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April 5, 2017
CERIC Executive Director Riz Ibrahim signs the Declaration Action alongside Bruce Lawson, President of The Counselling Foundation of Canada.
Adding its voice to the call for stronger, positive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, CERIC has joined a group of Canada’s leading philanthropic organizations in signing a Declaration of Action committing to ensuring that positive action on reconciliation will continue.
The Declaration was first issued in June of 2015 and coincided with the closing events of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). The TRC, headed by Justice Murray Sinclair, spent six years hearing the truth about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools and establishing a reconciliation process that will lead to better relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Canada.
The Counselling Foundation of Canada, which established and continues to fund CERIC, was among the first Declaration signatories. Now a total of 76 organizations from across the country have signed the Declaration, including foundations and philanthropic organizations working in inclusion, culture and language, health, housing education, employment and environment.
“This is a starting point to focus our collective attention and commitment to reconciliation, and the action required to ensure that the TRC’s recommendations are honoured and implemented,” said Bruce Lawson, President and CEO of The Counselling Foundation of Canada and Past-Chair of Philanthropic Foundations Canada.
CERIC plans to use its platforms and networks to support the fulfillment of the vision of Indigenous peoples, to building a fairer and more just country. As an initial step, CERIC added a full-day pre-conference workshop on Indigenous Cultural Competence to its flagship Cannexus National Career Development Conference, that took place January 23-25, 2017 in Ottawa.
“We are looking forward to engaging Canada’s career development community in this journey of reconciliation through our education and research work and our collaborations,” said Riz Ibrahim, CERIC’s Executive Director. “Career development professionals have an important role to play in their connections with students and with diverse communities in building a more inclusive future for all.”