In October of 2021, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA), in collaboration with the provincial, territorial and regional component associations, hired Capillary Consulting with the objective of crafting a national, provincial and territorial action plan for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI).
Thanks are due to the CSLA, Ontario Association of Landscape Architects and Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects JEDI Task Forces who coordinated the project, and to all the members and associates who participated in focus groups, interviews and sent in comments. We appreciate everyone’s contribution to this vital work.
- CSLA / Capillary Consulting Team Action Plan
- There is also a video version of the update (which you can watch here).
An operational plan has been created and approved by the CSLA. A national committee is being formed with representatives of the CSLA, LACF and component associations in the first quarter of 2023. The BCSLA continues to support and drive JEDI initiatives, we are looking forward to working alongside other national JEDI representatives to carry out the CSLA's long-term plan.
The BCSLA Ad-Hoc JEDI Committee was established in February 2023. The BCSLA Board of Directors and the Ad-hoc JEDI Committee commit to the CSLA to make JEDI an organizational priority and participate in national JEDI efforts and specific commitments. They agreed to conditionally endorse the Action Plan (a living document). The BCSLA volunteers will further review the Action Plan and make recommendations that focus on priorities when there is further clarity on what actions the BCSLA can undertake within the Professional Governance Act.
In 2016, the CSLA Board of Directors created the Indigenous Issues Task Force. This Task Force was mandated to create a discussion document and proposed actions to address Reconciliation within the profession. In 2018, the Board of Directors created the Reconciliation Advisory Committee and approved an action plan for Reconciliation. Read the action plan
Amidst the movement, our design community is responding and continuing to express interest in connecting as professionals and across disciplines to understand where systemic racism issues exist in design, and how we can all work towards a more equitable future for everyone. The BCSLA Board of Directors is engaging in on-going conversation, both internally and externally, to determine our actions moving forward. We at the BCSLA are committed to take action to support the membership in any way possible as a regulatory body. Between the BCSLA, CSLA, the academic community, public and private practice, and advocacy networks, we all have an important part to play in dismantling racism, colonialism, and discrimination within the field of landscape architecture and by extension the design community. If you have any thoughts or comments you would like to share at this time, please address them to Executive Director Tara Culham, [email protected]. The BCSLA will continue to share updates regarding the steps we plan to take as a Society while we continue to learn and work together.
September 30 - National Day for Truth & Reconciliation
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will provide an opportunity for corporations and individuals to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools. Several Alberta based professional organizations (AAFMP, AALA, ASPB and APPI) have collaborated to generate a great resource guide. We thank them for sharing the resource with us. Read more.
This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list of resources, but a scan of material that is available.
2020 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Survey
Thank everyone who participated in the 2020 Diversity Survey during the months of September, October and November, 2020, the CSLA, AALA, BCSLA, MALA and OALA collaborated on the profession's first Diversity Survey in Canada. The Executive Summary of the BC results are available here. Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey. Special thanks to Todd Reade, AALA Executive Director, for his extraordinary and tireless dedication to this project. We have just begun looking at the data – as are the various working groups. The first glance shows that there is lots of work to be done. As initially stated, more time to analyze the current data, and more surveys will be needed to paint a complete picture. During the summer of 2019, the US-based Landscape Architecture Foundation conducted two surveys focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the discipline of landscape architecture. View the results here.
