Held annually for over 40 years, Vancouver’s Pride Festival and Parade is a vibrant celebration of love and inclusion offering support for people in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
However, we acknowledge that people in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community have faced and continue to face hostility, discrimination and violence in society and in their workplaces. We all have a role to play in creating environments where everyone feels safe, valued, and empowered, every day.
Like the society we operate in, BC’s mining sector is evolving into an industry where diversity and inclusion are not mere aspirations but standard operating procedure. We are learning to embrace the uniqueness of all individuals and building workplaces where everyone is treated with dignity, respect and given fair access to opportunities.
The industry is working hard to deliver on our equity, inclusion and diversity commitments, but we can always do more.
As the voice of mineral exploration in BC, we are engaging in meaningful conversations with a broad cross-section of BC residents about mining as a responsible necessity – impacting our future on a larger societal scale. We want to talk about how our net zero future is powered by critical minerals and champion BC’s global leadership position in responsible development while listening to concerns about what more mining might mean.
As BC strives to reach its potential as the supply of choice for the green energy transition, a diverse and representative workforce and community confidence in what we do – and how we do it – are essential.
Regrettably, misconceptions of the mining industry as a closed-off and homogenous field persist. We aim to ‘walk the talk’ as a powerful message of acceptance and inclusivity through our presence at Vancouver Pride, and actively engage in two-way conversations about why representation matters in our workplaces and in our essential industries.
We want to encourage allyship and challenge discrimination as we celebrate as part of and alongside the 2SLGBTQAI+ community in BC. And by living our determination to lead an inclusive and forward-thinking sector, we hope to inspire others to prioritize and champion 2SLGBTQAI+ rights and voices.
This post was updated for clarity on Jul 18, 2023.
