Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC), one of Canada’s leading business and litigation law firms, is proud to announce that it has been honoured as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers 2011.
Mediacorp Canada Inc., a Toronto-based publisher of employment-related periodicals, in partnership with BMO Financial Group and TWI Inc., selected Canada's Best Diversity Employers based on the honoured employers’ implementation of exceptional workplace diversity and inclusion programs, addressing a wide range of initiatives related to five major employee groups – women, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, aboriginal peoples and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered/transsexual (LGBT) individuals.
“It is a privilege to be recognized as one of the nation’s Best Diversity Employers alongside 44 other prestigious Canadian organizations,” said Chris Pinnington, FMC’s Chief Executive Officer. “With diversity and inclusion an integral part of FMC’s culture and business strategy, we continue to foster and promote an environment where the diversity of our workforce enriches of our firm, our professional practice and client relationships, and our community."
While always conscious of promoting an inclusive workplace, in 2006, FMC adopted a formal strategy to create and maintain a firm-wide culture of inclusion, where the unique potential of every firm member is recognized. “Being honoured as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers demonstrates that we are on the right track,” says Kate Broer, FMC Partner and Co-chair of FMC’s National Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. “Having earned this prestigious award motivates us to continue building on our initiatives to advance diversity and inclusion in our firm and in the legal profession.”
FMC receives this award in recognition of its many efforts to promote a diverse and inclusive work environment, which include:
- First law firm corporate partner of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) Mentoring Partnership program. Establishing the FMC Legal Professional Internship which provides hands-on experience to a foreign-trained lawyer new to Canada through a six-month paid position with the firm – the first program of its kind in Canada.
- First law firm to sponsor a Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA) national scholarship for black law students – a $5,000 annual renewable scholarship awarded to a black law student who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, commitment to diversity, and financial need.
- First corporate partner of the University of Toronto’s Internationally-Trained Lawyer Program.
- Providing FMC firm members with the opportunity to use their professional skills by volunteering abroad in association with Uniterra’s Leave for Change Program.
- First law firm and founding corporate partner of and pro bono legal counsel to Pride at Work Canada, a professional organization whose mandate is to support the LGBT community at work.
- First law firm to participate in the Diversity Roundtable, a group of representatives from financial institutions, major corporations, government and professional services firms who meet bi-monthly to discuss matters of interest and share ideas in an effort to promote diversity in the workplace.
For more on FMC’s diversity initiatives, please click here.
For more information, please see the Globe and Mail feature, 45 of Canada's most welcoming places to work, February 21, 2011.
For further information, please contact:
Jennifer Dales
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP
(416) 862 3405
jennifer.dales@fmc-law.com
Kelly Olive
Maverick Public Relations Inc.
416 640 5525, ext. 230
kellyo@maverickpr.com
Left to right: Lynn Roger, Senior Vice-President, Talent Strategies and Executive Resourcing, BMO Financial Group; Orest Szot, COO, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP; Kate Broer, Partner, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP; Richard Yerema, Managing Editor, Canada's Top 100 Employers; Trevor Wilson, CEO, TWI Inc.