Solidarity, Equity and Inclusion Plan: So No One Is Left Behind

Montréal has adopted its Action Plan for Solidarity, Equity and Inclusion 2021-2025, a key pillar of the inclusive social recovery it has initiated with its partners.

Some 71 actions set out to promote greater solidarity in Montréal and make the city more equitable and inclusive

This plan revolves around five major areas of action for reducing social inequality: 

  • Access to quality local services regardless of status and living conditions.
  • Meeting basic needs in terms of nutrition and housing.
  • A population that can appropriate and thrive in public spaces.
  • An exemplary city that consistently takes action against all forms of systemic discrimination, across all sectors of society.
  • Residents who fully contribute to economic life based on their training and aspirations. The actions laid out with partners will take effect on three scales: The human scale, the neighbourhood scale, and the city-wide scale.

The human scale: Human beings front and centre in our actions

  • Ensure access to healthy nutrition and counter food insecurity.
  • Ensure access to affordable, accessible and clean housing.
  • Promote access to information and knowledge.
  • Simplify public service procedures and processes for people.
  • Mitigate the effects of precarious status.
  • Prevent all forms of discrimination.
  • Counter all forms of violence.

Neighbourhood scale: Thriving neighbourhoods

  • Recognize and support actions taken by community organizations, consultation bodies, coalitions, and social economy stakeholders.
  • Deploy an offer of services at the neighbourhood level, adapted to the needs of local residents.
  • Promote positive interactions within the population as a whole so as to improve social cohesiveness.
  • Stimulate citizen engagement and further strengthen equal participation in municipal democracy for everyone.
  • Strengthen prevention and the sense of safety among residents.
  • Use an inclusive approach to develop the urban space.

City scale: A vibrant metropolis with an international reputation

  • Enhance Montréal’s performance in terms of professional integration, and support entrepreneurship.
  • Strengthen regional governance on issues of diversity and social integration.
  • Step up efforts to share expertise on issues of diversity and inclusion with major world cities.
  • Support municipal orientations on evidenced-based data.
  • Make the municipal administration an exemplary actor on matters of social inclusion.
  • Make financing programs more efficient by reducing social inequalities.

Concrete examples of how these actions can be applied

The city intends to take concrete action in the following ways.

- Ensure access to healthy nutrition and counter food insecurity. To achieve this, Montréal is developing commercial urban agriculture, improving the availability of fresh produce and commercial spaces for producers and artisans at public markets, financing initiatives that help nourish vulnerable families, and reducing food deserts and their impacts.

- Make affordable, accessible and clean housing available by facilitating access to subsidies and improving the city’s affordable housing stock (HLM).

- Continue supporting the professional integration of immigrants and racialized people into work environments through the Inclusive Montréal in the Workplace strategy.

- Prevent all forms of discrimination by presenting an awareness campaign that draws on the Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities to promote fundamental rights.

- Encourage access to information, resources and online knowledge by making computing equipment more readily available and offering custom training in collaboration with higher learning establishments.

- Improve support to and collaboration with community organizations.

ADS+ as a tool for eliminating discrimination

Gender and intersectoral analysis (ADS+) is a tool used to inform decision-making. Montréal has made this tool a core part of its municipal administration in an effort to offer programs that are safer, more accessible and more inclusive.

ADS+ is used to take into account people’s needs in early project phases, specifically arising from their:  

  • Gender 
  • Social class  
  • Disability situation
  • Age
  • Ethnic origin
  • Sexual orientation  
  • Gender identity

Continuing efforts

The Action Plan for Solidarity, Equity and Inclusion 2021-2025 is in line with social inclusion initiatives already undertaken by the city and civil society stakeholders. For example, the public consultation on racism and systemic discrimination led to the creation, in 2020, of the Bureau de la commissaire à la lutte au racisme et aux discriminations systémiques. 

This plan is also in line with the Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities and with  Montréal 2030, the strategic plan presented in December 2020.

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