Anti-Racism and Ethnocultural Relations Initiatives

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At the City of Ottawa, we are committed to incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion in the way we deliver services and we want all residents to feel heard, seen, and well served. We recognize systemic racism exists and it is our duty as public servants, members of the community, and as human beings to work together in the fight against systemic racism*.

In the past year, the City has implemented new anti-racism measures, including committing a budget to create an Anti-Racism Secretariat to address systemic racism in our community and within the City’s workplaces and services. The Secretariat will ensure the City collects and uses race-based data and applies an anti-racism lens when developing City policies. The Secretariat will work to actively remove barriers based on race and contribute to a society where resources are distributed and opportunities are created equitably for all, no matter the color of your skin.


* Systemic Racism: A system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. Systemic racism is not something that a few people or institutions choose to practice. Instead, it has been a feature of the social, economic, and political systems in which we all exist.

At the City of Ottawa, we are committed to incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion in the way we deliver services and we want all residents to feel heard, seen, and well served. We recognize systemic racism exists and it is our duty as public servants, members of the community, and as human beings to work together in the fight against systemic racism*.

In the past year, the City has implemented new anti-racism measures, including committing a budget to create an Anti-Racism Secretariat to address systemic racism in our community and within the City’s workplaces and services. The Secretariat will ensure the City collects and uses race-based data and applies an anti-racism lens when developing City policies. The Secretariat will work to actively remove barriers based on race and contribute to a society where resources are distributed and opportunities are created equitably for all, no matter the color of your skin.


* Systemic Racism: A system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. Systemic racism is not something that a few people or institutions choose to practice. Instead, it has been a feature of the social, economic, and political systems in which we all exist.

Page last updated: 16 Mar 2023, 09:30 AM