit, and Métis children, youth, and families in the child welfare system, which we recognize is a direct result of colonization, anti-Indigenous individual and systemic racism, anti-black individual and systemic racism, white supremacy, and the trauma of residential schools and the sixties scoop. We continue to work with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners towards reconciliation. We commit ourselves to addressing systemic racism through the critical examination of our own roles in its perpetuation and in the practices and policies that may support persistent inequities.
We are committed to an equitable organization where employees and service users are engaged in a manner that respects their culture, identity, rights and needs.
Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion will be realized through the following engagements:
The more formal part of our equity journey began soon after we adopted diversity and equity as one of our core organizational values. In March 2018, we declared our commitment to becoming an anti-oppressive organization.
The Children's Aid Society of the District of Thunder Bay proactively and publicly strives to recognize, reveal, and dismantle structural and institutional racism within our organization and in the work that we do within our communities. Our goal is to promote the safety and well-being of children and youth no matter how they identify, including but not limited to race, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.