This year’s events are centered around the theme “Celebrating Pride and Progress – You Belong. Take Pride in Being You.” We join in recognizing the advancements that have been made and the work still to do to achieve equality, dignity and greater visibility for all.

Our support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community extends well beyond a month-long celebration. Every day, we foster an inclusive and respectful culture where our teams, patients, customers, partners and communities are valued for who they are and what they contribute.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy provides the framework to act on this commitment with programs and practices that honours the unique experiences, perspectives and identities of those we employ and serve.

93% of employees say Medavie is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment.

- Medavie Pulse Survey Q4 2022

Our strategy is led by our Director, DEI and supported by our DEI Council, comprised of senior leaders and diverse employees from across the organization. Council members are dedicated to advancing our strategy and ensuring that Medavie achieves its goals.

“Building and sustaining DEI in everything we do supports a culture where we can all feel like we belong. With our DEI strategy, we will advance our DEI efforts and create deeper awareness and understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusivity in our workplace and the communities we serve. “

- Jennifer Taylor, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Benefits Together conference

Working Toward Greater Inclusivity

Among our priorities for 2023 is establishing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are employee-led, self-directed voluntary groups that draw from the diverse employees that make up our organization. Our ERGs will include groups dedicated to empowering employees to be advocates for inclusion and agents of change.

“Due to the nature of the job, the people we serve and also the people we work with, DEI is something that in my opinion is imperative in our profession. Everyone deserves respect, love, equality, and inclusivity.”

- Chris Simoes, Primary Care Paramedic, Elgin EMS

We constantly evolve our benefits offering to be as inclusive and accessible as possible. This has resulted in the development of new products and enhancements of existing such as our Gender Affirmation Benefit, which allows plans to increase access and provide financial support to gender-diverse members during transitioning.

Breaking Down Barriers

We recognize that 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians experienced mental health challenges at levels greater than the general population and were disproportionally impacted by the pandemic. As a national health solutions partner and corporate citizen, we strive to improve access to care to support 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians to lead full, healthy lives.

One of the ways we do this is by investing in communities that face barriers and inequities through the Medavie Foundation.

Partnering with the Youth Project

An example is Medavie’s partnership with the Youth Project (The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Youth Project Society), a multiservice organization aimed at advancing the inclusion and wellness of 2SLGBTQIA+ Nova Scotians under age 25.

The Medavie Foundation supported the Youth Project in developing a 2SLGBTQIA+ Counselling Services Initiative which makes counselling available to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth across Nova Scotia. The therapeutic sessions are designed to create a safer space for clients to open up, work on accomplishable goals, and create strategies for managing their mental health beyond the program. The focus is on providing gender non-binary youth access to a low-barrier, cost-free, affirming service.

These and other initiatives help us fulfill Medavie’s mission of improving the wellbeing of ALL Canadians.

Marking Pride Month at Medavie

“Everyone should feel welcome and safe in their workplace; this job can be challenging enough and we need to be there for each other. Everyone, regardless of who you are, deserves respect.”

- Courtney Hines, Advanced Care Paramedic, Island EMS

We are marking Pride 2023 at Medavie by inviting employees to share their stories of pride and allyship, wear custom-designed t-shirts and add Pride banners to their email signatures. We’ll also be raising Pride flags at ambulance stations across Canada where paramedics are wearing Pride epaulettes, posting learning resources to our DEI centre, and encouraging employees to participate in Pride activities in their communities, including the River of Pride Festival in Moncton, August 22-September 2. Medavie is the Presenting Sponsor of this event.

Learn more about how Medavie is putting DEI in action year-round.

Happy Pride from Medavie. #Pride2023 #MedaviePride