Indigenous equity through bargaining

IN 2021, B.C. became the first and only Canadian province to add “Indigenous identity” as a protected characteristic in the Human Rights Code

A 2020 report from the Honourable Madam Justice Ardith Walkem, the first Indigenous woman to be appointed as a B.C. Supreme Court judge, recommended this change.

Justice Walkem’s report stated that the existing grounds of discrimination under the Code did not adequately address the discrimination Indigenous Peoples experience and report.

This fall, HEU members in the facilities subsector voted to ratify a new collective agreement that includes important protections for Indigenous members.

These provisions include leave for Indigenous ceremonial, cultural and spiritual practices; political leave for service in Indigenous governance, and bereavement leave that reflects expansive Indigenous understandings of family.

The FBA agreement also includes a new process to promote the hiring and retention of Indigenous workers, the recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday, and the creation of a new provincial forum to foster a culturally safe health care system.

Together, these updates to human rights law and the facilities collective agreement represent an important step toward equity and rights for Indigenous Peoples.

They reflect a clear commitment from HEU members to welcome Indigenous workers to the union and to stand in solidarity with the cause of Indigenous justice.

NAOMI MOSES