DEFINITIONS

Aboriginal peoples – A collective name for the original people of North America and their descendants. The Constitution Act, 1982, Aboriginal peoples of Canada are identified as Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. They are recognized as three separate peoples with unique heritages, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.  The OHRC recognizes that there is no single or “correct” definition of Aboriginal populations. The choice of a definition depends on how the information will be used. Different definitions are used depending on who developed the definition and the focus and requirements of the user. Each question will yield Aboriginal populations with different counts and characteristics.

Disability – Our Code defining “disability.” “Disability” is interpreted in broad terms. It includes both present and past conditions, as well as a subjective component based on perception of disability.  The Code set out various types of conditions, they are meant to be examples not an exhaustive list.  Protection for persons with disabilities under this subsection explicitly includes mental illness, developmental, learning disabilities etc.   Even minor illnesses can be “disabilities” if a person can show they were treated unfairly because of the perception of a disability.  It will always be critical to look at why someone is being treated differently, to learn whether discrimination under the ground of disability has taken place.

Diversity – Diversity refers to the presence of a wide range of human qualities and characteristics, the dimensions of diversity include (but are not limited to) ethnicity, race, colour, religion, age, gender and sexual orientation.

Diversity initiatives – Our Diversity initiatives commonly refer to policies, procedures, programs and initiatives are designed to promote representative diversity throughout Great Lakes Networking Society of BC, and communities we work in.  We see measures like mentoring programs, human rights and equity training, anti-racism, anti-sexism anti-homophobia, and bilingualism policies as being part of our diversity initiatives. Such steps promote diversity by attracting people from different backgrounds, origin, abilities and orientations, and by fostering an organizational culture that is open, welcoming and that respects people with different backgrounds, abilities and orientations.

Equity- We advocate for the rights of people to have equal access to goods, services and opportunities in our society. To ensure equality of opportunity, equity programs may treat some persons or groups differently when the situation in society precludes equal treatment.

Employment equity – Our program are designed to identify and eliminate discriminatory policies and practices that act as barriers to fair employment.  Networks, friendships and favouritism have shaped our volunteer employment practices excluding people who would otherwise merit the job.  We promote Employment equity for fair hiring and personnel practices, making sure that event contractors, artists, performers are hired for only one reason – their qualifications to do the job.

Human rights – To us human rights refers to rights legally enshrined in international human rights conventions and Canada’s human rights laws, including the Canadian Human Rights Act, the federal Employment Equity Act, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and provincial human rights codes

Special programs- The Code allows special programs in employment that would otherwise infringe the Code. S Our special programs help people who experience discrimination, economic hardship or disadvantage to achieve equality, collecting data to monitor and evaluate special programs is allowed by the Code.  Data is as well collected for special programs for the information to be used to show that groups are under-represented or face other forms of hardship or disadvantage.

Visible minority – This term was adopted as a Statistics Canada departmental standard on July 15, 1998.  It refers to whether or not a person, under criteria established by the Employment Equity Act, is non-Caucasian in race or non-White in colour. Under the Act, an Aboriginal person is not considered to be a visible minority.  When collecting data, there are some benefits to use pre-determined categories, like those developed by Statistics Canada above.  There are, however, challenges in finding ways to best describe people, as terminology becomes fluid and what is considered most appropriate will likely evolve over time.  As well, people within a group may disagree on preference and may choose to use different terms to describe themselves. It is therefore useful that we provide some general guidelines on terminology that we consider most inclusive at the present time.  Using a broad category such as “racialized” could mask important differences between racialized groups, since racialized groups are not subject to exactly the same experiences, racial stereotypes and types of discrimination.  When it is necessary to describe people collectively, however, the term “racialized person” or “racialized group” is preferred over terms like “racial minority,” “visible minority,” “person of colour” or “non-White” as it expresses race as a social construct rather than as a description based on perceived biological traits.