The Toronto Fire Services is working hard to diversify its workforce to reflect the population of the City.
The Toronto Fire Services (TFS) is reaching out to make the service more diversified to reflect the community.
The TFS in an Inclusion and Community Outreach Update to be presented to City Council on April 16 said they are ‘fostering a culture that is safe, inclusive, welcoming and supportive for members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.’
The Services has been criticized in the past for not having a diversified workforce that reflects the population of the city.
The Fire Services is trying to attract diversified gender and race based firefighters.
We are “continuing to prioritize equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) at all levels of TFS,” its officials told a City committee. We are “continuing top-down culture shift and leadership expectations.”
“Conduct and behaviour that is inconsistent with corporate policy is not tolerated,” the TFS said.
The TFS said its training for recruits will include equity and inclusion, understanding gender and sexual orientation, human rights and understanding allyship.
Recruits will undergo a formal training program focusing on the historical challenges faced by Toronto’s 2SLGBTQ+ persons, fostering 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion and human rights.
The Fire Services has been blasted in the past for its workforce not reflecting the population of the City.
The report said a TFS Positive Space Committee (PSC) was established in 2016 and supports 2SLGBTQ+ members through various initiatives, as participating in the Pride parade with family members; and Pride Month visibility with decals placed on fire trucks and pride-specific uniform and clothing.
TFS members will also provide advice to management on new initiatives or supports, according to the Update.
We “directly support the strategic goal of building an increasingly diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities TFS serves,” the report stated.
A Fire Services Community and Inclusion Update has been prepared for City Council.
It said 37 per cent of its Operations staff hired last year self-identify as members of an equity deserving group; 42 per cent of its January 2024 Operation recruits identified as being members of an equity deserving group and 14 per cent as a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
The report said of the 152 members who left the TFS last year, some 132 retired, 13 resigned, two were terminated and seven died.