Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility and Anti-Racism
The Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Taskforce
The Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Taskforce is a group of diverse faculty, residents and staff who are working to dismantle systems of oppression and to embed equity within postgraduate medical education.
The Task Force is committed to the following 3 goals which help guide future activities:
- The establishment of a nurturing, Anti-Racist, and Anti-Oppressive environment for all members of the PGME community where people feel safe, thrive, and feel they belong;
- A diverse PGME community where learners, faculty, and leaders are a reflection of our community; and
- A school that graduates actively Anti-Racist and Anti-Oppressive physicians who have and demonstrate Anti-Racist and structurally competent skills and practices that lead to health equity in patient care.
Supports for Individuals
Do you need some support? Are you experiencing harm, violence, discrimination, or harassment?
You can access supports from and report incidences to the following places:
Resource Recommendations
Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy, and Premature Birth (2019)
By Dàna-Ain Davis
Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology (2017)
By Deirdre Cooper Owens
Fatal Intervention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Recreate Race in the Twenty-First Century (2011)
By Dorothy Roberts
Separate Beds: A History of Indian Hospitals in Canada, 1920s – 1980s (2016)
By Maureen K. Lux
Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present (2006)
By Harriet A. Washington
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty (1997; 2017)
By Dorothy Roberts
Time to dismantle systemic anti-Black racism in medicine in Canada
Dryden & Nnorom (2021) CMAJ
Canadian doctors of colour offer a frank look at racism in medicine
Trinh (2020) CBC
Experiences of everyday racism in Toronto’s health care system: a concept mapping study
Mahabir et al. (2021) International Journal of Equity in Health
Health and Health Care Implications of Systematic Racism on Indigenous Peoples in Canada – Fact Sheet
Indigenous Health Working Group of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (2016)
Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health
Reading and Wien (2009) National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health
Code Switch (NPR)
Specific Episode Recommendations
- The Racial Reckoning that Wasn’t (June 8, 2021)
- A Shot in the Dark (February 24, 2021)
- The Return of Race Science (July 10, 2019)
- This Racism is Killing Me Inside (January 10, 2018)
1619 (New York Times)
Specific Episode Recommendations
Colour Code (Globe and Mail)
Race, Health & Happiness (Dr. Onye Nnorom)
The Secret Life of Canada (CBC Radio)
Specific Episode Recommendations
Glad You Asked Season 2 (Vox)
Specific Episode Recommendations
- Episode 5: Is Racism Making People Sick?
- Episode 8: Is City Noise Making Us Sick?
- Episode 9: Is Therapy for Everyone?
- Episode 10: How Should Doctors Consider Race?
Access
The 13th (Documentary)
Access
- Find on Netflix
Origin of Everything: Health Disparities in the Black Community: Past and Present
Access
Indigenous Cultural Safety Collaborative Learning Series – Webinars
Access
The Unforgotten – A five-part film exploring the health of Indigenous peoples living in Canada (CMA)
Access
- Anti-racism in Medicine Collection (AAMC)
- Black Health Education Collaborative (Canada)
- Micro-aggression Training for Physicians (CPSA Portal)
Indigenous Health
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
HEALTH
- We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to acknowledge that the current state of Aboriginal health in Canada is a direct result
of previous Canadian government policies, including residential schools, and to recognize and implement
the health-care rights of Aboriginal people as identified in international law, constitutional law, and under the Treaties. - We call upon the federal government, in consultation with Aboriginal peoples, to establish measurable goals to identify and close the gaps in health outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities, and to publish annual progress reports and assess long- term trends. Such efforts would focus on indicators such as: infant mortality, maternal health, suicide, mental health, addictions, life expectancy, birth rates, infant and child health issues, chronic diseases, illness and injury incidence, and the availability of appropriate health services.
- In order to address the jurisdictional disputes concerning Aboriginal people who do not reside on reserves, we call upon the federal government to recognize, respect, and address the distinct health needs of the Métis, Inuit,and off-reserve Aboriginal peoples.
- We call upon the federal government to provide sustainable funding for existing and new Aboriginal healing centres to address the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual harms caused by residential schools, and to ensure that the funding of healing centres in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories is a priority.
- We call upon those who can effect change within the Canadian health-care system to recognize the value of Aboriginal healing practices and use them in the treatment of Aboriginal patients in collaboration with Aboriginal healers and Elders where requested by Aboriginal patients.
- We call upon all levels of government to:
i. Increase the number of Aboriginal professionals working in the health-care field.
ii. Ensure the retention of Aboriginal health-care providers in Aboriginal communities.
iii. Provide cultural competency training for all health- care professionals.
- We call upon medical and nursing schools in Canada to require all students to take a course dealing with Aboriginal health issues, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.