Board of Directors Statement of Confidence in EWB’s Culture, Policies and Leadership

In recent months, false and damaging narratives about EWB, its organisational culture, and past actions have been repeated on social media and online. The Board of Directors of EWB Canada denounces them outright.

Differentiating between falsehoods and truth is not always easy and requires rigorous investigation. We will not confront false claims with the facts on specific cases because doing so would constitute a violation of privacy. Yet these falsehoods injure the reputation of our organisation and they harm our staff and volunteers especially since they are being repeated without due diligence.

It saddens the EWB Board that repeated attempts have been made publicly to injure EWB’s reputation as a champion of social justice. Perpetuating false narratives intentionally or out of context about EWB without exercising sound judgement, compassion and thorough investigation causes mental and emotional harm to our members, our staff and our community. 

Let it be clear that EWB does not tolerate harassment of any form in the workplace and throughout our organisation, or any other harmful practices that run counter to our values. EWB is not perfect, and the organisation has demonstrated its commitment to continuously learning and growing. Over the years, EWB has regularly reviewed and updated its policies and procedures to better reflect the values of the organisation. The organisation has learned and continues to learn from the #MeToo #BLM and #AidToo movements. 

The Board of Directors is unequivocally confident in EWB’s current policies and procedures, in the way these are implemented and in the organisation’s culture, values and leadership. We strive to hold ourselves to ever higher standards when it comes to safeguarding and inclusion in the workplace. A third-party independent audit has confirmed that our policy and procedures in that regard are well above the current standard of the aid sector. 

Solidarity, inclusion and generosity are fundamental to EWB’s work. EWB has earned wide recognition for its work to eradicate poverty and extreme inequalities around the world, and for its effective advocacy to improve Canada’s contribution to global development. The EWB Board of Directors is proud of the work of our staff and volunteers. We are committed to continuing our work to tackle poverty and inequality. 

Please reach out to boardchair@ewb.ca if you have any questions regarding this statement.

For more information about how we safeguard our community through our policies and procedures, see the place of gender equality in EWB’s Theory of Change, as well as EWB’s Health, Safety & CCIC Leaders’ Pledge on Preventing and Addressing Sexual MisconductWellness policies and the Global Development Leaders’ Pledge on Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct, to which EWB is a signatory.

To address any unresolved concerns about EWB, or someone associated with our staff or community, to please reach out to us at concerns@ewb.ca. The Board strongly encourages any persons with such concerns to make use of this email.

Any personnel matters that our policies have not satisfactorily resolved can be submitted to our independent external Ombudsperson at ombudsperson@beyondrewards.ca as per EWB’s complaints process. Our ombudsperson is independent and will support those who reach out in getting clarity and resolution.

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