TTC Introduces Anti-Racism Strategy

The TTC's Anti-Racism Strategy is a critical step forward in creating workplaces and transit services free from racial discrimination. It aims to eradicate systemic barriers and prevent racial bias and profiling.

The Racial Equity Office, in collaboration with the broader Diversity Department, led the development of the Strategy.

External advisors, racial equity academics and researchers, TTC employees and recommendations from the Toronto’s Ombudsman helped to inform the development of the Strategy.

Some of the key reports include:

• The Ombudsman Toronto Enquiry Report: Review of the TTC’s Investigation of a February 18, 2018 Incident Involving Transit Fare Inspectors;
• The Interim Report: TTC Anti-Racism Strategy Review, prepared by the TTC’s External Advisor on Diversity and Inclusion, Arleen Huggins;
• The TTC’s 10-Point Action Plan and Five-Year Diversity and Human Rights Plan; and
• The Racial Equity Impact Assessment of TTC Enforcement Activities: TTC Report for Action.

The Strategy has also been informed by national and international movements to eradicate racial discrimination, advance reconciliation and recognize rights, as reflected in the following:

• The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
• The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• The Program of Activities for the Implementation of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024)
• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action

Findings from a key stakeholder engagement campaign have also informed the Strategy. The Diversity Department led a multi-phase stakeholder engagement campaign from August 2023 to February 2024, with additional stakeholder discussions taking place into spring 2024 to support the development of the Strategy and Policy. This included engagement with employees across the organization, City partners, and customers, among other groups and organizations. Several key themes were identified from the stakeholder feedback that was received, particularly the following:

• Ensuring accountability for complaints of racial discrimination that are filed by employees and customers;
• Using data, including disaggregated race-based data, effectively and ethically;
• Prioritizing awareness, education, and training around anti-racism for employees, and promoting awareness of anti-racism and racial discrimination among customers;
• Ensuring that managers’ and employees’ anti-racism responsibilities are clear; and
• Equipping managers and employees with the tools they need to carry out their anti-racism responsibilities.

The goal of the Strategy is to guide and support the TTC on a path to becoming an organization that is free from systemic racism in the workplace and in the delivery of services. 

The Strategy focuses on internal operations, but applies across the entire TTC system and addresses issues that impact customers and members of the public.

Yes, the Strategy’s guiding principles are:

• Recognizing that everyone deserves to live free of systemic racism and racial discrimination
  • All humans are born free and equal in dignity and human rights – this is a core message of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is the inspiration for this guiding principle. The United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination also inspires this guiding principle by situating the idea of living free of racial discrimination as a universal human right. Additionally, this is a right that is enshrined in the Ontario Human Rights Code, which prohibits racial discrimination and harassment in areas including employment and services.
• Working together respectfully and collaborating to achieve collective impact.
  • Dismantling systemic racism requires everyone to work together, share responsibilities, and hold each other accountable. This work cannot be done alone or in isolation. The TTC’s ultimate success will come from working as a collective to achieve the goal of being free from systemic racism. Working together respectfully means that accountability and transparency will be centered in all of the work that is connected with this Strategy, which will help everyone involved in having the information necessary to support and advance the shared goal.
• Respect for the learning and growth journeys of everyone in the TTC community.
  • Becoming an organization that is free from systemic racism will also require learning, healing, and growing through what can be challenging patterns, ways of thinking and ways of being. Each person’s journey is unique and may look different from the experiences of others. It is important that this understanding is respected and that all TTC employees, customers, and community members are treated with compassion and understanding. It is also important that each person shows this same compassion and understanding to themselves.
• Honouring lived experiences and responding to the inherently intersectional nature of racism and racial discrimination.
  • Intersectionality can be described as the way in which people’s lives are shaped by different and overlapping aspects of identity and social location, and which together, produce unique experiences for each individual person. For example, a Black woman who has recently immigrated from the Caribbean and now lives in Toronto likely has a unique lived experience compared to a Black woman whose family has been living in Toronto for a few generations. Aspects of identity and social location include, but are not limited to, gender, race, ethnicity, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, differences in ability, income level, and language(s) spoken – these can all impact an individual’s experience of racial discrimination, and this is a reality that the Strategy responds to, both in design and implementation.
• Sharing knowledge to advance the shared goal of eradicating racism and racial discrimination.
  • The TTC’s journey towards becoming an organization that is free from systemic racism will also require the sharing of knowledge, competencies, and skills openly with each other, in dedicated learning environments such as training sessions, and when putting the work of this Strategy into action through implementation plans. It will require, in many cases, open giving and receiving, keeping in mind the shared goal of this Strategy. The Strategy hopes to breathe life into this guiding principle throughout all activities, actions, and initiatives.

The Strategy will be guided by an implementation plan that identifies key activities, resources required, roles and responsibilities, and key timelines. Implementation will be led by the Diversity Department, in collaboration with several TTC departments that have key roles in carrying out the key activities. 

The Strategy will be guided by an implementation plan that identifies key activities, resources required, roles and responsibilities, and key timelines. Implementation will be led by the Diversity Department, in collaboration with several TTC departments that have key roles in carrying out the key activities.

The Strategy will be monitored and measured periodically using a monitoring and evaluation framework. Results will be shared with the TTC Board on an annual basis and the Strategy will also be reviewed every five years. 

Yes, the TTC’s Anti-Racism Strategy and Anti-Racism Policy report was presented to the Board on June 20, 2024.

There are also previous Board reports that speak to the Strategy and components of the Policy:

• July 16, 2019 - CC.9.2 – Ombudsman Toronto Enquiry Report: Review of the Toronto Transit Commission's Investigation of a February 18, 2018 Incident Involving Transit Fare Inspectors
• September 24, 2019 - TTC Status Update – Ombudsman Recommendations
• February 25, 2020 - TTC Status Update – Anti-Racism Strategy and Ombudsman Recommendations
• December 15, 2020 - Interim Report from the TTC’s External Advisor on Diversity and Inclusion, Arleen Huggins
• December 15, 2020 - Embrace Diversity: The TTC’s 10-Point Action Plan and Five-Year Diversity and Human Rights Plan
• April 14, 2021 - Racial Equity Impact Assessment of TTC Enforcement Activities