The stories, legacies and histories of Black communities in Canada are integral to Canadian history because Black history is Canadian history. As an organization, we are committing to celebrating the legacies and contributions of Black Canadians and communities this month, which you will see updated here, and throughout the year in addition to recognizing the steps we need to take on our anti-racist commitments to dismantle anti-Black racism and systemic barriers that are present and persistent in healthcare.

A message from our CEO:

“Black History Month is dedicated to continuing our education on anti-Black racism, understanding the actions individuals and large institutions must take to address anti-Black racism and to celebrating the contributions of Black people and communities in Canada. At Holland Bloorview, we do this in the context of our No Boundaries strategy commitment to lead and model social change. Anti-racism is part of our belief in the importance of creating a barrier-free world. In order to dismantle anti-Black racism, everyone is responsible for knowing and understanding history and the systemic barriers that still exist today. We must dismantle those barriers and deeply-held attitudes,” says Julia Hanigsberg, president and CEO. “To all the Black members of the Holland Bloorview team, including staff, researchers, students, volunteers, families and clients, I’m committed to leading by example and working collaboratively across our entire organization to make this a just culture and a safe, equitable and inclusive space.”

Our anti-racism commitments so far:

Since the evolution of our IDEA (Inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility) Taskforce in 2019, we have: 

• Committed to transformative anti-Black racism with a list of concrete actions and timelines.
• Signed the BlackNorth Initiative pledge to dismantle anti-Black systemic racism and create opportunities for the Black, Indigenous and racialized communities.
• Attended the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) three-part leadership learning series on anti-Black racism and health with participation of all members of the senior management team.
• Launched an Employee Engagement Survey in 2020 that illustrated Black employees were less represented, faced more challenges with recruitment and retention and faced discrimination in the workplace. These findings have and continue to inform actions we must take to eradicate racism and inequity at Holland Bloorview.
• Entered the final stages of developing a new, anonymous and confidential discrimination reporting system for staff, volunteers and students with an external Ombudsperson.
• Welcomed Brian Noble to our newly created Human Rights and Equity Navigator role. Reporting directly to Julia Hanigsberg, president and CEO, Brian is responsible for ensuring any recommendations resulting from the complaint/investigations process of the discrimination reporting system are acted upon in a timely manner.
• Developed a Hiring Manager's Guide to support inclusive hiring goals, with plans to establish recruitment targets underway to remove systemic barriers in the hiring process and increase representation of marginalized and historically excluded groups among employees.
• Actively auditing recruitment, employee retention and discrimination at Holland Bloorview to build an inclusive work culture at Holland Bloorview.
• Actively working on recruitment initiatives to have more engagement and representation of Black employees at Holland Bloorview.

Resources:

• “Black experiences in the Canadian Health Symposium” – Produced in partnership with Black Health Alliance and supported by Sinai Health, the symposium took place on January 30th, 2020 and brought together voices from Black communities, activists, health system leaders and allies.
• “Perspectives on Health & Well-Being in Black Communities in Toronto” – A report by the Black Health Alliance centered on experiences through COVID-19.
• “Social determinants and inequities in health for Black Canadians: A Snapshot” – A report by Statistics Canada highlighting how anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination are key drivers of health inequalities faced by diverse Black Canadian communities.
• “Black (in)Visibility : Black Nurses in Canada who Paved the Way” – On February 25, 2021, the Consortium for Nursing History Inquiry at the UBC-V School of Nursing hosted this online nursing history panel recognizing the significant historical contributions of Black nurses to health care in British Columbia and Canada.
• “How to talk to your child about racism” – A tip sheet developed by Holland Bloorview’s Family Resource Centre
•  Black History Month at McGill University – McGill is hosting an events series provides an opportunity to learn about the Race and Medicine, Health Equity, and the historical roots of health inequalities for Black communities in North America.
• “Black Health and Wellness” event series by York University’s Harriet Tubman Institute – The five panel discussions include a session on February 17 about Black health and disability.
• The National Film Board of Canada (NFIB) – The NFIB has compiled a list of films to learn about the rich history of Black Canadians.

Books:

• Moving Beyond Borders: A History of Black Canadian and Caribbean Women in the Diaspora - Dr. Karen Flynn is the first book in Canada to discuss the contributions of Black Nurses.
• Black Matters - Afua Cooper & Wilfried Raussert
• Burning Sugar - Cicely Belle Blain
• Until We Are Free, edited by Rodney Diverlus, Sandy Hudson and Syrus Marcus Ware