Project Anti-racism: advancing inclusion and reconciliation

The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa has retained the international consultancy firm GlobalLK to
lead it through a major staff development and training program: Project Anti-racism: advancing
inclusion and reconciliation in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.

Bishop Shane Parker said that the program will be mandatory for senior staff, all clergy and all
community ministry managers. It will begin over the summer and officially launch with a
keynote address from GlobalLK’s president and CEO Laraine Kaminsky on Sept. 22. The intent is
to “build our capacity to address issues of equity, diversity and inclusion in our church and
specifically take on racism in all its forms,” the bishop said.

In recent weeks Canadians have been shocked by the discovery of hundreds of unmarked
graves at the sites of. former Indian Residential Schools and by the tragic deaths of four
members of a Muslim family in London, Ont., apparently targeted in a hate crime based on
their religion. Both are reminders that racism is a current and systemic issue in Canada, as it is
around the world.

Bishop Parker said that the Diocese of Ottawa takes this issue very seriously and wants to take
all positive actions possible. “The hope is that this training and education program will build our
capacity to offer further education and development using our own resources.”

GlobalLK is a boutique consultancy firm specializing in customized diversity, equity and
inclusion strategies for organizations of all sizes. Based in Ottawa, GlobalLK has provided
services to organizations such as 3M, Google, CBC and the UN. In an interview with Crosstalk,
Ms. Kaminsky said that although she has done some volunteer consulting with parishes and one
of her colleagues has done some work with the Anglican Diocese of Montreal, this is the first
time GlobalLK has been hired by a religious organization and described it as pioneering work.
Kaminsky said that GlobalLK’s philosophy centres on engaging each person’s “head, heart and
hand,” which respectively translates into increasing knowledge; empathy and compassion; and
asking what each person can do.

Read a feature interview with Laraine Kaminsky in the upcoming September issue of Crosstalk
and watch for coverage of Project Anti-racism throughout the year.