On behalf of: Indigenous Employee Experience, People
One year ago today, Island Health launched the Indigenous-Specific Anti-Racism and Discrimination Workforce (ISAR) Policy. The ISAR policy helps promote respectful, safe and inclusive work and care environments for all staff.
"Unresolved Indigenous-specific racism, discrimination and racial bias continue to impact the health, wellness and employee experience," said Anne-Marie Rousselle, Executive Director Employee Relations, Employee Records, Scheduling Services, Indigenous Employee Experience and DEI. “I'm encouraged by the number of staff who bravely speak up against Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination. It isn't easy to take action or seek support, and I commend our teams for doing this important work."
Under the ISAR policy, staff, medical staff, contracted healthcare professionals, students and volunteers have a duty to report all instances of Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination. The required training, Working Together as One, supports staff everyone to meet these obligations under the policy. This includes how to recognize, identify, report and address Indigenous-specific racism. Indigenous Employee Experience Advisors are now part of the reporting process from the very beginning, a change we made in response to your feedback.
“All of us have a responsibility to address Indigenous-specific racism, discrimination and racial bias in the workplace,” said Alegha Van Hanuse, Manager, Indigenous Employee Experience. “After a racial behaviour is report is submitted and where appropriate, we bring parties together for a supportive conversation to address unsafe behaviours — a 'calling in' approach that focuses on engagement and education to bring about behavioural change. As an organization, we understand that there may be circumstances where it is neither safe nor helpful to bring people together to discuss the harm that has occurred. In these instances, we work in collaboration with internal partners to address unsafe behaviours in the workplace.”
Staff who complete the Indigenous-specific anti-racism training are better able to recognize and report racism in the workplace to protect themselves and their colleagues. Since April 2025, almost 12,000 staff members have completed the Working Together as One training, including 95% of Island Health leaders. Thank you to everyone who completed the training and for your ongoing commitment to create safe, respectful and welcoming workplace for everyone.
Island Health is committed to creating a culture of safety and wellness for all staff and medical staff, as well as improving Indigenous employee experience (Outcome Goal 4).
Find support
- Working Together as One or the ISAR Workforce policy, hraccess@islandhealth.ca
- Supporting Indigenous employee experience, indigenousemployeeexperience@islandhealth.ca
Leaders can reach out to hrpolicy@islandhealth.ca for information on team members who still need to complete the training.
Learn more about the Indigenous-specific Anti-Racism and Discrimination Policy and additional supports.