Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The OALA Council believes developing excellence in our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is foundational to our success as an organization and sees this work as integrated with and supportive of many of the goals and initiatives outlined in our strategic plan.

In the fall of 2021, the OALA, in collaboration with the CSLA, LACF and other component associations, hired Capillary Consulting to assist in the development of a national, provincial and territorial action plan for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI).

In June 2022, the Capillary Consulting Team delivered the action plan, which you can read here.

Resources

Visit the CSLA website for resources suggested by the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.

September 2023

OALA is pleased to announce that, in response to concerns from members and associates regarding issues of racism within the professions and in the broader industry, Council voted to approve the recommendation to shift the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force into a committee.

Committee Members:

The committee is being co-chaired by Gail Shillingford and Zara Brown with the support of OALA Executive Director Aina Budrevics. Other members include Mark Hillmer, Ina Elias, Shahrzad Nezafati, and Karen Liu.

Mandate:

The mandate of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee is to oversee the implementation of the Ontario component of the CSLA (Canadian Society of Landscape Architects) Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan and maintain accountability within the organization to uphold Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion principles.

If you have questions or comments email [email protected] and they will be directed to the Committee.