Leon Kochian, Food Security

Howard Wheater, Water Resources (Laureate)

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Public Accountability and Transparency Requirements

Commitment Strategy

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) uses the following equity, diversity, and inclusion statement related to the Canada Research Chair Program (CRCP) and the university’s broader research enterprise:

“The University of Saskatchewan is committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace and believes that our workforce should reflect the diversity of our students and community. The university is actively taking steps to achieve a representative workforce where everyone feels a sense of belonging, including women, members of a visible minority/racialized group, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, and any others who contribute to the diversification of ideas and perspectives.”

The CRC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (updated March 16, 2020) reaffirms USask's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity, and aligns with the federal government’s policies on non-discrimination and employment equity.

Awareness Strategy

The university’s mission, vision and values statements describe USask’s commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion, equity, and meaningful change. Awareness of these intrinsic values is actively promoted at all levels of the university. From the President’s Office, and his messaging, to the active participation of Human Resources (HR) in ensuring that diversity, inclusion, and equity are imbedded in discussions that influence, shape, and direct development, leadership and organizational culture to reach institutional goals of a diverse and inclusive university. The university planning process currently underway reflects our commitment to the principle of diversity. Embedding this concept into the fabric of these strategic planning efforts will focus the university’s work in the future and emphasize to our community its importance in all we do.

All CRC Program Search Committee members are required to complete the unconscious bias training module available on the CRC Program's website. Committee members have the option to attend A Self-Reflection on Diversity workshop, provided by an Inclusion and Diversity Consultant. The workshop is intended to:

• increase self-awareness of personal thought patterns and behaviours;
• discover how assumptions, unconscious bias, and stereotypes impact our everyday interactions; and
• raise awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion at the university.

The outcomes of this training include recognizing one’s own cultural biases, stereotypes and prejudices and how they play out in the workplace, such as recruitment, selection, and hiring; grow one’s own self-awareness and what actions can lead to inclusion; and understand the principles behind equity and equality.

Governance

The governance structure for the institutional equity, diversity and inclusion action plan has been established. The President has ultimate authority for institutional goals and actions that will make the University of Saskatchewan more fully diverse and inclusive, as espoused in the university’s mission, vision and values. The Provost and Vice-Presidents affirm the institutional goals and actions and are responsible for ensuring the execution of goals and actions specific to their portfolios. The Director, People and Resources, is responsible for monitoring the progress of University of Saskatchewan’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and for reviewing and updating the goals and actions, including measuring progress. The institutional Diversity and Inclusion Plan is an action plan supporting the university’s mission, vision and values and does not need approval by the university’s governing bodies. 

The CRC EDI Action Plan is an evergreen document refined through ongoing input from the CRC EDI Advisory Group, reviewed and approved by the CRC Advisory Committee and Research Chairs Oversight Committee. The Oversight Committee is responsible for ensuring implementation and progress on EDI goals and targets.   

Contact Information

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Concerns

Equity, diversity and inclusion concerns are treated as an alleged discrimination or harassment complaint. These complaints are brought forward to the Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Services (DHPS) office through multiple platforms, including optional confidential or anonymous means. As described in the DHPS Full Policy document, university officials have a legal responsibility to take prompt, effective action to address incidents of discrimination and harassment. These actions include seeking advice from DHPS, human resources and escalating the complaint to an appropriate senior administrator who will decide if a formal investigation is warranted and oversee the investigation. The DHPS office maintains an audit trail of all discrimination and harassment concerns and reports all serious matters to the Director of Human Resources and AVP Human Resources.

USask's Equity Targets

As an eligibility requirement, all institutions that participate in the program were required to develop and submit their 2021-2029 equity target plan to the CRCP by June 2021. These plans will require setting equity targets for each of the four designated groups, for each of the target deadlines, to lead institutions incrementally, over the period of 2021-2029, to the population-based equity targets. See USask’s 2021-2029 Equity target-setting tool.

The following table shows USask’s equity targets as of January 2023 (actual # of chairs; data includes all active chairholders and new nominations under peer review as of Jan. 1, 2023).

Utilization Table

The University of Saskatchewan’s CRC utilization table (updated August 2023) outlines the number of CRC allocations at USask, how many are filled and by which chairholders (with their term end and start dates) and which allocations are available.

University of Saskatchewan Public Reports

• USask’s CRC EDI Progress Report and EDI Stipend Report (reporting period: December 2020 to December 2021; submitted June 30, 2022)
• USask’s CRC EDI Progress Report and EDI Stipend Report (reporting period: December 2018 to December 2020; submitted May 28, 2021)
• University of Saskatchewan's CRC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Progress Report (updated December 17, 2018).

CRCP Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Practices and Requirements of the 2019 Addendum to the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Settlement Agreement:

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Requirements and Practices
• 2019 Addendum to the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Settlement Agreement
• CRC Program Representation Statistics
• CRC Program's Population-Based Institutional Equity Targets 2021-2029
• Requirements for Recruiting and Nominating Canada Research Chairs