Honouring the land

Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have walked gently on the diverse traditional territories where the University of Northern British Columbia community is privileged to learn and work. We are committed to building and nurturing relationships with Indigenous peoples, we acknowledge their traditional lands, and we are grateful to them.

UNBC's Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Northern British Columbia is fully committed to ensuring that all who engage with our university experience a welcoming, safe, inclusive campus community. The principles of equity, diversity and inclusion are our top priority, and over the past year have led to the initiation of a number of activities to support our commitment. We recognize that the work of the entire community is required to make positive transformational change and that efforts for change must be ongoing.

​The Office of Equity Affairs was established in 2022 as a call to action from the UNBC community to support equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) efforts at UNBC.

Who we are

The Office of Equity Affairs was established to hold the university accountable for its EDI goals and efforts within the communities that it serves. The office is committed to addressing the inequities within the academy and advancing EDI through developing community awareness, providing guidance and education, and actioning accountability.

Individual and Institutional Responsibility of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The office’s goal is to ensure that all community members recognize their individual and collective responsibility to engage and action equity-mindedness.

The Office of Equity Affairs principles:

• Committed to and guided by ongoing work towards the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 94 Calls to Action.
• Everyone is entitled to human rights and a life of dignity, free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying. ​
• Embedding equity-mindedness into institutional structures.
• Leading through an intersectional framework.
• Focusing efforts on systems that restrict access, agency, and power.

The institution strives to address barriers to inclusion, access and success, especially for groups that have been historically and are currently excluded.

What we do

Our current focus is building a foundation of awareness across campus(es) and providing guidance on equity issues that meet the needs of our community. We want to be able to build knowledge and capacity within the institution that encourages connection and creates a community shift to equity-mindedness.

How we can help

We want to be available to the UNBC community to provide advice, direction and support through education, resources, or as a place to share experiences.

We will continue to update this web page as we continue to collaborate and co-create an inclusive and equitable university. 

Have questions? Contact us at edi@unbc.ca.