Unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations |VANCOUVER

Health Standards Organization (HSO) and Accreditation Canada (AC) are thrilled to continue partnering with the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) to advance cultural safety and humility through the first assessment of the British Columbia (BC) Cultural Safety and Humility standard. In 2025, AC, with the support of FNHA, will lead the first-of-its-kind assessment with BC's Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA).

“For the past eight years, HSO and AC have been on a journey of unlearning and relearning to collaboratively progress actions to advance cultural safety and humility in health and social service organizations," says Vishal Jain, Director for Health Equity at HSO. “While there remains much for us to learn, we are grateful to the BC Cultural Safety and Humility Technical Committee for their vital role in the development of the standard, the FNHA for their leadership, and the PHSA for their commitment to implementing the standard."

An Impactful Collaboration

FNHA and HSO first partnered in 2017 to develop the BC Cultural Safety and Humility standard, which was published in 2022. The groundbreaking standard was co-created with BC Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, health care leaders, clinicians, patient partners, and academics. It sets a clear standard of care for BC health and social service organizations to ensure Indigenous Peoples are treated with dignity and respect and have access to culturally safe care and services.

Building on this foundation, FNHA, HSO, and AC re-partnered in 2023 to prepare and test the standard's application in BC. An Indigenous working group co-chaired by FNHA and HSO provided guidance on culturally safe assessment practices. Furthermore, valuable insights from organizations' self-assessment of the standard were gathered through a program evaluation.

“The FNHA is proud to advance the BC Cultural Safety and Humility standard in collaboration with HSO and AC," says Monica McAlduff, Chief Executive Officer at FNHA. “As the first standard of its kind, this is a pivotal step toward embedding cultural safety and humility in the health care system. We are committed to co-developing a culturally safe assessment process through an Indigenous-led surveyor program, ensuring that First Nations and Indigenous perspectives and lived experiences shape the implementation of the standard. Together, we remain steadfast in our shared commitment to eliminating Indigenous-specific racism and fostering meaningful systemic change."

Leading the Way for Cultural Safety

PHSA plays a unique role in BC's health authority system, ensuring residents have access to a coordinated provincial network of high-quality specialized health care services. The organization partners with the province's health authorities and health care professionals to improve access to evidence-informed practice closer to where people live and to effectively promote health, manage chronic conditions, and reduce the burden of illness. PHSA collaborates with Indigenous communities, organizations, and partners throughout BC to advance health equity and cultural safety for Indigenous Peoples.

“PHSA is honoured to be the first health organization to experience assessment under the British Columbia Cultural Safety and Humility standard," says Dr. David Byres, President and CEO, PHSA. “Over the past two years, our board, executive leadership team, and staff all across our organization have embraced a renewed vision that calls upon us to 'boldly create an equitable, anti-racist, and culturally safe health system where everyone thrives,' and this begins with calling out the truth of Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination and taking meaningful action to eradicate it from policies, practices, and, most importantly, the point of care. Having First Nations and Indigenous surveyors witness our work and name opportunities for improvement will be invaluable to our growth."

Indigenous-Led Assessments

All assessments of the BC Cultural Safety and Humility standard will be led by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis surveyors, including Indigenous patients. AC is committed to continuing to recruit Indigenous surveyors with a new focus on assessing the design and delivery of culturally safe care. In 2025, FNHA and AC are partnering to develop specialized surveyor training and recruit cultural safety and humility surveyors. Interested individuals can apply to be a cultural safety and humility surveyor by clicking here.