Our Stand
Our Commitment to Social Justice, Diversity & Inclusion.
An Urgent Work in Progress.
We stand in solidarity with those traditionally marginalized: indigenous people, people of all colours, cultures and nationalities, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, people living with physical and mental disabilities, people struggling with poverty, and women fighting against societal and institutional sexism.
Our mission is to connect people from all over the world to London and to help them thrive in a culturally rich, diverse and welcoming new city and home.
We fundamentally believe that intentionally creating an inclusive city is not only a way to increase economic opportunity for all but it is the warm embrace that nurtures a better, happier, more innovative, creative and compassionate community.
Canadian society is built on a foundation of inequalities and racism, and we - white, cis-gender, heterosexual, able-bodied people - have benefited and continue to benefit from these systems. These inequalities continue to shape nearly every aspect of our society, providing opportunity and freedom to some and exclusion and oppression to many others. From policing to housing, employment, entrepreneurial opportunity, poverty and homelessness mitigation, transportation, education and health, the scales of justice have been rigged to tip in favour of people like us. We have lived in ignorance of the institutional and societal barriers that others face daily. Then their voices became too loud, their situations became too unjust and their very lives became too disposable for us to ignore the injustice any longer.
What can we do?
We believe that inequalities built by white people can be dismantled by all, and we believe that this need not take generations to do. These inequalities have been left unaddressed for far too long and we need to move beyond performative allyship, we need to take action now. We have a responsibility to leave this world a better place and to use our power to dismantle barriers to equality, justice can and must be done in our lifetime.
Maybe, like us, you are wondering what we can do to channel some pretty powerful emotions into positive change. As people of privilege, words clearly aren’t enough and waving flags on the sidelines isn’t enough, we need to use our positions to do more. Change happens when we make a meaningful effort to get involved and that begins close to home, with self-education, tough conversations around our dinner tables and engaging with our neighbours and communities.
Ten Actions. A Start.
ONE
We will do a better job of listening and learning from traditionally marginalized communities and people, companies and organizations who model leadership in their words and actions.
TWO
When we witness acts of discrimination, especially in the housing market, we will take immediate action to the extent of our ability, up to and including Human Rights complaints.
THREE
We will use our presence to amplify the experiences and voices of those who have been traditionally marginalized in our community. This includes our presence on boards, committees and other groups where we are privileged to have a voice. This will require that we use a new lens to look at longstanding systems and that we make space for new voices, but we dedicate ourselves to looking for roadblocks and opportunities to make meaningful progress.
FOUR
We will use our voices, and make space for new voices on our platforms (blogs, social media and beyond), to raise awareness and to support initiatives that build a better more inclusive community for all.
FIVE
We will refrain from participating and challenge organizers of events, publications or broadcasts that fail to ensure that Canadian diversity is reflected. No more all-white and all-male panels. Representation matters and we will step out to make space for others to step in.ONE
We will do a better job of listening and learning from traditionally marginalized communities and people, companies and organizations who model leadership in their words and actions.
SIX
Whenever possible, we will favour and promote products and services from businesses that are owned by traditionally marginalized people. When procuring products and services we will favour businesses who take a public stand with inclusion and diversity policies. We will favour and promote suppliers who demonstrate leadership in supporting traditionally marginalized people and communities. We will act with our wallet whenever and wherever possible.
SEVEN
Whenever possible, we will favour products and services provided by living wage employers, B-Corp certified companies and companies and organizations with outstanding social responsibility platforms.
EIGHT
We will ensure that our entire recruiting process, from job postings through candidate selection to final hiring decision is as free of bias and as accommodating to individual needs as we possibly can. We acknowledge that we carry a lot of cultural baggage into these decisions and will put into action any and all best-practices to ensure our recruiting process is as bias-free as possible.
NINE
We will not remain neutral in situations of injustice. We will use our voice as small business leaders to challenge and to push our elected representatives to break down all systems of oppression and exclusion at all levels of government. We will get behind legislation, we will rally our community and we will push our representatives to dismantle institutional barriers to equality. We will find the courage to stand up and speak out regardless of personal, professional, or financial consequences and we will celebrate and champion others who demonstrate courage through words and action.
TEN
We will have uncomfortable conversations that need to be had. From policing to housing to employment to health care and beyond, we need to bring a lens of equality to every aspect of our society and our business and to make the commitment to follow through with meaningful change.
Above all, we will remain humble and maintain a beginners mind. There is much to learn, there is much listening to do and we’re only at the starting line.
People are dying, injustice is rampant, inaction is inexcusable.
People of privilege have the power and responsibility to change the status quo. We are committed to this fight and the work of creating a more just world for all.
Jodi Simpson & Shawn Adamsson
First Published: June 19,2020