July 19 2021
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
235 Queen St
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0H5, Canada
To the ISED 50-30 Ecosystem Fund Review Committee,
The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce is pleased to support the Diversity Institute’s bid to the 50-30 Ecosystem Fund. Our organization represents 1000+ member businesses and organizations in the Fredericton region and is a strong voice for the business community in our region and we liase with both the Atlantic and Canadian Chambers on national policies that build competitive and sustainable urban economies.
We recognize the Diversity Institute as a national leader in diversity and inclusion, promoting the business case for diversity and strategies for advancing diversity and inclusion in organizations for over 20 years. We believe that the DI has both the expertise and the capacity to lead a project that is national in scope and which operates in both official languages. With existing hubs in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Vancouver and Whitehorse, the Diversity Institute is actively engaged in many communities with key partners who will make this project a success. Their approach considers the varied sectoral and regional specific contexts of Canada, which is critical to the success of this initiative, and they have experience coordinating national networks which support small-medium enterprises, such as the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, the Future Skills Centre’s research network and the Workforce Innovation and Inclusion Project. Their leadership on the public consultations for the 50-30 Challenge, which we were pleased to participate inhas laid the foundation for this next phase of the Challenge and we look forward to continuing to work with the DI and partners.
As a 50-30 participant, our Chamber is committed to:
1) Working with DI to understand the needs of our members in advancing gender parity and increased diversity on boards and in leadership as well as the best ways to provide supports.
2) Promoting the 50-30 Challenge through our regional business networks and connecting our members and those with whom we collaborate to the free tools, resources, programs and support that will help them advance the goals of the 50-30 challenge
3) Working closely with the Diversity Institute and other Ecosystem Fund partners to connect our members to the Diversity Institute’s EDI training programs and easy to use Diversity Assessment Tool, which has been deployed in more than 100 organizations, as well as curated “best practices” to allow them to quickly and easily implement needed policies, procedures and programs.
4) Providing access to EDI advisors available through the project network
5) Helping to identify qualified women and diverse leaders within our community and also connecting our members to the pool of excellent candidates available through DI and partners, leveraging the Magnet platform.
6) Promoting programs to build leadership skills generally and board competencies specifically.
7) Tracking results where possible and making progress towards 50-30 goals.
We look forward to contributing to advancing a more inclusive and equitable business community in Canada through this partnership and the 50-30 Challenge more broadly.
Many thanks,
Krista Ross, CEO
Fredericton Chamber of Commerce
