IRCC Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0 (2021-2024) – Our vision and guiding principles

This Strategy charts the initial steps of an iterative process leading toward ultimately dismantling systemic racism at IRCC. It provides a narrative and roadmap of the Anti-Racism initiatives, creating a structure for the direction of our efforts by identifying both short-term priorities and the outcomes that we will achieve, and the enduring vision and principles that will keep us on the right path. As constituent parts of the Strategy, the Anti-Racism Value Statement, (Annex A) outlines an explanation of where we want to go and how we will conduct ourselves on the journey, the Anti-Racism Strategy Action Plan (Annex B) identifies the specific activities that different sectors and branches will be implementing to support the achievement of the Strategy’s outcomes, the Anti-Racism Accountability and Transparency Framework (Annex C) lays out the tools to help us monitor and measure our progress, and the Equality and Anti-Racism Systems Change Framework (Annex D) describes the conditions and agents of the systems change needed to shift the culture of the organization.

The Strategy is guided by the following principles to ensure that the transformation processes within the scope of our vision are transparent and well-supported to benefit clients and Canadians, including employees and newcomers:

Accountable

We, as public servants, are responsible for addressing the legacy of racism and implementing Anti-Racism commitments across all sectors of the Department. Institutional accountability will be embedded in mechanisms of rigorous measurement and transparent reporting of outcomes. Senior leaders and managers will be accountable for demonstrating sustainable change and results regarding the reduction of racism at all levels of the organization.

Evidence-based

The Strategy is built upon a strong evidence base for decision-making, supported by methodologically sound qualitative and quantitative research and disaggregated data. Data and research will break down individuals’ attributes at the lowest level of population detail possible to enable better understanding of the unique experiences and outcomes of racialized groups and intersecting identity factors. The evidence-based approach will offer foundational support to outcome measurement and results reporting, underpinning the accountability mechanisms put forward for the implementation of the Strategy.

Empowering

The Strategy seeks to empower employees, partners and stakeholders alike by providing enhanced tools for Anti-Racism work and communicating expectations and outcomes to generate positive change within the culture of the Department. It is an open invitation for proactive engagement through increased Anti-Racism literacy and promotion of conversations to normalize discussions of racism and systemic barriers. Our shared objective will be to leverage the power of dialogue and engagements led by allies and change agents to bring about transformative culture change, nurture transparent and trusting relationships and co-create solutions with stakeholders to tackle racist practices.

Inclusive

We will encourage and uplift the perspective of Indigenous Peoples, Black people and other racialized groups in setting the direction of the Strategy. Their perspectives as employees and stakeholders, including their necessary representation in decision and policy-making bodies, will inform the implementation, evaluation and future iterations of the Strategy.

Intersectional

We are mindful that our analytical methods and narratives need to account for shared and distinct experiences of racialized groups that are shaped by multiple and overlapping identities, creating different forms of inequities and systemic barriers. Racism is not experienced in the same way by all groups or individuals whose experiences differ along intersectional identity factors including race, ethnicity, disability status, religion, immigration status, history of colonization, class, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and more.

Sustainable

The Strategy seeks to advance the history of efforts to combat racism and other forms of inequity. It will build on our existing foundation and lay the groundwork for our ongoing commitment to achieve an anti-racist institution, eliminate systemic racism including its intersections with discrimination based on other identity factors and ensure long-lasting change.

Holistic

Our approach is informed by systems thinking that focuses on how parts of our organization, policies and practices inter-relate and work together to create systemic barriers and opportunities over time. In our strategic initiatives to remove systemic discrimination, we need to identify the root causes of racism in all its facets along multiple dimensions of inequity, and the resulting embedded legacies, as well as proactively transgress the silos in government actions to address systemic inequities.