Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Throughout the strategic planning process, the College has carefully considered stakeholder feedback in order to ensure that the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan provides clarity with respect to the College’s direction and priorities moving forward. In terms of next steps, the College will implement and measure its progress toward each of the priorities and objectives set out in the Strategic Plan, including the strategic priority of increasing equity, diversity and inclusion. The Strategic Plan will be operationalized on an annual basis through the budget and work plan. Careful consideration will be given to the various approaches that will be undertaken to identify, respond to and operationalize each strategic priority and objective. Progress on the goals and activities described in the annual work plan will be reported on at each Council meeting and highlighted in the College’s Council meeting highlights, eBulletins, annual reports and other communications. All of these steps ensure that the Strategic Plan is a living document that provides the foundation and guidance for all College decisions over the next four years.

The College believes that profound societal, political and institutional changes are needed to address anti-Black racism and other forms of systemic oppression. Through its new Strategic Plan, Council has indicated its commitment to moving forward on the challenging and very important issues of diversity, equity and inclusion as they relate to the College’s regulatory role. This overarching priority encompasses anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, and other forms of systemic oppression which disproportionately affect racialized communities. We recognize that these critical issues directly impact the work of our registrants, and the College’s communications, resources and other materials will continue to support registrants in practising ethically and professionally and to reflect our public protection mandate.

The College is committed to developing partnerships with Indigenous communities to begin to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s calls to action within the regulatory context. In doing so, we recognize that we must proceed thoughtfully, avoid imposing our own assumptions and framework, and begin instead with truly listening to the experiences, ideas and needs of Indigenous people living in Canada. The TRC was established to contribute to truth, healing and reconciliation — and reconciliation, as the TRC noted, is an ongoing individual and collective process.

The College recognizes and shares concerns about incidents involving police use of force during mental health checks – incidents which have disproportionately affected Indigenous, Black and racialized communities served by our registrants, and had tragic outcomes.

With respect to mental health checks, as noted in the College’s July 15, 2020 eBulletin, registrants are advised to use their professional judgment to apply the College’s Standards of Practice in the best interests of the individuals, families and communities they serve. The Standards of Practice are meant to be applied to registrants’ practice in conjunction with any applicable legislation and with their professional judgment. It is important to note that the Standards of Practice do not explicitly require registrants to call the police in crisis situations, but rather require that they use their professional judgment to consider: their obligations with respect to privacy and other legislation; the best interests of the client; and the broad range of options available.