Without truth there can be no reconciliation

Without truth there can be no reconciliation

Today, on National Indigenous Peoples Day, I wanted to share with you how we, as an organisation and as a country, are making progress on our journey of reconciliation. But, it is difficult to talk about any progress just weeks after the horrific discovery of 215 missing children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

We look at the small pairs of shoes, stuffed animals, and flowers placed in tribute outside the school, along with similar expressions of solidarity and grief on the steps of churches, municipal buildings, and gathering places all across Canada, and think of our own children. We imagine who these children were, and who they could have been. Parents, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles. Today, they would have been leaders and elders in their community and in our country. And, while their families and communities mourn, many more Indigenous children remain missing and undocumented.

And so, it is difficult to talk about progress after such a harsh reminder that we do not yet know the truth. If we do not know the truth and cannot acknowledge what has happened, how can we begin to heal the relationships between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples? How can we build trust, understanding, and a path forward, together? These questions challenge me, and I know they challenge us all.

More than ever, we need to know the truth, be allies of Indigenous peoples as they seek the truth and support them by demanding the truth from those that hold it. Everyone has a role to play in reconciliation – including corporate Canada. It’s in this spirit that I am sharing what we have been doing to grow our understanding of the truth and move towards reconciliation in hopes that it may show others how they, too, can actively work towards meeting our shared reconciliations goals.

One year ago, in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action #92 calling on corporate Canada to do its part, we launched our Reconciliation Action Plan: Shaping a shared path for reconciliation. It was the first of its kind in corporate Canada and it has propelled and inspired our efforts over the last 12 months.

Today, we are releasing our first annual report which tracks our progress on education, inclusion, employment, and economic empowerment – our four pillars of reconciliation. We are making progress under all four areas and are on track, have met, and even exceeded most of our goals. But we know that reconciliation is a journey. The road ahead is deliberate, thoughtful, and may not always be smooth – yet, we remain steadfast in our commitment to keeping reconciliation at the heart of all our decisions. We know that together, we can help build an equitable organisation and an equitable Canada—for everyone.

The cornerstone of our Reconciliation Action Plan is education – it is essential to bring awareness and understanding of the truth. We have introduced a mandatory, firm-wide, Indigenous awareness training program, which has been very well received by our team. This powerful course has become one of our peoples’ favourite e-learning tools. Many people have said it’s an awakening to the true history of this country, the multi-generational implications of colonisation and European and Canadian policies, and the need for true reconciliation.

To have true reconciliation, our organisation requires a cultural shift to ensure there is an Indigenous lens and representation in all that we do. Our leadership must reflect the diversity of our organisation and the countries in which we operate. This means First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples must comprise at least five per cent of our practitioners and professionals. We are working towards this goal and strive to have more Indigenous leaders at all levels of our firm. Developing hiring and retention practices with careful consideration and empowering the next generation of leaders is so important to achieving our goal, and we’ll continue our pro bono and volunteer initiatives with Indigenous youth to support these efforts.

Our vision is to facilitate and collaborate with Indigenous communities and organisations to promote and sustain economic opportunities to help foster economic reconciliation. We want to build honest and mutual relationships with Indigenous communities and organisations. In addition to being a proud and active member of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), we are actively exploring ways we can improve our own procurement process and attract new Indigenous suppliers. As a firm of our size and reach, we have a significant opportunity and responsibility to change the way we operate and encourage those within our ecosystem to do the same.

As we reflect and mourn the discovery of the 215 children in Kamloops – and expect more discoveries on the horizon – it is a painful reminder of the critical importance of our collective reconciliation efforts. Let us pay tribute to these innocent lives by continuing our efforts and remaining focused on making progress on our journey of truth and reconciliation. Let’s mark National Indigenous History Month by honouring the many diverse Indigenous cultures, contributions and leadership that make us stronger as a country.

We encourage you to consider how you can contribute to thoughtful and lasting reconciliation personally, in your community, and in your workplace. As a first step, I encourage you to read our Reconciliation Action Plan. We hope it inspires you and other organisations, and we welcome your feedback and suggestions. I also highly recommend this free training program: https://lnkd.in/gjUywUQ.


AV (He/Him) 


Note:

A National Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected, providing access to emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.




Percy Jal Engineer

Inspiring Minds- Fostering Talent

3y

A true Leader. Leading from front.

Jason Rasevych

Indigenous Relations Advisory, Community Engagement, TRC CTA92 Compliance, ESG-I, Board Governance Expert, Risk Management, Economic Developer, Strategist, Negotiator, Nation Builder, Organizational Transformation

3y

There is no social justice without economic justice, we all have a role to play in reconciliaifon. Relationships build at the speed of trust and with that comes a responsibility to understand each other's aspirations for co-existence. Government and corporate Canada need to fully commit to this joinery of reconciliation. I've very proud of how far Deloitte has come in setting the tone for the future! Meegwetch

Syed Haider Kasim

Manager - Cloud Engineering and Identity Management - Deloitte Technology Canada (MS,MEng)

3y

This is great progress that sets the stage for more positive outcome in the years to come.

Sarah B.

CEO • The Neuroscientist / AI Builder • Global Keynote & TED Speaker • Investor, 5x Founder, 2 Exits • Author • Media Contributor: NBC, CTV, FOX • "System Zero" Podcast Co-Host • Ex-CGI & Ex-Deloitte •

3y

The key statement in the article “reconciliation is a journey” poignantly encompasses a cognizance that healing relations with the Aboriginal community is a process & must invariably encompass: education, continuity & empathy. An excellent read and heartening leadership stance from Deloitte, on meaningful DEI.

Teresa Quinlan

Executive Coach | Facilitator of Leadership Development | Building Emotionally Intelligent Organizations

3y

The title of this article speaks volumes. Truth. Accountability. Without these things empathy has a difficult time existing. Why? Because when reality is denied and those responsible are not held accountable, understanding perspectives for why things occurred is of little interest to us. We must know that human dignity, respect, fairness, love are upheld.

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