Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries wishes to express unwavering support for and commitment to inclusive education, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). As an educational unit, we’ve seen firsthand the benefit and importance of embracing and celebrating the principles of SOGI both within our community and beyond in order to create a safe space for students, faculty and staff to thrive academically and socially.

The increasing backlash against efforts to enhance the human rights, accessibility, inclusion and wellness of sexual orientation and gender identity minoritized peoples is extremely concerning. The waves of anti-SOGI protests planned across Canada do not align with IOF’s values. IOF is committed to universal human rights and fundamental freedoms – which are extended to all citizens.

We are very concerned to hear of any human-rights based discrimination, and encourage our students, faculty and staff to uphold and support our 2SLGBTQIA+ students and communities. IOF is committed to responding to, and addressing, any concerns of human rights-based discrimination. To the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at IOF, know that you are valued and that we stand behind you.

If you are experiencing hate or discrimination, or if you witness discrimination, support is available. Below is a list of available supports and resources at UBC:

• For safety and security planning or to report an incident of hate, please contact 911 in case of emergency or contact UBC Campus Security at UBC Vancouver (604-822-2222).
• For confidential advising on experience of harassment and discrimination, please contact the human rights team (604-827-1773) at the UBC Equity & Inclusion Office.
• Students can also access:
  • AMS Safewalk is available from 8pm-2am if you want support walking across campus (604) 822-5355.
  • Student Health Services at UBC Vancouver;
  • UBC Student Assistance Program (SAP), a 24/7 wellness resource for UBC students: UBC Vancouver(1-833-590-1328);
  • Counselling support through the Student Counselling Services at UBC Vancouver (604-822-3811)
• Employees can access counselling support through the Employee & Family Assistance Program (1-866-424-0770).
• If anyone needs to reach out for emotional support, consider calling Trans Lifeline at (877) 330-6366, Crisis Centre BC at 1 (866) 661-3311, or Crisis Services Canada at 1 (833) 456-4566.

You can also download the UBC Vancouver Safe App.

Other Resources:
Any members of our community who feel uncomfortable, are encouraged to walk between classes with others, or stay home and take advantage of appropriate concessions.

If you are feeling unsafe, please consider visiting safe spaces open to you at the Women’s Centre (open later today), the Hatch Gallery in the NEST is open today from 10am to 10pm for anyone looking for a safe space and/or for those who need to decompress. There is also the Resource Lounge

Please also remember that the AERL building is card-access only after 5pm.

Following our colleagues at Dalhousie University’s Department of Biology’s recent statement of solidarity, the IOF wishes to express that it too stands with Mi’kmaw fishers.

The Canadian courts have unambiguously recognized the right of the Indigenous fishers to fish to support their livelihoods, and we respect the rule of law and abhor the use of violence for settling disputes.

We strongly denounce the acts of violence perpetrated against Mi’kmaw harvesters pursuing their rights, and also denounce any claim that such actions are justified in the name of conservation. There is no credibility on biological grounds to the conservation concerns, given the terms of the fishery initiated by the Mi’kmaw community.

We call on the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia, and the RCMP, to support and protect Mi’kmaw harvesters as they pursue their legal fishery. We further call upon Minister Jordan of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to support the creation of a fisheries management regime that embraces Mi’kmaw rights and establishes new, effective measures for conservation and protection of livelihoods of all harvesters in coastal communities.

The Institute for Oceans and Fisheries is proud to stand in solidarity with UBC’s Black Student Union and all people protesting police violence against Black people in Canada and the United States.

Systemic anti-Black racism is not limited to the United States, but also thrives in a Canadian context. Racism is a global issue and one that impacts all of our communities, including here in the IOF and at UBC as a whole. Black people in academia face many barriers that we as a community must actively confront, including lacking a sense of belonging, limited access to outdoor experiential education or field research, and microaggressions on campus.

We join UBC President Santa Ono in denouncing and condemning anti-Black racism, as well as all other forms of racism, including the ongoing oppression of Indigenous peoples, and the anti-Asian racism that has surged as a result of the COVID epidemic.

The IOF is committed to continuing the work we have begun to foster diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellness within and beyond our community. We commit to confronting racism in our classrooms, our hiring practices, our faculty meetings, our labs, our fieldwork, and in the communities in which we live and work.

We look forward to having each of you join us in this journey. If you are interested in helping to shape the directions we take moving forward as a department, please consider joining the IOF Equity, Inclusion and Wellness Committee by emailing Neil MacLean. Graduate students can join the IOF Student Society’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee by emailing Ron Togunov.

Informal pathways are those that are done outside of making a formal complaint through the University. For example, you could request a meeting with the person who violated the CoC to talk about what you experienced. The EDI committee can help you find someone to mediate such a meeting and could attend to provide support if requested.

If you would prefer to speak with someone outside of IOF, the Office of the Ombudsperson can provide informal assistance.

You always have the option to place a complaint by following the University’s formal pathways, with or without contacting the REDI committee. Formal pathways depend somewhat on the type of behaviour and which policy it violates.

UBC has a number of formal pathways through which you can file complaints like the University Counsel and the AMS (Alma Mater Society), depending on your specific situation. You can make a complaint by reaching out to the following resources at UBC: