Partnership marks a five-year commitment to honour unique cultures, rights, interests, perspectives and contributions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada to foster an inclusive workplace
October 13, 2022 (Toronto, ON) – Bimbo Canada is extremely proud to announce that it has expanded its Legacy Spaces partnership with the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) and unveiled the first Legacy Space in Canada in a manufacturing setting in its bakery in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company unveiled its first Legacy Space at its head office in Etobicoke, Ontario in March, 2022 and over the next two months will create two more Legacy Spaces at its bakeries in Montreal, Quebec and Moncton, New Brunswick.
Each Legacy Spaces is unique and designed to help build cultural understanding, connections and a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. The Winnipeg bakery’s Legacy Space is located in the atrium of the bakery, where all associates can easily access the resources provided by DWF to learn more about Indigenous history and the journey of Reconciliation.
The Winnipeg team’s first reconciliACTION was the commissioning of a local Indigenous artist, a family member of one of its associates to create a mural on an exterior bay door at the facility. The mural will tell a story about Indigenous peoples and residential schools and will be painted in three different parts over the next three years.
“In Winnipeg, we are taking action to bring awareness to and educate everyone in the history of residential schools as a way to show our support for all the families that have been impacted by this and honour the memories of the Indigenous kids who never made it home,” says Emmanuel Osagie, Bakery Supervisor, Bimbo Canada. “We can never forget what happened and must ‘Do Something’ to spread the word and inspire change.”
Since March, 2022, Bimbo Canada has been consistently taking reconciliACTION to raise awareness about Chanie Wenjack’s story and the true history of residential schools in Canada. This includes providing ongoing training and educational opportunities for associates through The Indigenous Cultural Competency Training (ICCT) program offered by DWF, regularly sharing educational opportunities and providing the opportunity for open discussion, and participating in Walk for Wenjack during Secret Path Week from October 17-22.
“The Legacy Spaces program has grown substantially over the last year and is an opportunity for organizations to play an important role in their communities by building cultural understanding, and creating a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples,” says Sarah Midanik, President and CEO of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. “Bimbo Canada has worked with our team to move reconciliation forward and we are thrilled to see them add additional spaces for their employees across the country.”
This recent initiative is one of many contributions Bimbo Canada makes to support the company’s larger goal of building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace so each associate can reach their potential and know they belong. The company believes every associate has a responsibility to contribute to diversity, equity, and belonging and actively encourages employees to live this at work and share back within their communities.
About Bimbo Canada
Bimbo Canada is Canada's largest bakery, operating for more than 100 years. It is a leading producer and distributor of fresh packaged breads and snacks with more than 1,000 products across 18 brands Canadians know and love, like Dempster's®, Stonemill®, Villaggio®, Vachon® and Takis®. We are proud to feed Canadian families with safe, high-quality products they can trust made by Canadians, for Canadians at 16 bakeries, 15 distribution centres and 191 depots across the country.
Bimbo Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo, the world's largest baking company. Together, they are nourishing a better world with delicious baked goods and snacks by building a sustainable, highly productive and deeply humane company. The company is dedicated to building a diverse workplace that promotes equity and belonging, where all employees can develop and contribute to the transformation of the company, the baking industry and our communities.
For more, visit www.bimbocanada.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
About the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund
Inspired by Chanie’s story and Gord’s call to build a better Canada, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. DWF’s work centres around improving the lives of Indigenous people by building awareness, education, and connections between all peoples in Canada.
The Legacy Spaces program is an opportunity for organizations large and small to participate in their own reconciliACTIONs, which are simple acts with the power to bring us together in the spirit of reconciliation, sharing, and education. As Gord would say, they inspire us to "Do Something."
For more, visit www.downiewenjack.ca
For more information:
Sylvia Sicuso
Director of Corporate Affairs
Bimbo Canada
(416) 626-4316
Sylvia.Sicuso@GrupoBimbo.com
Mel Hoskins
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund
(647) 534-4703
mel@downiewenjack.ca