Thread by @work4wilco

Wilco takes action to combat racism following Edith Rogers School incident

Wilco Contractors Northwest Inc. (Wilco) is one of four individually owned and operated companies which comprise the Wilco Group of Companies. Wilco specializes in project management and construction of parks, sport facilities, as well as environmental, landscape and civil works

The projects we work on are diverse – as diverse as the communities that Wilco serves. We expect our team members to work safely and respectfully in every neighbourhood, every day, and we hold each other accountable

In turn, we expect the communities and clients we serve to hold us accountable for our performance.

On September 25, we let down the community. Employees working on a dry pond project near Edith Rogers School made racist comments and disrespectful actions towards participants in a smudging ceremony.

We apologize unreservedly to the students and staff who were hurt by these actions. We take full responsibility for what occurred, and we are taking concrete action to ensure this never happens again.

Following an internal and external review, we have terminated the staff involved. Racism will not be tolerated. To support our team members in living our company values, we will be implementing cultural and Indigenous awareness training.

And to support the broader community, we are pleased to be joining EPCOR and Sureway Construction Group in jointly funding a $30,000 donation to the Edmonton Public School Board’s amiskwaciy Academy.

In addition to this public statement, we are apologizing directly to all those who were harmed by this incident. The hurt experienced by the students and staff is front of mind for us, and we hope the actions we are taking demonstrate to them how seriously we take this situation.

We thank the students and staff who spoke up, and we thank EPCOR and Sureway for working with us to address this issue. @WilcoSouthwest