Vanier College
PA-5: Diversity and Equity Coordination

The Respectful Learning and Workplace Environment (RespectWorks) Office/Advisor oversees the College's Harassment and Discrimination Prevention and Resolution Policy and Procedures, assists in complaint-resolution procedures, and facilitates related education initiatives with College community members to nurture inclusive, respectful working and learning spaces. This office also plays a role in the implementation of other Human-Rights based Policies, namely the Code of Conduct and Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Official Policy and Procedural Document.

The RespectWorks Office's services consist of:
• Confidential, objective advice and guidance regarding issues of workplace conflict, harassment, and discrimination
• Initial service point for employees regarding disclosures, reports, or complaints of sexual violence
• Assistance in informal resolution procedures (coaching, informal mediation, group processes)
• Coordinating the onset of formal complaint procedures
• Facilitating related education initiatives to nurture inclusive, healthier working and learning spaces
• Information and referrals to support employee's well-being in the circumstances surrounding COVID-19
This resource is available to all College Community members, while it is primarily accessed regarding situations between employees and primarily facilitates trainings and workshops with employees, while professionals working in Student Services facilitate outreach initiatives geared towards students and are primarily consulted regarding student-related concerns that fall within the scope of these policies.

The RL&WE Advisor chairs the Respectful Learning and Workplace Environment Advisory Committee whose mandate is to:
• Monitor the Harassment & Discrimination Prevention and Resolution Policy and Procedures, and make recommendations for revisions where necessary
• Advise the RL&WE Advisor concerning the development and implementation of regular training programs for all of those involved in the application of the policy and procedures
• Maintain communication among the various college constituencies groups and the committee concerning the policy and procedures

https://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/respect-works/

Interculturalism in action training
Three students from Vanier College participated. It is organized by L’Institut de Recherche sur l’Integration Professionelle des Immigrants (IRIPI) with nine other CEJEPS. It involved a weekend training, where participants were introduced to people that comes from different communities and discuss issues like racial profiling and their experiences. Activities were designed to think about access and inclusion because of privilege. Training involved how to talk and address micro-aggressions. The idea is that after this training, the participants could go back to their CEJEPS and give classrooms presentations on what they learnt.

Other examples of activities organized by Student Services and various student clubs over the years include:
• Annual Orange Shirt Day, an indigenous awareness campaign for Residential school survivors.
• Have a Heart Day (on Valentine’s Day), an indigenous awareness campaign regarding the impact of Foster Care on Indigenous children and communities as well as the discrepancy between educational funding on and off reserves.
• Drag workshop to encourage students to explore their own understanding of gender and gender expression.
• Kairos Blanket Exercise. This activity takes participants through the process of colonization with the use of blankets on the ground, representing North America. Participants become the First Peoples and circulate on the continent freely, until contact with European explorers and settlers changes their lives forever. The objective was experiential learning activity to engage participants in an examination of the impacts of colonialism.
• Climate Change, Pipelines and Violence against Women. Lucy Everett and Jen Gobby discuss the link between pipeline expansion and violence against Indigenous women in Canada for the Women and Gender Studies Symposium. The objective was to introduce students to the fact that pipeline and natural resource extraction comes at a cost that goes beyond the “simple” environmental movement.
• Disability Awareness Day: 2018-2019 Student Services Annual Report, “Held in Jake’s Mall on November 7th, this day offered members of the Vanier community a chance to learn about Access Services and issues related to disabilities through informational kiosks, prizes and a game of Kahoot.

An anti-oppression themed pedagogical day was organized. 120 teachers and approximately 10 non-academic attended. An Indigenous Education training was also organized for teachers and staff. Approximately 40 people participated.