The Human Rights and Equity Advisor reports directly to the Director of Education and is a member of the Senior Team. The Human Rights Branch (HRB) supports strategic leadership by providing analysis and advisory support on human rights matters, including:

  • Religious accommodation
  • Inclusion strategies
  • Support tools for traditionally marginalized communities
  • Other equity issues

Human Rights and Equity Advisors Community of Practice

The Ministry of Education facilitates a community of practice with Human Rights and Equity Advisors (HREAs) and other human rights practitioners working at school boards across the province. The purpose of this community is to:

  • Share resources
  • Discuss systemic human rights issues
  • Provide support

The HREA and/or Human Rights Resolution Officer regularly attends these meetings.

Key Contacts Network and Support

The Human Rights Branch facilitates regular meetings with key contact persons from the Board’s Service Departments including:

  • Communications
  • Extended Day Program
  • Finance
  • Facility Services
  • Information Technology Services
  • International Students Program
  • Research and Organizational Transformation Department
  • Planning

The key contact meetings are organized as drop-in sessions. In the 2024-2025 school year there were five Key Contacts Meetings. Key contacts engage in discussions on human rights and equity issues arising in the Service Departments. During the networking sessions, the HRB offers information on emerging issues and responds to requests for support such as:

  • Staff training on specific human rights related topics
  • Participation in recruitment processes

Staff Mentorship and Support

The Ontario Human Rights Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms both recognize the importance of addressing historical disadvantage by protecting “special programs” in support of marginalized groups. Organizations can develop special programs to help disadvantaged groups. To respond to this and the data from our own workforce census the WRDSB has developed staff mentorship and support programs.

As outlined in the Ministry of Education Policy and Program Memorandum 165, “The promotion of human rights and equity is vital to achieving a diverse and representative teacher workforce to meet the needs of a diverse student body.” Data collected from our student census and staff census highlighted that while our students are very diverse, our school staff does not proportionately represent that diversity. Some of the efforts to address this are supported by the Human Rights Branch.

Indigenous, Black and Racialized Employee Network (IBREN)

The IBREN was created in the 2022-2023 school year. Under this umbrella, several mentorship and support groups come together a few times a year for an opportunity to network and share in learning. This includes:

  • Indigenous, Black and Racialized Administrator Mentorship and Support (IBRAMS)
  • Indigenous, Black and Racialized Teachers for Leadership (IBRT)
  • Indigenous, Black, and Racialized OT support (IBROT)
  • Seven race-based Affinity Groups

HRB staff have supported IBREN, the mentorship and support groups and staff affinity groups since their inception.

Staff Affinity Groups

Staff Affinity Groups were created for people from similar backgrounds to facilitate their thriving and flourishing in the workplace. They are an opportunity to come together and co-create a space where they feel valued, and where they can connect with a network.

There is a process in place for staff who would like to start a Staff Affinity Group that has not yet been created. There are currently 12 Staff Affinity Groups for staff at the WRDSB:

  • Indigenous
  • African-Caribbean-Black-identifying
  • Jewish
  • Muslim
  • Asian
  • South Asian
  • Sikh
  • 2SLGBTQIA+
  • Disability
  • Neuro-Diverse staff
  • Hindu
  • Latin

Hate Based Incident Reporting

During the 2024-2025 school year, the Human Rights Branch worked with the Research and Organizational Transformation Department and the Safe & Inclusive Schools team to update the Safe Schools Incident Reporting form. This form is used by all school staff to include details when there is a student incident motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate. The shift to an integrated reporting process from the original stand alone report has:

  • Streamlined the process for staff
  • Contributed to greater consistency in reporting hate based incidents

Fair, Equitable and Inclusive Hiring

The Human Rights Branch has been collaborating with Human Resources and Equity Services to support fair, equitable and inclusive hiring practices. This collaboration has resulted in several initiatives that have supported the WRDSB’s goals of increasing representation as it pertains to staff and fostering working environments that are more:

  • Welcoming
  • Inclusive
  • Equitable

Regular meetings occur involving leadership from both departments. Long-term planning occurs including:

  • Major training initiatives
  • Procedural changes
  • New programs
  • Special Programs approvals
  • Accountability

Governance

The HRB contributes to Strategic Leadership through governance, which involves advising on Board policies and administrative procedures on an ongoing basis to ensure they are compliant with:

  • The Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC)
  • The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
  • Board Policy 1017 – Human Rights

The HRB also works with stakeholders to identify and remedy policies, procedures or practices that contribute directly and indirectly to systemic discrimination. The Board’s procedure for the Development of Board Policy/Procedure (AP1650) was updated in January 2025. This was to reflect the importance of HRB consideration and input on any procedure that references the AODA or the OHRC.

During the 2024-2025 school year, the HREA also led the development of the Board’s Draft Anti-Racism Policy. This work involved coordinating an internal committee of staff who supported the policy development process and conducted extensive stakeholder engagement and feedback review in the Spring of 2025. The Draft Anti-Racism Policy will be presented to Trustees for review in the 2025-2026 school year.