Six Nova Scotia-based activists and experts gathered last Friday on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to confront a pressing concern: the retreat by companies, universities and other institutions from equity and diversity commitments.
The occasion was the fifth annual Human Rights and Equity Conference at Dalhousie, hosted by the university's Office for Equity and Inclusion. The event brings together community members to share in crucial dialogues on issues impacting the university community and beyond.
This year's theme was "Changing Landscapes: The Erasure of IDEIA," and at the event's panel discussion, participants raised concerns that the victims of this backtracking are the very communities that have long fought for systemic change — Indigenous, Black, and racialized groups, trans and gender-nonconforming individuals, people with disabilities, and other equity-denied populations.
DeRico Symonds (shown right), the director of engagement and justice initiatives for the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute, has witnessed this firsthand. “Too often, IDEIA commitments are first to be sacrificed when budgets tighten or external social or political pressures rise,” he said. IDEIA stands for Indigenization, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
The consequences, he warned, are severe. “The lives of those who fall outside of straight white heteronormative continue to have to fight to exist in spaces that actually should have been built for everyone.”
The lives of those who fall outside of straight white heteronormative continue to have to fight to exist in spaces that actually should have been built for everyone
Symonds likened the struggle to fighting for a seat at a table that refuses to provide him any food.
Canadian exceptionalism as a barrier to change
While the rollback of equity initiatives is particularly evident in the U.S., panelists stressed the dangers of Canadian exceptionalism — the false belief that Canada is immune to the same injustices.
“We can look at our neighbor down south and say that would never happen here,” said Shruti Gola Taraschi-Carr, director of race relations, equity, and inclusion for the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. “However, we all know it has happened, and if we don’t underscore the protections that are at the core of the rights of all human beings, it will be here,” she says.
Carmel Farahbakhsh (shown left), executive director at the Youth Project, an organization advocating for LBGTQIA+ youth, echoed this sentiment. With anti-trans legislation on the rise in the U.S., they emphasized the urgency of action. “If we want to move differently than the U.S. and create different realities, we need to acknowledge that we are not an exception to that rule,” they said.
Beyond policy: acting on justice and equity
The panel’s moderator, Sherida Hassanli, posed a crucial question: how can we reaffirm the principles of justice and equity within our communities?
Oftentimes, IDEIA policies are created without meaningful implementation. Delvina Bernard (shown right), the equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility advisor at Mount Saint Vincent University, stressed the need to move beyond symbolic gestures: “The best strategy is to make sure these initiatives are not just initiatives,” she said.
“Institutions [must] shift from charity and look at justice,” said Symonds, urging policymakers to consider people's lived experiences and needs and to let those guide the policies developed to promote, protect, and empower all individuals.
The panel emphasized accountability as key. A crucial step is documenting and publicizing broken promises and calling out when institutional commitments fall short. Existing policies, legislation, and data that remain underutilized must be leveraged as powerful tools for advocacy and social change.
When we sit at those tables, people understand this is everybody’s table.
Equally as critical is collective action. Equity, as emphasized by Bernard, is not just what is good for Black people or Indigenous peoples — it is about fundamental human rights, and that affects everybody.
“It's about bravery, courage, and standing up,” said Taraschi-Carr (shown left). “Not putting the onus on the person experiencing harm. If people want to erase IDEIA, let’s make them step out of the shadows.”
The panelists' call to action was clear: mobilize, disrupt, and engage.
“We have to move beyond representation to core values being entrenched,” Bernard concluded. “So, when we sit at those tables, people understand this is everybody’s table.”