Toronto’s Office of Integrity has introduced an African ancestry declaration in staff email signatures, according to recent correspondence from the department.Only problem is it's against city policy."City of Toronto policy requires standardized email signatures. The addition of elements that could impact consistency and accessibility such as images, logos and statements, are not within our policy requirements." the city said in an email to the Western Standard.The declaration is included as part of the office’s standard email format and appears below staff members’ names and titles. The message is intended to acknowledge African ancestry and reflect the city’s broader equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.The message reads: “Though I am not a person of African descent, I am committed to continually acting in support of and in solidarity with black communities seeking freedom and reparative justice in light of the history and ongoing legacy of slavery that continues to impact black communities in Canada.""As part of this commitment, I would also like to acknowledge that not all people came to these lands as migrants and settlers. Specifically, I wish to acknowledge those of us who came here involuntarily, particularly those brought to these lands as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery. In support of the City of Toronto's ongoing efforts to confront anti-Black racism, I pay tribute to those ancestors of African origin and descent.”.A land acknowledgment precedes the African ancestry acknowledgment in the email signature. In corespondence with other offices within Toronto's municipal government there was no presence of a similar email signature."City of Toronto policy requires standardized email signatures. The addition of elements that could impact consistency and accessibility such as images, logos and statements, are not within our policy requirements," said the city in an email to the Western Standard. "The cty remains committed to addressing anti-black racism and recognizing the more than 200,000 people of African descent who call Toronto home through a variety of interventions including the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism, the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit and use of the African Ancestral Acknowledgement," the city said in the email"Through these commitments, the City of Toronto upholds the principles of targeted universalism and aims to deepen cultural and systemic change across Toronto."
