December 2024

The JEDI Council (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) is wrapping up its second year at CFHT. The Council came together in early 2023, at the request of Executive Director Jean-Gabriel to encourage a positive and inclusive environment within CFHT. The Council advises the CFHT Executive and internal committees on diversity, equity, and inclusion matters within the corporation.

The committee meets bi-weekly and consists of members representing each of the administrative divisions within CFHT. In 2024, the committee abolished the position of committee chair. Meetings are led by each committee member on a rotating basis. All strategic decisions and objectives are set by the full committee.

Each group representative is a voting member of the committee.

This year, the committee also eliminated the limitation that only one member from each group can serve on the committee. However, at present, the committee only consists of one member per group. Additionally, due to a lack of available staff, the MSE Project Office no longer has representation on the JEDI Council.

In addition to the group representatives, there are two ex officio members of the committee, an Executive Group Representative, and an External Community Consultant. Ex officio members do not vote on committee matters, but serve as advisors to the committee.

The Mission Statement of the JEDI Committee is:

The JEDI Council will foster intentional relationships within our workplace and among our many communities, upholding and fulfilling kuleana as stewards, implementing systemic growth through ongoing education of ourselves and others, cultivating a sense of belonging.

Throughout the year, the JEDI Council has worked on several initiatives — first and foremost has been the conducting and analyzing the results from a survey to the staff. This survey (the content of which is described in a separate document), was sent out to all CFHT staff, and visiting students early in the year.

The purpose of this survey was to gather perspectives from the staff on matters related to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion so that these could be used to directly inform the direction of the Council.

The response rate was excellent — higher than anticipated — with a total of 34 responses received (assuming around 45 staff were invited to respond, the approximate response rate was 75%). This included over 200 individual written responses. The Council then spent several months analyzing the survey results, and conducted two staff presentations on the results of the survey, and resultant recommendations for the Executive based upon the survey results. Finally, a report on the survey, and the complete list of recommendations, is being prepared by the Council. This will be released to the staff before the end of the year.

In addition to the staff survey, the Council has also looked other areas of interest including, but not limited to:

• Land and Staff Acknowledgement Recommendations
• Inclusive Restroom Signage
• Hiring Policies and Procedures
• Advising on the rollout of the MKO Guiding Principles in staff discussions

Overall, it was a productive year, and the committee is very pleased with response rate and the quality of the responses to the staff survey. The committee looks forward to continuing with JEDI-focused initiatives and work in 2025.