The province continues to improve and expand anti-racism tools and strategies to enhance accountability, address systemic racism and advance racial equity.

Identifying and eliminating racial disparities

Strengthening standards and education for teachers

Anti-Black racism professional advisory for teachers

Professional advisories serve as guidelines for teachers looking to enhance their professional practice, promote ethical behaviour, and address emerging issues. The anti-Black racism professional advisory provides teachers with guidance on how to create more inclusive learning environments and address discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping.

Anti-Black Racism Additional Qualifications (AQs) training for teachers

Ontario teachers will be able to obtain culturally responsive and relevant pedagogical training on teaching students about Anti-Black racism through a three-part AQ. The latest data indicates that 112 teachers completed Part 1 of the AQ in 2022. No data is currently available for Part 2 and the Specialist. Additional data will soon be available and more educational providers will offer Part 2 and the Specialist Qualification of the Anti-Black Racism AQ.

Additional Qualifications (AQ) training for teachers related to issues faced by Jewish communities

The Ontario College of Teachers released guidelines on Holocaust Education and Countering Antisemitism in June 2024. Providers will use the guidelines to develop a three-part AQ that will provide Ontario teachers with culturally responsive and relevant pedagogical training on teaching students about the Holocaust and antisemitism.

Regulation 304, School Year Calendar, Professional Activity Days

Through the mandatory Professional Activity (PA Days) for 2024–2025, the Ministry of Education has indicated that supporting students with special education needs, as well as anti-racism, anti-discrimination and inclusion of all students, should be integrated across all professional learning topics. PA Days can be a full day or a half day, and they generally take place within school hours and can include teacher directed time. In total, there are seven PA Days within a school year.

Professional misconduct

Ontario Regulation 437/97, Professional Misconduct, was amended in November 2020 to recognize hateful remarks and behaviour as professional misconduct within the teaching profession.

School board teacher hiring practices

Revocation of Ontario Regulation 274/12 and implementation of Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) 165, School board teacher hiring practices to direct school boards to implement fair, consistent and transparent teacher hiring policies based on teachers’ qualifications, merit and the ability to meet the diverse needs of all students. School boards are expected to make hiring decisions in accordance with this PPM and in accordance with applicable laws, including the Human Rights Code, and with school board collective agreements.

High Priority Communities Strategy (HPC Strategy)

The HPC Strategy was developed to implement culturally responsive and community-led services and strategies to improve access to a variety of healthcare services.

With over 740,000 community engagement interactions, the HPC Strategy offered flexible funding tailored to meet the emerging and evolving needs of their communities. In addition, Indigenous lead agencies informed the Urban Indigenous Mental Health Model and supported over 400 individuals with mental health and addictions counselling services as part of the strategy.

The success of the strategy is attributed to placing communities at the centre of policy and program design, by enabling them to identify their priority needs and how to best address them. This resulted in 1,812 individuals successfully being attached to primary care, and over 21,563 individuals being connected to receive updated cancer screenings, and 9,892 individuals receiving mental health and addictions supports directly from lead agencies.

Development and promotion of anti-racism resources

The Anti-Racism Impact Assessment (ARIA) Framework has been updated into a streamlined and customizable three-step process and is utilized across the Government. The ARIA framework supports ministries in identifying, mitigating and monitoring the racial equity impacts of policies, programs, and service delivery.

Engaging with communities and increasing the public awareness of the government’s anti-racism initiatives

Engagement with community partners

Ontario continues to actively engage diverse communities, including racialized communities, through the Advocate for Community Opportunities and the Premier’s Council on Equality of Opportunity. These help identify on-the-ground community needs and inform the development of responsive policies and programs to address barriers and improve outcomes.

Continuing Ontario’s race-based data collection processes and supporting accountability by assessing the progress of anti-racism efforts and the Anti-Racism Strategy

Implementing race-based data collection in the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 (ARA)-regulated areas and initiatives

The Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism oversees the implementation of the Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism. As of January 1, 2023, all nine regulated areas in the child welfare, education and justice sectors are collecting race-based data and are working toward compliance with the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 and the Data Standards. Collecting such data helps public sector organizations make better evidence-based policy and program decisions to improve outcomes for Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities.

Targets and indicators

Targets and indicators were established in 2019 to enable the province to track the progress of race-based data collection. The 9 regulated areas are required to report their annual compliance and response rates. Compliance rates refer to the percentage of programs, services and functions regulated under the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 that collect race-based data. Response rates refer to the percentage of responses from individuals who voluntarily provide their race-based personal information, or in the context of the Use of Force reports, the percentage of police officers reporting their perception of subjects’ race.

Child welfare sector

Children’s Aid Societies

In Ontario, under Policy Directive: CW003-21, all non-Indigenous children’s aid societies (societies) are required to collect self-reported and voluntary identity-based data from the children and youth they serve. This includes race-based data in alignment with Ontario’s Anti-Racism Act, 2017 and the Anti-Racism Data Standards.

The overall compliance rate for 2023–2024 is 100%. As of June 21, 2024, the response rate from all 37 non-Indigenous societies is 54.7%.

The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services is updating the way it collects identity-based data so that it is collected, reported, and used across programs to promote equity. This is done to support the preparation of meeting reporting obligations under the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 and Anti-Racism Data Standards, improving data’s uptake, accuracy and fostering trust in the collection process.

Education sector

For 2023–2024, there has been a 100% compliance rate within all 72 school boards engaged in race-based data collection in Ontario, with response rates varying across school boards from 7% to 83%. School boards collect data at different times and frequencies based on their locally established process.

The Ministry of Education continues to support school boards in building their capacity to collect, analyze, report on and use voluntary student demographic data, including race-based data. To ensure consistency in how school boards measure and report progress on student outcomes, the Ministry set out Provincial Priorities for student achievement (O. Reg. 224/23) and released a Student Achievement Plan framework to guide school board improvement planning. School boards are expected to analyze voluntary race-based data concerning the standardized measures and create action plans to address identified disproportionalities.

Justice sector

Bail Process

Since July 1, 2021, on behalf of the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG), Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) has been collecting race-based data from LAO Duty Counsel clients charged with an offence and are to appear in bail court. LAO has updated its lawyers’ portal to collect data about case outcomes, such as bail court releases, to improve its ability to collect race-based data.

From July 2023 through June 2024, the compliance rate was 12%, indicating that LAO sought to collect data from 12% of Ontario’s total bail population (Note: not all accused persons in bail are served/seen by LAO). Of this portion, 62% of respondents agreed to participate in LAO’s data collection and have those data shared with MAG. Thus, under the Anti-Racism Act, 2017, approximately 7.4% (i.e., 62% of 12%) of Ontario’s bail population agreed to share their LAO-collected data with MAG.

Special Investigations Unit

Since October 1, 2020, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has been collecting race-based data. On October 17, 2023, the SIU publicly released an analysis of the race-based data conducted by researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021. The SIU is reviewing the recommendations for improving the quality and quantity of available data and, where feasible, will work towards their implementation.

As of March 30, 2024, the compliance rate is 100%, and the response rate is 18.5%.

Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA — formerly the Office of the Independent Police Review Director)

As of April 1, 2020, LECA has been collecting race-based data to identify racial inequities, inform the development of policies and procedures, and ensure our investigations and decisions are bias-free. LECA has completed the analysis of three years’ worth of data and is preparing to publish the data set and the analysis.

For 2023–2024, the overall compliance rate is 100%, and the response rate is 78%.

Use of Force, Policing

As of January 1, 2020, Use of Force Reports have included information about a police officer’s perception of race when they have used force in the performance of their duties. The ministry has successfully begun reporting on the provincially mandated police Use of Force Reports in 2023. The compliance rate for the program currently is 100%.

Correctional Services

The Solicitor General has collected race-based data since August 1, 2020. On May 30, 2024, The Ministry revised the consent script/form outlined in the Data Standards to enhance the quality of data used to identify and monitor potential racial disparities and to help close gaps, eliminate barriers and advance fair treatment of justice-involved individuals.

As of March 2024, the compliance rate for the program is 100%, and the response rate for the program is 66.8%.

Youth Justice

The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ Youth Justice Division has been collecting identity-based data since March 2018. The Youth Justice Division continues to collaborate with ministry partners and gather feedback through engagements to inform report design and analysis.Preliminary baseline analysis is underway to assess data quality and completeness.

For 2023–2024, the overall compliance rate is 100%. As of March 12, 2024, the response rate of young persons providing race-based personal information is 71%.