Wood Buffalo Region

Wood Buffalo Region offers cultural awareness training

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB), which includes Fort McMurray, is taking a proactive approach to creating a welcoming and inclusive community. RMWB offers cultural awareness training that focuses on Aboriginal communities, human rights, and diversity in the workplace.

The training is part of the 2010 action plan that Wood Buffalo has developed in its role as a member of the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities against Racism and Discrimination. Offered free of charge to any resident of the community who would like to take it, the training uses hypothetical scenarios to explain cultural differences and how people, especially in workplace settings, may react.

“Being aware of individual differences and being sensitive to these differences is critical to creating a welcoming and inclusive community,” said Carole Bouchard, manager of the municipality’s Neighbourhood and Community Development Branch with the Community Services Department. “We have more work to do but it is rewarding to see the gains we have made in the areas of cultural awareness, human rights, and anti-discriminatory practices.”

The RMWB currently has two committees on diversity and equality: The Regional Advisory Committee on Inclusion, Diversity and Equality, made up of one council and five community members; and the Interdepartmental Committee on Inclusion, Diversity and Equality, with representation from most municipal departments.  The Region also participates in the Safe Harbour Respect for All Program, and has offered workshops from the Alberta Human Rights Commission, Alberta Hate Bias Crimes, and the National Racism Free Workplace Strategy.

“We are consistently reviewing our work in the area of diversity and looking at ways to enhance what we are doing in the region to ensure we are a welcoming and inclusive community, and a welcoming and inclusive employer,” said Bouchard.

Training is available through employers and community associations. For more information, contact Carole Bouchard at 780-743-7912 or carole.bouchard@woodbuffalo.ab.ca.

Date Updated: Aug 03, 2011
RDP:1399