MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism hosted its inaugural Quebec virtual summit to discuss the signing of the CEO pledge, which commits business leaders and their organizations to specific actions and targets designed to end anti-Black systemic racism. To date, approximately 350 organizations across the nation have signed the pledge, including several prominent Quebec-headquartered businesses or companies with a significant presence in Quebec.
The event, which was sponsored by the Business Development Bank of Canada (“BDC”) and supported by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, brought together several hundred attendees.
“Today’s Quebec summit is a critical step in our journey to dismantle anti-Black systemic racism in Canada,” said Dahabo Ahmed-Omer, Executive Director of the BlackNorth Initiative. “Quebec is an important part of the Canadian economy and the strong commitment from corporate Quebec demonstrates a significant collective commitment towards ending systemic racism and helping uplift Black communities within the province.”
The list of supporting organizations is extraordinarily diverse and spans companies of all sizes, industries and mandates, including, but not limited to Air Canada, Bank of Montreal, Business Development Bank of Canada, Bombardier, CAE, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Desjardins Group, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, Fondaction, Gowling, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Intact Financial Corporation, Knight Therapeutics, KPMG, Laurentian Bank, Lightspeed POS, MaisonBrison Communications, Manulife Financial, McCarthy Tétrault, McMillan, Molson Coors Beverage Company, National Bank of Canada, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, PwC Canada, Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), Scotia Bank, Stikeman Elliott, Studio Lamajeure, TELUS Corporation and Viandes Lafrance.
Companies that have not signed the pledge can still do so at www.blacknorth.ca/The-Pledge.
GET INVOLVED
Donate to the BlackNorth Initiative here to help support the development of programs and initiatives to remove anti-Black systemic barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians. To get involved or to volunteer your time, please contact info@blacknorth.ca.
ABOUT THE BLACKNORTH INITIATIVE
The BlackNorth Initiative was created by The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism to combat anti-Black systemic racism in Corporate Canada. The initiative challenges senior Canadian business leaders to commit their companies to specific actions and targets designed to end anti-Black systemic racism and create opportunities for all of those in the underrepresented BIPOC community.
