The School of Social Work aims to be faithful to the historic mission of social work: social justice and the well-being of the studied populations .was founded in 1940. It meets the standards set by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE). The School offers social work programs at the bachelor’s, DESS, master’s and doctoral levels, as well as a certificate in community action.
The School of Social Work strives to be faithful to the historic mission of social work: social justice and the well-being of the populations concerned.
School of Social Work Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
The School of Social Work includes this statement in all its course outlines:
“Considering the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission;
Considering the recognition of the role played by social workers in maintaining systems of oppression against Aboriginal peoples in Canada by the Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE);
Considering the values of social justice and equity espoused by the School of Social Work
Considering the exceptional presence of Aboriginal professors at the School of Social Work;
Considering the students’ requests for a declaration of recognition of the School of Social Work’s unceded territories;
The School is proud to announce that it adopted at the Departmental Assembly of August 31, 2018, the following declaration:
We, the School of Social Work recognize that the Université de Montréal is located on Aboriginal territory, which has never been ceded. We recognize the Kanien’kehá: ka Nation as custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtiá:ke / Montréal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, a diverse aboriginal population, as well as other peoples, reside here.
Therefore we, the members of the School of Social Work, are committed to upholding the principles of solidarity and respect alongside First Peoples in the community and in our programs.”
TRC Call to Action # 1
We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to commit to reducing the number of Aboriginal children in care by:
- Monitoring and assessing neglect investigations
- Providing adequate resources to enable Aboriginal communities and child-welfare organizations to keep Aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so, and to keep children in culturally appropriate environments, regardless of where they reside.
- Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the history and impacts of residential schools.
- Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing.
- Requiring that all child-welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers.
Mandatory Course: None
A course of 2 modules of 3 hours is mandatory as of Fall 2024:
Starting in the Fall of 2024, the Université de Montréal will be launching an online course entitled “Place aux Premiers Peuples”. This course is made up of two modules (3 hours in total) that address various themes including: the social impacts of assimilation policies and oppressive conditions for Indigenous peoples today; intergenerational trauma; issues related to the protection of individuals; Joyce’s Principle; epistemic justice; moving forward towards a reconciliation of worldviews and towards a successful reconciliation process.
Université de Montréal mentions that many of its mandatory courses invoke Call to Action #1 through content, lectures and required readings.
School of Social Work Commitment to Call to Action # 1: 3, 4 and 5: 1 out of 3 = 33%
| 3 | History and impact of residential schools (theory) |
| Limited. See above course | |
| 4 | Potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing (practice) |
| No. Not explicitly addressed | |
| 5 | All child welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers |
| No. Not explicitly addressed |
Compliance with CASWE/ACFTS Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change
| At the May 27th, 2017 Board meeting, the Board of Directors of CASWE-ACFTS committed to ensuring that social work education in Canada contributes to transforming Canada’s colonial reality and approved a “Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change”. “This is an important step in engaging social work education in the reconciliation process and supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action” affirms CASWE-ACFTS President, Dr. Susan Cadel. Of the 12 actions articulated in the “Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change, the following two are directed at Schools of Social Work |
| 7 | Will encourage institutional members to post a territorial acknowledgement on their School’s website and post a link to the CAUT guide to territorial acknowledgement on the CASWE-ACFTS website to assist Schools with this task |
| UdeM specifies this bellow: Recognition of the Indigenous land on which UdeM is located The Université de Montréal recognizes that it is located on unceded (no treaty) Indigenous territory, and wishes to salute those who, since time immemorial, have been its traditional custodians. The University expresses its respect for the contribution of Indigenous peoples to the culture of societies here and around the world. The Université de Montréal is located where, long before French settlement, various Indigenous peoples interacted with one another. We wish to pay tribute to these Indigenous peoples, to their descendants, and to the spirit of fraternity that presided over the signing in 1701 of the Great Peace of Montreal, a peace treaty founding lasting peaceful relations between France, its Indigenous allies and the Haudenosauni Confederacy (pronounced: O-di-no-sho-ni). The spirit of fraternity that inspired this treaty is a model for our academic community. Reconnaissance – Université de Montréal (umontreal.ca) | |
| 8 | Will encourage and support Canadian schools of social work in revising mission statements, governance processes, curriculum, and pedagogy in ways that both advance the TRC recommendations and the overall indigenization of social work education |
| A Guide was published, co-authored by an Indigenous teacher from the School of Social Work, on ethical principles for engagement with Indigenous people: Guide-daccueil-des-personnes-ainees-ou-porteuses-de-savoirs-autochtones-et-de-reconnaissances-territoriales-Millaire-K.-Pullen-Sansfacon-A.-2023.pdf (crijade.com) |
| NOTE: All content has been submitted to the respective faculty for validation to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. The Université de Montréal school of Social Work reviewed and approved the document. Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog Lead Researcher, Julia Dubé |