As a public producer and distributor with a mandate to reflect the lives, experiences and perspectives of Canadians in its works, the NFB is firmly committed to following and initiating best practices and policies that ensure equitable representation of underrepresented demographic groups behind the camera, in key craft positions, in the stories we produce and in how those stories are told.
We have introduced formal policies to promote gender equity and representational equity for Indigenous creators.
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Gender Parity
In 2016, the NFB announced that 50% of our production spending would be dedicated to works led by women. We are also determined to achieve parity in key creative positions, which informs our decision making around crew staffing. Where there are gaps, mentorship opportunities can be implemented and offered to women in under-represented craft positions.
Indigenous Equity
In 2017, the NFB launched its living, breathing Indigenous Action Plan, which included a commitment that 15% of our production spending would be allocated to projects by Indigenous directors. The Action Plan was written in conjunction with industry professionals who make up the NFB’s Indigenous Advisory Group. We are also committed to creating more opportunities for Indigenous artisans in key creative positions, which informs our decision making around crew staffing. Where there are gaps, mentorship opportunities can be implemented and offered to Indigenous crew in craft positions.
We follow and ask our production partners to follow the recommendations outlined in On-Screen Protocols & Pathways: A Media Production Guide to Working with First Nations, Metis and Inuit Communities, Cultures, Concepts and Stories for film shoots in Indigenous communities.
NFB programs and initiatives for Indigenous people
The Indigenous Voices and Reconciliation channel
For Creators
The NFB’s Indigenous Circle is a support circle for creators who work regularly with the NFB. Contact J’net Ayayqwayaksheelth for more information.
Racial Equity
For a myriad of historical and structural reasons, not all groups of Canadians have had equitable access to public and private resources to tell their stories on screen. This has resorted in a distorted and impoverished cultural landscape where the voices and perspectives of certain groups of people are omnipresent while others are barely heard.
Our slate reflects Canadian society and perspectives not just in the stories we tell but in who tells them and how they’re told. We recognize that “who tells the story” is of fundamental importance and when producing stories that engage with the realities of groups that have been historically marginalized, underrepresented and misrepresented in Canada, we privilege insider storytellers.
In February 2021, the National Film Board of Canada also published a plan for diversity, equity and inclusion—with goals and commitments to make the NFB a more egalitarian, open and diverse organization. The NFB wants to help eliminate decades of injustice and systemic racism in Canadian society, as well as within our institution. Our plan includes targets and concrete actions that will have an impact not only on our recruitment, production and distribution methods, but on the entire culture of our organization.
Read the plan: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan
Self-Declaration Questionnaire
As part of its commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) implements a confidential and non-mandatory self-declaration questionnaire, which will be sent to filmmakers and production teams working on NFB projects. The questionnaire will enable the NFB to assess and publicly report on the progress of its commitments while keeping the information confidential.
The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect information necessary to identify under-represented groups and assist in the evaluation and planning of the NFB actions and initiatives designed to meet the NFB’s commitments to equitable representation of Canadian diversity, as outlined in its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan and its Indigenous Action Plan, listed above.
Frequently Asked Question
The purpose of the questionnaire is to collect information necessary to identify under-represented groups and assist in assessing and planning NFB actions and initiatives designed to meet our commitments to equitable representation of Canadian diversity, as outlined in our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan and our Indigenous Action Plan.
After a project is approved, members of the creative team will be invited to complete the questionnaire on a voluntary basis.
These may include filmmakers, art directors, cinematographers, image creators, audio professionals, animators, music composers, editors, musicians and screenwriters.
No.
Personal information is collected on a voluntary basis only and may include, but is not limited to, first and last name, email address, role occupied (function) on a NFB project, Indigenous identity, racial/ethnic identity, disability status, gender identity/expression, 2SLGBTQIA+ status, and official-language minority status.
The names and email addresses collected by the NFB are used only to communicate with you or inform you of our equity, diversity and inclusion commitments. They are included in the Public Communications personal information bank (PSU 914) and stored in a confidential manner.
The personal diversity information collected through this questionnaire is used only in anonymous (depersonalized) form to generate statistics on the representation of members of designated groups among creators and professionals working with the NFB.
The compilation of these statistics is necessary to assess and report on the progress of the NFB’s equity, diversity and inclusion commitments. These statistics may also be included in NFB communications.
Absolutely nothing.
This questionnaire is optional. There are no administrative or legal consequences for refusing to provide this information.
The personal diversity information collected through this questionnaire is used only in anonymous (depersonolized) form to generate statistics on the representation of members of designated groups among creators and professionals working with the NFB.
The compilation of these statistics is necessary to assess and report on the progress of the NFB’s equity, diversity and inclusion commitments. These statistics may also be included in NFB communications.
The collected information is not shared with any entity or individual outside the NFB.
Within the NFB, personal information collected through the self-declaration questionnaire is accessible only to individuals in positions that have a valid reason to access and use the information. This includes designated production, strategic planning (government reporting) and information technology staff.
This personal information is NOT used for the selection of NFB collaborators or projects submitted to the NFB.
The questionnaire is sent only after a project has been approved.
The personal information collected is hosted on NFB servers located in Canada and is not shared with any entity or individual outside the NFB.
Within the NFB, personal information collected through the self-declaration questionnaire is accessible only to individuals in positions that have a valid reason to access and use the information. This includes designated production, strategic planning (government reporting) and information technology staff.
The collection and use of personal information are in accordance with the National Film Act, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, the Official Languages Act, the Policy on Results and the provisions of the Privacy Act.
Yes.
You may change the information you have provided by completing the self-declaration questionnaire again. If the link to the self-declaration questionnaire is lost or no longer active, please contact the NFB employee who originally provided the link to request a new link.
If you have a question, comment, concern, or complaint about the application of the Privacy Act and related policies, please contact the NFB Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator by email at atip-aiprp@nfb.ca or by telephone at 438-466-2522.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concerns, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada by email at info@priv.gc.ca or by telephone at 1-800-282-1376. You also have the right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada about our handling of your personal information.
Yes, each year in its annual update (June), in its Annual Report, and in other institutional reports.
Definitions
Indigenous Peoples is a collective name for the original Peoples of North America. Indigenous refers to First Nations, Inuit or Métis.
Black and People of Colour refers to persons who are non-white in race and not Indigenous. It includes but is not limited to those who identify as Black (including Black African, Black-Caribbean, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Arab, Afro-Latin), Asian (including West Asian, East Asian, South Asian, South-East Asian, Central Asian, Pacific Islander), Latin American, Middle Eastern, North-African, persons from the Arabian Peninsula, and individuals who are of biracial or mixed-race backgrounds. (This definition is inclusive of international Indigenous nations and those who identify as both Black and a Person of Colour).
Gender-diverse identities: The Gay, Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Fondation Émergence describe gender identity as how an individual defines their gender based on a deep, personal knowledge of belonging (or lack of belonging) to one or several genders: man, woman, somewhere in between, or neither. This experience is unique to each person and is not determined by their sex assigned at birth. Diverse gender identities include those beyond the gender binary (male/female), which can include but are not limited to genderqueer/genderfluid, non-binary, transgender and two-spirit.
Gender-diverse expressions: The Gay, Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Fondation Émergence describe gender expression as the way a person presents their gender. A person’s gender expression can be masculine, feminine, androgynous, neutral, or somewhere in between, no matter their gender. It can be expressed in a variety of ways, including through a person’s name, pronouns, clothing, hairstyle, behaviour, makeup, voice and/or body characteristics. Diverse gender expressions can include but are not limited to a man presenting as a woman, a woman presenting as a man, androgynous or neutral expressions, gender non-conforming, genderfluid or genderqueer.
2SLGBTQIA+: This term encompasses two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual.
Persons with disabilities: The Accessible Canada Act defines disability as “any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment—or a functional limitation—whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.”
Members of official-language minority communities: Refers to people living in the province of Quebec whose first official spoken language is English, and to people living in Canada (outside Quebec) whose first official spoken language is French.