TAHSN Launches New Anti-Racism Toolkits to Support the Health Care Workforce
Covers of education, data, and reporting toolkits
The Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) has launched a series of anti-racism toolkits to support help healthcare organizations in strengthening action on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism. Developed through the leadership, expertise, and collaboration of anti-racism leaders and subject matter experts from across TAHSN, Ontario Health, and community health organizations, the initiative includes three interconnected toolkits focused on anti-racism education, workforce data, and approaches to reporting and addressing racism.
Anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism continues to impact healthcare systems, workforce culture, patient experiences, and health outcomes across Canada. It shapes how people access care, experience treatment, and feel supported and safe within healthcare environments. It also influences trust in healthcare systems, workplace experiences for the healthcare workforce, and organizations’ ability to provide equitable and culturally safe care.
Healthcare organizations are increasingly recognizing that meaningful and sustained anti-racism work requires leadership commitment, organizational learning, collaboration, and accountability. Designed as a network-wide resource, the toolkits aim to help organizations strengthen efforts to foster safer, more inclusive environments for staff while supporting equitable, culturally responsive, and high-quality care experiences for patients, families, and communities.
“Across our organizations, leaders, practitioners, and partners are advancing anti-racism through their expertise, lived experience, and commitment,” says Sarah Downey, Chair of TAHSN and President and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). “Our responsibility as leaders is to ensure this work is properly supported, resourced, and embedded into how our organizations operate and deliver care.”
Christopher Townsend, Director of Social Accountability and Organizational Development & Leadership at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre emphasizes the importance of creating the conditions for change. “Addressing anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism requires space for ongoing learning, reflection, and honest conversations about workforce culture,” he says. “The toolkit is designed to equip teams with the awareness and practical knowledge needed to foster meaningful organizational change.”
Beyond the launch of the toolkits, TAHSN will continue supporting organizations through learning opportunities, implementation resources, and ongoing collaboration across the network.
Dr. Everton Gooden, President and CEO of North York General Hospital and co-Chair of the TAHSN Anti-Black and Anti-Indigenous Racism Steering Committee and alongside Temerty Faculty of Medicine's Dr. Lisa Richardson, underscores the importance of collective effort. “Advancing this work in healthcare requires collaboration, shared responsibility, and sustained commitment across organizations.”
The toolkits include a framework that recognizes organizations may be at different stages of implementation. Through collaboration, monitoring, and reflection the framework is intended to support continuous improvement and collective accountability across the TAHSN network.
“Moving from intention to action is critical to advancing anti-racism in healthcare.” says Jacqueline Silvera, Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism, at University Health Network. “These toolkits embed accountability into policies, practices, and systems, strengthening equitable, safe, and high-quality patient care.”
Together, these toolkits reflect TAHSN’s ongoing commitment to strengthening anti-racism efforts across the health workforce, health systems, and care environments through shared leadership and collective action.
Acknowledgments Leadership of the toolkits was provided by the TAHSN Anti-Racism Advisory Committee.
The Education Toolkit was co-led by Christopher Townsend, Director of Social Accountability and Organizational Development & Leadership at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Dionne Sinclair, Vice President, Clinical Operations and Chief Nursing Executive at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH); and Keddone Dias, Executive Director at LAMP Community Health Centre.
The Data Toolkit was led by Sangeetha Navaratnam, Director, Health Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism.
The Reporting Toolkit was led by Jacqueline Silvera, Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism at University Health Network.
Special acknowledgment is extended to Sandra Smith, Vice President, People, Culture, and Equity & Chief Human Resources Officer, Women's College Hospital, and Carrie Fletcher, Executive Vice President, People, Culture & Strategy and Chief Administration Officer, St. Joseph's Health System, whose early leadership and foundational contributions helped shape the development and direction of this work.
