1.Anti-Oppression Practice Framework

Hummingbird Ecotherapy & Recovery (HER) is a femme & queer led non profit organization based in Ontario, committed and accountable to an anti-colonial, intersectional feminist philosophy. 

HER is committed to the constant and consistent evolution of our Anti Oppression Practice (AOP) framework as we learn, grow and evolve through the people we work with and the different political times we find ourselves in. An AOP framework is a set of principles and practices aimed at identifying and dismantling systems of oppression, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and classism. It recognizes that these systems are interconnected and that individuals can experience multiple forms of oppression simultaneously. 

An AOP framework emphasizes the importance of centering the experiences and perspectives of marginalized communities, challenging power imbalances, and promoting equity and justice. It involves actively working to resist and undo oppression, while also promoting positive change through education, advocacy, and community building.

Please reference the AOP Framework tab on our website for more detailed information.

2.Affirmative Action - refers to staff and the advisory board

Affirmative action refers to a policy designed to increase the representation of groups that have suffered discrimination. 

3. Social Procurement

A social procurement policy is designed to guide the purchasing and procurement decisions of HER. It provides a process to assess and guide the social, environmental, economic and community impact of its decisions related to the purchase of goods and services. 

Every purchase has an economic, environmental, and social impact, whether intended or not. Social procurement is about capturing those impacts and seeking to make intentional positive contributions to the local economy and the overall well-being of the community. A commitment to social procurement is important because it leverages purchasing power for the benefit of transformative change in communities. 

HER’s procurement policy focuses on 7 key principles:

• A commitment to supplier diversity and specifically to supporting businesses owned by marginalized peoples.

• A commitment to supporting social enterprise and/or companies with a strong commitment to social impact. 

• A commitment to supporting businesses that reflect equitable employment practices and promote a fair wage and standard of living.

• A commitment to supporting local economies in Southern Ontario and promoting the health of local communities

• A commitment to purchasing from companies that demonstrate environmentally sustainable practices and minimize their negative environmental impacts

• A commitment to sourcing food products from farmers and growers that demonstrate concern for animal welfare and use natural means to raise livestock

• A commitment to optimizing HER’s revenue development, business development outcomes, and the positive impacts to HER members. 

4. Land Back

5. Nondisclosures and Transparency

6. 7 Generations

1. Onboarding Process 

All new HER members receive a digital or printed copy of our Welcome Package which informs them of HER values, policies and procedures, programming and their rights and responsibilities as a member. 

Day-long virtual or in-person orientation sessions for new members are held as needed to allow for questions, conversation and deeper understanding. 

New HER staff members must participate in a mandatory week-long training, with a hybrid of virtual and in-person elements. 

Professional Upgrading 

Internal: HER coordinates facilitated workshops for HER members and staff with other Anti-Oppressive organizations in Ontario to continue to build our skills as a community. These will be planned and developed in response to the needs recognized by our members.

External: HER staff members who would like to participate in an external form of professional upgrading will be financially supported by HER where the philosophy and values of the external organization, its facilitators and its trainings are reasonably aligned with those of HER. HER is committed to paying for __% of such forms of professional upgrading upon completion.

2. Accessibility 

Notice

For all meetings and votes, the relevant members will be given adequate notice in a manner that is accessible to them of when and where meetings are to be held. 

Location

All in-person meetings will be held at a location that is physically accessible to all members. Financial support for transportation will be available as needed. When possible, in-person meetings are available virtually. 

Minutes

A member will be assigned to take meeting minutes, which will be updated to a shared virtual location that all members can access. Members will be notified when new meeting minutes have been uploaded.

Language 

As required, we will make every effort to make available HER content, meetings and workshops in the languages of our members. 

If we are required to change the language of any of our official documents for the sake of legality, we will create a legal version and a people’s version to ensure our language is as accessible as possible. 

3 Children, Elders, Animals and Caregiving

The care of children, elders and animals are integral to our day-to-day life and communities. Flexibility will be given to caregivers in consideration for their responsibilities and schedules. 

As our capacity grows, we will aim to develop a coop day-care. 

4.Probationary Period

New members will be subject to a probationary period of 1 year during which they are not able to initiate a consensus process or to vote in broad level consensus. 

New staff members will be subject to a probationary period of 3 months during which they cannot access benefits, leaves or financial support for external professional upgrading. Vacation and Wellness days are accumulated over time. 

If a member is inactive for a year or more unless on leave, they will be subject to a renewed probationary period of one month.

1.Decent Work Practice Framework 

Decent work means more than fair wages and benefits. It reflects a cultural shift that builds on the values that drive your work in your community. Decent workplaces are fair, stable and productive workplaces. Decent work means building a culture of equity and inclusion at work, and ensuring everyone’s voices are valued and heard. Decent work means acknowledging the highly gendered nature of the nonprofit sector’s workforce – and developing solutions that address women’s particular interests and concerns. (Ontario Nonprofit Network)

HER’s Decent Work Practice Framework focuses on the following areas:

• Living wage

• Pay ratio 

• Pay Transparency

• Annual salary increases that reflect the cost of living

• Decent Benefits

• Pension Plans

• Contract Security

• Leaves

https://theonn.ca/topics/onn-projects/decent-work/

Pay Ratio 

Highest paid staff are paid less than 2 times the average wage of the lowest paid 10% of our organization’s positions.

Pay Transparency

Pay transparency is not only beneficial to workers and the non-profit sector as a whole, but is necessary to dismantle oppressive frameworks. We aim to include a pay grid on our website for full transparency as soon as it is applicable. 

Living Wage

A living wage is not the same as the minimum wage, which is the legislated minimum all employers must pay and is set by the provincial government. The living wage reflects what people need to earn to cover the actual costs of living in their community. The living wage draws on community-specific data to determine the expenses to a family with two working adults and two children. Living wage employers voluntarily decide to pay a living wage and maintain their certification as new rates are calculated for their area. (Ontario Living Wage)

HER’s work is located throughout Southern Ontario, but primarily takes place in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Bruce, Grey and Simcoe Counties. While the living wage for the GTA is currently listed at $27.20, the minimum living wage for all HER employees will be $35/hour.

https://www.ontariolivingwage.ca/rates

Annual Salary Increases

Decent Benefits

Pension Plans

Contract Security

Leaves

2.Roles

3.Membership and Boundaries with Members

D: Data

1. Privacy and Data Security

2. Documentation

1. Consensus Process

HER governance consists of committees and consensus processes. Each committee has authority to determine what % of votes is required to make a decision. 

HER Leadership committee has decision-making authority over all other committees for the sake of efficiency. 

HER broad consensus (including all members, volunteers and staff who have passed their probationary period) has decision-making authority over the HER Leadership committee. __% of votes is required to make a decision at this level. Any HER member can initiate the broad consensus process whether they feel the matter is most appropriate for this level of consensus, if there is disagreement amongst a committee or if they disagree with a decision made by the Leadership committee. Any member can initiate the broad consensus process anonymously to ensure there is no fear of repercussion. 

2.Advisory/Working Board

We aim to build an advisory/working board of approximately 10 people of diverse backgrounds. Much of the work we aim to do is land-based and takes place on the land of many first nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Pottawatomi Nations collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. 

As such, we aim to have an advisory/working board that is composed of 3-4 (or more) Indigenous people local to Ontarí:io, the remaining board members will be made up of women and gender-diverse people of various marginalized backgrounds. We will work towards this by advertising to these groups specifically and taking it into account when selecting board members.

All advisory board members will receive a vote in broad consensus, and an honorarium for their time in meetings or doing work for HER.

3. Committees 

4. Avenues for Critical Feedback 

Conflict Resolution and Restorative Justice Processes

We aim to contract the services and support of a local Indigenous organization to facilitate a HER - wide training in Restorative Justice and Circle practices, and to call on in the case there is a conflict or harm that we cannot appropriately attend to internally. We are seeking an Indigenous organization for this work specifically because RJ and Circle Practices are rooted in Indigenous culture.

In the case of discrimination, appropriate training will be required in addition to the RJ process.

In the case of harassment, discrimination and violence, the individual who has experienced the harm will be centred in the resolution process. In these cases, if the individual harmed does not wish to participate in the RJ process, membership termination of the offender will be considered. We recognize that the RJ process must be voluntary by nature, and if the offender does not wish to participate, membership termination will be considered.

2. Termination

3. Care