TAMRMS#: B06
5.2
REQUEST FOR DECISION
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Council Policy on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA)
Presented by: Laura Horton and Jenny Bourne, Human Resources & Safety, with representatives from NorQuest College Colbourne Institute for Inclusive Leadership.
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
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1. That Standing Committee of the Whole recommend to Council that Policy C-HR-04 Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility attached to the July 8, 2025 agenda report entitled “IDEA Council Policy” be approved.
2. That Standing Committee of the Whole recommend to Council that upon the approval of C-HR-04 Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, Policy C-HR-04 Inclusive Hiring be rescinded.
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SUMMARY
In alignment with Council’s Strategic Priority for Community Wellbeing and Council direction in the approved Postponed Motion PM-24-022, Norquest College’s Colbourne Institute for Inclusive Leadership (CIIL) was engaged from September 2024 to July 2025 to assist Administration in developing an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Strategy. The Strategy is provided to SCOW for information and will serve to guide Administration’s efforts over the next five years to gain maturity in IDEA practices, programs and policies with both internal and external impact.
Alongside the Strategy development, a Council Policy and an Administrative Directive have been prepared to support and strengthen the IDEA Strategy by outlining purpose, responsibilities and expectations. Administration recommends that Council approve the Council Policy in support of the City’s commitments under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015) and to the City’s Diversity and Inclusion Declaration (2020).
The IDEA Council Policy provides high level, guiding direction on how both Administration and Council will enact its IDEA commitments, actions and decision making. As such, the existing Inclusive Hiring Council Policy would become redundant and is no longer required as its intent and programmatic operations are outlined within the new IDEA Council Policy, once approved.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
On December 19, 2023, 2023 Council passed the following motion:
PM-24-022
That the 1.0 FTE Diversity & Inclusion Advisor [retitled Inclusion & Engagement Specialist] business case for $94,633 (BIR-24-12) be funded in 2024 from the Growth Stabilization Reserve with the intent that prior to the hiring of an ongoing staff resource, up to the first year of funding be utilized towards the development of a Diversity, Inclusion and Equity strategy by the method deemed most appropriate by the CAO and;
That the 2025 base budget be increased by $135,511 ongoing to create a permanent Inclusive Hiring Program.
Relevant provincial statutes include:
• Alberta Human Rights Act
• Alberta Occupational Health & Safety Act, Regulation and Code
• Municipal Government Act
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
St. Albert has a long and proud history in creating welcoming and inclusive environments. In 2008, St. Albert was one of the first 30 municipalities to join the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities. In appreciating and respecting all of its members, an inclusive municipality builds a barrier-free society in which everyone benefits from its economic, political, social, cultural, and recreational life, and has the opportunity to reach their full potential. From initiatives such as the Social Master Plan (2013), Inclusive Hiring Policy (2014), Universal Access Plan (2018), Payhonin Report (2019), and the Community Social Roadmap (2024) and more, the City of St. Albert has demonstrated ongoing commitment to fostering a welcoming and inclusive community and strives to exemplify this work through its programs and services.
This history has been reinforced by Council’s Strategic priority for Community Wellbeing and links to the Municipal Development Plan’s (Flourish) priorities of: Housing Diversity, Housing for Everyone, Public Transit, Payhonin Reconciliation St. Albert, Social and Family Services, and Accessibility and Comfort.
The IDEA Strategy project serves to unite and align the wealth of related initiatives and maps out a deliberate path forward. Led by the Human Resources and Safety Department and relying on a cross-departmental project and advisory team, the IDEA Strategy project involved three main phases:
1) Assessment and Engagement - through a four-month period, the Colbourne Institute led a thorough analysis of City policy and procedures, accessibility audits of the intranet and public website, engagements with internal and external stakeholders (detailed in Stakeholder Engagement and Communications below) and benchmarking with other municipal organizations with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategies.
2) Maturity Assessment and Visioning - the Colbourne Institute provided a comprehensive Maturity Assessment report and presentation to Administration based on analysis of five domain areas: Space & Culture, Policies & Procedures, External Impact, Accountability and Organizational Resource Investment. In each domain area, the assessment assigns a location on a progressive scale of maturity from:
• Level 1 (Compliant)
• Level 2 (Spontaneous)
• Level 3 (Developing)
• Level 4 (Systemic)
• Level 5 (Integrated)
The assessment indicated that the City is at a “Compliance” or Level 1 stage and provided recommendations to develop its maturity. Based on this assessment, employees and leadership were engaged to envision a future state of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility.
3) Strategy and Policy Development - Guided by the Colbourne Institute, collaborative and iterative work was undertaken to craft the IDEA Strategy outlining realistic and meaningful objectives, actions and measures to be undertaken by Administration in the next five years. An Administrative Directive was drafted and approved by Executive Leadership, and a Council Policy was drafted for Council consideration.
Efforts towards inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility are most impactful when undertaken as a collaborative endeavour, sustained and upheld by both Administration and Council. Regularly engaging and communicating with stakeholders and impacted persons will also build meaningful and systemic change. As such, it is important that both an Administrative Directive and Council Policy be introduced:
1) To guide Administration’s IDEA approaches and accountabilities, and
2) To communicate Council’s commitment to the principles of IDEA in their governance.
The City, supported by the Colbourne Institute, conducted benchmarking of other municipalities regionally and nationally. Regionally, Strathcona County approved their Diversity and Inclusion Council Policy on May 12, 2020 and City of Edmonton approved their Diversity and Inclusion Policy on December 17, 2008. These policies are supported by corresponding procedures and strategies in support of stated goals.
CIIL benchmarking looked at five municipalities across Canada that have taken significant strides in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within their respective community and organization, including Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, North Bay and Pickering. Across these five municipalities, common performance indicators were identified, including:
• Workforce diversity
• Inclusive workplace culture
• Community engagement
• Policy review and development
• Training and development
• Leadership commitment
While each municipality has identified priorities and initiatives that are most relevant to their community and organization, the common performance indicators drive momentum and effectiveness in each municipality’s efforts to dismantling systemic barriers and fostering environments where all individuals can thrive.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
Internal and external engagement was a key factor in the IDEA Strategy project, to gather perspective and input that helped to inform the Colbourne Institute’s IDEA Maturity Assessment. The following stakeholders were engaged between September 2024 and May 2025 as a part of the IDEA Strategy Project:
• External:
o Five Indigenous partners were provided opportunity to participate in interview or survey engagement. Respondents were also provided opportunity to review the draft IDEA Strategy and IDEA Council Policy.
o Eleven Community partner organizations were provided an opportunity to participate in interview or survey engagement.
• Internal:
o Four Executive Leadership interviews.
o Two Leadership Team focus groups.
o Two visioning sessions for Executive Leadership, Leadership Team and the project and advisory team.
o Two live Q&A sessions (32 participants), one employee survey (528 responses), two visioning session opportunities (59 participants), and one priority feedback survey (201 responses).
Future engagements will be operationalized through established committees, work or project plans and communicated accordingly.
IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
In the future, opportunities may be identified through the IDEA Strategy implementation and IDEA Employee Committee, that require new or additional funding. If that occurs, a business case may be brought to Council as a part of future annual budget deliberations and existing planning processes.
Compliance & Legal:
The City will continue to comply with the Alberta Human Rights Act, the Occupational Health & Safety Act, Code and Regulations, and make progress towards the obligations of the Truth and Reconciliations Commission’s Calls to Action and Administration would comply with the Council Policy (see responsibilities of Chief Administrative Officer).
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
As noted in the Purpose section of the drafted Policy, this is a tangible representation of commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, it is supportive to the corporate IDEA Strategy and will have a positive impact within the organization and greater community. The IDEA Strategy actions are expected to have a positive impact (reduce risk) on City employee health and safety and employee experience resulting in inclusive talent attraction, increased employee engagement, productivity and retention.
The Council Policy establishes responsibilities of the Chief Administrative Officer and directs Administration to action and report upon the IDEA Strategy. While work is currently underway on some of the Strategy actions, other actions may require new effort which will be managed within the prioritization of operational business plans and workloads.
Risks
The approval of a Council Policy has the following risk considerations:
• Strategic - changes in Council or Administration priorities may impact the success of the IDEA Strategy implementation. Approval of Council Policy is expected to set an informative community and Council tone that aligns resources towards a common purpose. Future initiatives that Council may wish to advance may also link with the Council Policy.
• Culture and People - introduction of IDEA Strategy actions are likely to improve employee engagement metrics relating to psychological health and safety and employee experience. Employees that experience a sense of belonging and connection at work are more likely to contribute diversity of thought, share new ideas, communicate openly, and solve problems collaboratively.
• Operational - approval of the Council Policy will support employee psychological health and safety and mitigate safety risks. Approval will support employee engagement and full participation of employees in the workplace and mitigate attraction/retention risks.
• Compliance and Legal - introduction of IDEA Strategy actions may mitigate some risk of Human Rights and Occupational Health and Safety complaints and investigations.
• Stakeholders - approval of the IDEA Council Policy may mitigate risks to relationships with Indigenous and community partners, and may positively impact community engagement measures. However, approval of the Council Policy may increase risk with some stakeholders that do not understand the policy or purpose and misinterpret expected outcomes. This likelihood presents welcome opportunities for education and engagement.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
Under Council’s Strategic Priority for Community Wellbeing, the following strategic goals have been identified and outlined for action within the Corporate Business Plan:
Council Strategy: Continue to support and collaborate on Indigenous led initiatives to better develop meaningful relationships, honour Truth, and action Reconciliation.
• Corporate Business Plan initiative: Reconciliation Action Plan
Council Strategy: Foster a cohesive community that supports the physical and psychological well-being of all residents.
• Corporate Business Plan initiatives: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Strategy Development and Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Implementation
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
There is no new External Service Level created by approval of the Council Policy.
However, approval of the policy asks Council to make future governance decisions with a lens of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility. Future Agenda Reports may reference this policy.
An internal service level for Inclusive Hiring has been previously approved. This Council Policy ensures alignment with that service level.
IMPACTS OF ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendation, the following alternatives could be considered:
ALTERNATIVE 1: Provide feedback for revision of the IDEA Council Policy, with recommendation to bring a re-drafted version back to Standing Committee of the Whole in later 2025 or 2026. The Inclusive Hiring Council Policy will remain in effect until a future IDEA Council Policy is approved.
Financial:
None at this time.
Compliance & Legal:
None at this time.
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
Administration will incorporate feedback into a revised Policy. Administration will proceed with implementation of the IDEA Strategy, in accordance with the CAO approved IDEA Administrative Directive.
Risks
Relevant Parties - Community residents, Indigenous partners, community partner organizations and other interest holders may not understand the delay or rationale of the Standing Committee of the Whole to not approve the Policy as presented.
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Report Date: July 8, 2025
Author(s): Laura Horton, Manager, Workforce Strategies and Development
Department: Human Resources and Safety
Department Director: Ryan Stovall, Director, Human Resources and Safety
Managing Director: Diane McMordie
Chief Administrative Officer: William Fletcher