Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Food Security Structures Canada is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We embrace & celebrate our team's differences in age, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity and expression, language, physical & mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status & other characteristics that make them unique.

Discrimination & Harassment

We are committed to providing an environment free of discrimination & harassment, where all individuals are treated with respect & dignity, can contribute fully & have equal opportunities. Harassment & discrimination will not be tolerated, condoned or ignored. We are committed to a comprehensive strategy to address harassment & discrimination, including:

• providing training & education to make sure everyone knows their rights & responsibilities.

• regularly monitoring our organizational to ensure that all staff, stakeholders, and clients are being treated fairly and with respect systems for barriers

• providing an effective & fair complaints procedure providing a clear and unobstructed path for voicing complaints and/or reporting to HR

• enforcing appropriate standards of conduct at all times.

Recruitment Strategy & Hiring

We explicitly oppose all forms of unlawful & unfair discrimination and actively encourage the hiring of a diverse workforce.  We achieve this by:

• auditing our past recruitment ads & making changes to speak to a broader range of candidates.

• identifying sources where diverse candidates congregate

• offering paid internships and co-op positions to targeted groups

• developing a company brand that showcases our diversity

• creating company policies that consider diverse candidates

Team members are made aware of our EDI policies & procedures during onboarding including company standards, employee rights & responsibilities, and advice or assistance on human rights issues.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Training

We are committed to the ongoing development of a work environment that encourages & enforces:

• Respectful communication & cooperation between all team members.

• Teamwork & employee participation, permitting the representation of all groups & individual perspectives.

• Work/life balance through flexible work schedules to accommodate each team member's varying needs.

• Employer & employee contributions to the communities we serve to promote a greater understanding & respect for their diversity.

All team members attend & complete annual diversity awareness training to enhance their knowledge to fulfill this responsibility, and we encourage & support participation in additional educational opportunities.

Supplier Diversity

Our supplier diversity policy proactively encourages the integration of women-owned, ethnic/minority-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQ-owned, disability-owned & small businesses as suppliers. We fulfill this policy by:

• Engaging with current suppliers

• Enabling proactive vendor participation

• Including supplier diversity questions in our RFP’s & supplier agreements

Our Commitment to EDI

People are our most valuable assets. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our team members invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and company’s achievement as well.

Any team member found to have exhibited any inappropriate conduct or behavior against others is subject to disciplinary action. This commitment extends to our suppliers as well. The employee of any supplier found to have exhibited any inappropriate conduct or behavior against any member of our team or any member of the community within which we are operating may be subject to cancellation of their agreement or contract with us.

Team members who believe they have been subjected to any kind of discrimination are encouraged to seek assistance from a supervisor or an HR representative.

Our EDI policies are clearly communicated, posted, active, monitored & reviewed regularly. We seek feedback from employees, team members, suppliers and partners via surveys, diversity data, equality reviews, quarterly reviews, and an open door policy to ensure that our work on this subject is relevant and up-to-date.

If you have any questions about our equity, diversity and inclusion policies or activities, please contact kim@foodsecuritystructures.ca.