The Social Accountability and Community Engagement office hosts a robust series of annual events, related to equity, diversity and inclusion for students, faculty, staff,听and community members.
National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21, 2023) - Film screening and special guest lecture
On June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, the 平特五不中 Health Centre, in collaboration with School of Population and Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of 平特五不中, will host a film screening and special guest lecture by Katsi'tsakwas Ellen Gabriel.
The English documentary is entitled听滨别'苍颈办辞苍谤补蝉丑谩迟蝉迟别听- Strong spirits: Surviving Canada's Indian residential school system.
This event is an ideal way to participate in this important day and is part of the hospital鈥檚 efforts to raise awareness about the historical, social, and political realities of Indigenous Peoples. By highlighting the importance of supporting the autonomy, sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, this event will in turn help improve the care provided to these patients and their families.
Live event
The event will take place at the Glen site in room听DS1.1427 (Cedars Cancer Centre)
Group Zoom viewing rooms across MUHC sites
- Montreal Children鈥檚 Hospital 鈥� 3019
- Cedars Cancer Centre 鈥� 1312
- Montreal General Hospital 鈥� 112
- Lachine Hospital 鈥� Salle Charles-Gallant
- The Neuro 鈥� Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre
Doors will open at 11:45 and seating is on a first-come first served basis.
The MUHC Partnership Office and MUHC Food Services are happy to announce that they will provide bannock bread with jam, margarine and tea at the MUHC locations.
For our colleagues from the 平特五不中 community, there will be a group Zoom viewing at the School of Population and Global Health (2001 平特五不中 College Avenue, room 1140).
Zoom registration:
For those who can鈥檛 attend in person, please register using the Zoom link:听
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AGENDA
12:00 Introduction of Katsi'tsakwas Ellen Gabriel by Dr. Samir Shaheen-Hussain
12:05 Introduction of documentary by Katsi'tsakwas Ellen Gabriel
12:10 Documentary screening
12:45-13:00 Question and answer session with Katsi'tsakwas Ellen Gabriel
Katsi鈥檛sakwas Ellen Gabriel, from Kanehsat脿:ke Kanien鈥檏eh谩:ka Territory, is a documentarian, visual artist and Indigenous human and environmental rights activist.
In 1990, Gabriel graduated from Concordia University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She believes that education controlled by Indigenous peoples, based upon languages, culture and traditional forms of governance, are paramount to the recovery and reconciliation.
Gabriel was well-known to the public when she was chosen by her community of Kanehsat脿:ke to be their spokesperson during the 1990 鈥淥ka鈥� Crisis. Since 1990, she has advocated for the rights to self-determination of Indigenous peoples and has worked diligently to sensitize the public on the issues and realities of Indigenous peoples. She participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Gabriel is a steering committee member of Indigenous Climate Action, addressing the needs and solutions to the violations of Indigenous peoples鈥� rights, the climate crisis and environmental rights issues.
In 2004, Ellen Gabriel was elected president of the Quebec Native Women鈥檚 Association, a position which she held for more than six years. She received the Golden Eagle Award from the Native Women鈥檚 Association of Canada in 2005 and the International Women鈥檚 Day Award from the Barreau du Qu茅bec in 2008. In August 2008, Gabriel was the recipient of the Indigenous Women鈥檚 Initiatives 鈥淛igonsaseh Women of Peace Award鈥� for her advocacy work.
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Black History Month 2023 Event Series Recap
The SACE office celebrated Black History month 2023 with a variety of events in recognition of Black Heritage.
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Celebration of Multicultural Women Entrepreneurs
We joined one of our community partners, Playmas Montreal, in a celebration of Multicultural Women Entrepreneurs featuring Black and culturally diverse women entrepreneurs who showcased their companies and products.
The exhibit provided visibility and a space of expression to all women who actively participate to build a strong economic basis in Canada.
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GemStar mentorship program launch
Seeta Ramdass, Associate Director, EDI, of the SACE office, was the keynote speaker at the launch of the GemStar mentorship program, on the topic of the Roles and Responsibilities of Mentors and Mentees addressing students from the Black Community and their mentors.
The GemStar initiative is supporting young black youth through scholarships and mentoring in collaboration with 平特五不中鈥檚 SACE office.
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Film screening| The Color of Care
Another engaging hybrid event was the special screening of the film: The Color of Care.
Through compelling personal testimonies and expert interviews, the documentary addresses racial disparities in healthcare throughout history and the impact of racism on current health care practices.
Following the film there was a robust discussion with live and virtual attendees, Dr. Saleem Razack, inaugural director of SACE and Diane States, a patient/patient advocate.
This event was co-organized by the Black Medical Students鈥� Association of Canada and the Canadian Black Nurse Alliance in partnership with the Social Accountability and Community Engagement (SACE) Office and the SPGH鈥檚 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Anti-Racism Committee and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Outreach Administrator of the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences.
Post-viewing discussion of Color of Care.
Photo: Khawla Hassan, Post-viewing discussion of Color of Care.
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Webinar| Black Experiences in Healthcare: A Historical Perspective听
Dr. Dorothy Williams, an expert in Canada鈥檚 Black History, presented a webinar, entitled A Historical Perspective of the Experiences of Black Persons in the Health sector in Canada and Quebec.
This webinar addressed the poor health outcomes of the Black community from the perspective of history through the topics of
- Negrophobia in the Canadian context
- How Canadian Black doctors gained acceptance and the legacies they built in their communities.
- Canada鈥檚 Black domestic scheme and its impact on Black Women
Among the topics addressed in the webinar, were the anti-Black nursing attitudes of the early 1900鈥檚 where nursing schools in Canada did not accept black students. Eventually some integration occurred with a handful of Canadian nursing schools only accepting a maximum of two Black students per year, because the school was only willing to give up one dorm room with two beds for the two Black students to share. The event was a collaboration of the Black Community Resource Centre, the SACE office and the 平特五不中 Faculty of Dentistry. The recording of the webinar is available .
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Webinar: Racial Discrimination in Health Care Services
RegardMed hosted another webinar, presented by Seeta Ramdass, that addressed the topic of Perspectives on Racial Discrimination in Health Care Services. A patient advocate presented their own encounters with discrimination in the Quebec healthcare system.
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Film screening|听Steadfast: The Messenger and the Message.
Perhaps the most climactic event of the month was the special screening of the documentary Steadfast: The Messenger and the Message.
The film tells the compelling story of the Honorable Dr. Jean Augustine and her rise from her humble beginnings as a young girl growing up in Grenada to becoming the first trailblazing, African Canadian woman to become a member of Canada鈥檚 House of Commons.
In 1995 Dr. Jean Augustine was solely responsible for championing the federal motion to designate the month of February as Black History Month in Canada.
Photo: (from left to right) Shirina Charamis, Dr. Jean Augustine, Seeta Ramdass, Gemma Raeburn-Baynes.
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The WestCan dancers Black Heritage month performance.
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The SACE team extends our gratitude to all our community partners, guest speakers and attendees who helped to make this year's Black History Month Event Series successful.
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Black History Month 2023 Event Series
Film screening | The Color of Care
Date: February 10, 2023| 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
In recognition of Black History Month, the Office of Social Accountability and Community Engagement, SACE, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, 平特五不中 cordially invites you to join us for the viewing of the film: The Color of Care.
Through compelling personal testimonies and expert interviews, this documentary sheds light on racial disparities in healthcare and the impact of racism on health care practices. Following the film there will be a Q&A session with Dr. Saleem Razack, Inaugural Director of the office of SACE.
This event has been co-organized by the Black Medical Students鈥� Association of Canada and the Canadian Black Nurse Alliance in partnership with the Social Accountability and Community Engagement (SACE) Office and the SPGH鈥檚 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Anti-Racism Committee.
This event is on-line, please register for the webinar here:
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Webinar| Black Experiences in Healthcare: A Historical Perspective, presented by Dr. Dorothy Williams
Date and time: Wednesday, February 22, 2023| 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm.
Webinar recording:
The BCRC, in collaboration with the Office of Social Accountability and Community Engagement (SACE), Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences of 平特五不中, invites you to join us for a webinar presented by Dr. Dorothy Williams to address:
-The poor health outcomes of the Black community from the perspective of history
-Negrophobia in the Canadian context
-The challenges faced by Canadian Black clinicians.
-Canada鈥檚 Black domestic scheme and its impact on Black Women
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About the speaker:
Dr. Dorothy Williams is the author of Blacks in Montreal, 1628-1986: An Urban Demography, and The Road To Now: A History of Blacks in Montreal, and Les Noirs 脿 Montreal, 1628-1986. Her scholarship has been ground-breaking. She has a wealth of detailed knowledge about Canada's Black history which has been shared in interviews and consultations on several Canadian films, research studies and other initiatives.
Thus, she has developed the ABC's of Canadian Black History Kit for teaching Black history in Canada鈥檚 schools. She is a vaunted educator, teaching the only course on Black Montreal at Concordia University. Her research interests include Black health, gender, immigration, school retention, anti-racism initiatives and community affairs.
Dr. Williams has been honoured with numerous awards including the Mathieu da Costa Award, the John G. Dennison Award, and the Quebec Laureate. All these honours culminated in 2022 when she was featured as the inaugural exhibition in the Afro-Mus茅e, the first Black museum in Quebec.
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