Purpose

1   (1) The City of Abbotsford acknowledges, respects, values and celebrates the diversity of people who make up our community and believes that diversity is our strength. The City strives to enable all people to have equal rights, opportunities and access, and encourages the full and active participation of every person.

(2) The City of Abbotsford does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of differences.

(3) The City of Abbotsford continues to diversify and is committed to being an inclusive and accessible community for all.

(4) Promoting diversity is about equity and justice, the inclusion of all people, respecting each other’s right to be different, and living together in harmony. Diversity includes differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, and religious practice.

(5) The City supports and promotes a society where all residents have an equal opportunity to participate, thereby creating a community that is free from discrimination.

Policy

2   (1) The City of Abbotsford commits to:

(a) Recognize the diverse nature of our community through demonstrating leadership in diversity;

(b) Identify and recognize the barriers of discrimination and disadvantage faced by various groups and strive to eliminate these barriers;

(c) Recognize the importance of consulting with diverse communities and to ensure that residents participate in decision-making such as the development of Municipal bylaws, policies, programs and services where applicable;

(d) Ensure that residents of Abbotsford are able to access civic departments and take advantage of the services that the City provides to its residents.

(2) The City of Abbotsford is committed to creating an environment of equality for its residents and supports this policy through a Diversity Action Plan. The plan addresses internal diversity related to our workforce and workplace culture and external diversity by promoting diversity throughout the community to achieve equality for all Abbotsford residents.