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Ottawa – October 31, 2014 – UFCW Canada leaders and staff from all across Canada recently gathered in Ottawa for a summit focused on diversity and inclusion.

The goal of the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Summit was to help build organizational cultures that are more growth-oriented, inclusive, and diverse. “Diversity and inclusion must be central to what we do,” said National President Paul Meinema as he welcomed the summit participants. “We understand, that as our nation diversifies, so too does our membership. Regardless of race, gender, sexuality, ability, age, religion and ethnicity, we need to do more than just focus on hiring and promoting without bias. We need to include those many diverse voices in every aspect of our Union.”

Leading the summit training was Dr. Leeno Karumanchery from Diversity Solutions. Dr. Karumanchery is recognized as one of North America's pre-eminent diversity intelligence practitioners, and has been widely published in the field of diversity and inclusion organizational training over the past two decades.

The summit provided cutting-edge techniques to empower participants with the skills and understanding to build a unified culture of inclusion that will ultimately lead to innovation and growth. Participants were exposed to training that was designed specifically to address the challenges and opportunities facing unions when it comes to their diversity and inclusion efforts. 

"We need our union to stand up for all our members, and in the ways that they need," said Brother Meinema at the conclusion of the two-day summit. "We are more prepared than ever to move into the future and lead the way for the labour movement and UFCW Canada members."