Canada is made up of individuals with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who bring a richness of perspectives, experiences, language, traditions, and foods. The importance and preservation of culture and language was identified and Parliament passed the Canadian Multiculturalism Act in 1988, the first country in the world to do so. The Multiculturalism Act also focuses on reducing discrimination, enhancing cultural awareness and understanding, and promoting culturally sensitive institutional change.
The Defence Team is a cross-section of society and it, too, acknowledges and embraces the diversity of those who serve within the organization. The support of diversity and inclusion is revealed within our policies and directives; we all play an important role to uphold this through our behaviours and words. Respect the dignity of all persons is one of our organization’s ethical principles and expected behaviours and we have an inherent responsibility to maintain and demonstrate this and all additional ethics and values set out by our organization.
If you or someone you work with is being affected by words or behaviours that do not fit within our organization’s ethics, values, or expected behaviours, please reach out to the staff at your local Conflict and Complaint Management Services (CCMS) centre. We are here to support.
Contact number: 613-541-5010 ext 5641
Intranet :
http://intranet.mil.ca/en/organizations/vcds/iccm.page
http://intranet.mil.ca/fr/organisations/vcemd/gicp.page
Internet:
http://www.Canada.ca/forces-conflict-management
Statement of Defence Ethics:
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/benefits-military/defence-ethics/about/statement.html
United Nations website:
https://www.un.org/en/observances/decade-people-african-descent/programme-activities