DEI Backlash and Canadian Organizations

How Canadian Organizations Should Respond to the Backlash Against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

For many years, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives have become a cornerstone of workplace culture in Canada. Many organizations recognize that these initiatives contribute to creativity, talent recruitment, and growth.  But recent court decisions in the United States, actions taken by the Trump administration, and political misinformation about DEI in the US and Canada have all added to increasing resistance to diversity, equity and inclusion. Even some organizations that prioritized these initiatives a mere five years ago (after a White police officer killed Black American George Floyd, which led to widespread protests) have pulled back or softened their approach. 

Is DEI on Its Way Out?

Over the past few weeks, I have felt the southerly cold wind creeping up on The Great White North, bringing doubt amongst equity-deserving groups and their allies. Even our pending elections seem to signal a seismic shift from the commitment to build representative organizations – none more so than within the Federal Public Service (FPS).  It begs the question: Is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) on its way out?

Off the Bookshelf: Revenge of the Tipping Point

More than 25 years ago Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference had a profound societal impact, influencing a wide range of fields and sparking conversations about how ideas, trends, and behaviours spread. The book’s central thesis – that small, seemingly insignificant actions or events can trigger large-scale social change once they reach a “tipping point” – resonated across industries and cultural discussions. Gladwell became a celebrity…

A Challenging Year for DEI, But a Hopeful One Ahead

The diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) sector had a challenging year, here in Canada but especially in the United States. It was a combination of social, economic, political, and organizational pressures. 

Inclusive City Planning: Q&A with Alexandra Lambropoulos

Inclusion, diversity, equity, and anti-racism (IDEA) are foundational to my work in urban planning because cities thrive when they reflect and serve the diverse populations that inhabit them. IDEA informs my personal research interests in community economic development because it focuses on building strong, resilient local economies that benefit all residents.

Resiliencing Habits for Changemakers

You read that right, resiliencing is not a typo! Resiliencing is what I call the habits and actions that help us move through life’s challenges.
I have supported people and organizations with change for much of my career. In the past few years, I have noticed things feel different.
People talk about facing many changes all at once, needing to keep on top of shifting expectations, experiencing tensions and friction, and feeling an overall sense of pressure to accomplish more, faster.

Off the Bookshelf: North of Nowhere

Marie Wilson’s newly-published “North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner” is a tour de force.
Richly woven, it is part memoir, part documentary. It’s also the kind of book you’ll want to read more than once – not only because it reveals an important part of Canadian history, but because the overall story is so compellingly told.
The book starts with a story about Wilson’s mother-in-law watching Canadian TV at home in the Northwest Territories.

Well, America, You Are Welcome!

“In Springfield, they are eating the dogs… [Haitians] are eating the pets of the people that live there.” – Donald Trump

Before we address the culinary habits of my Kin, I wanted to begin by raising the illustrious feat of winning a war without the trappings of conventional warfare, as Haitians are poised, once again, to fight in the war for democracy in the U.S. without any act of violence. This time our sheer migrant presence might be the weapon. Once done, we can then argue about whether dogs taste like chicken, or vice versa! Oh…the inhumanity of it.

Reading for Reconciliation: Indigenous Reading List

As the Month of June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, it is a great time to explore the world of Indigenous literature. Reading books written by Indigenous authors serves as a gateway to understanding Indigenous culture and history. By exploring Indigenous literature, we can learn about the diverse experiences of individuals who have endured historical marginalization, and whose narratives are frequently excluded from mainstream discourse. In addition, we are amplifying indigenous voices and perspectives. Honouring Indigenous literature is crucial to decolonization and reconciliation efforts.

Indigenous peoples no longer invisible

Most Canadians are not aware that the overwhelming majority of people who identify as Indigenous in this country are more than likely their neighbours.

The most recent census figures revealed that over one million of the 1.8 million people in Canada who identify as First Nations, Inuit, and Metis are now living in urban centres. Only about one third of registered Indians still live on the reserve lands of 634 First Nations.

Once out of sight and out of mind, the result of assimilationist government policies for most of Canada’s first century, Indigenous peoples are becoming much more visible.