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Vision + Core Values

The VISION of the Toronto Birth Centre is:

To build a space where pregnant people, families and communities can access culturally safe birthing care.

The PURPOSE of the Toronto Birth Centre is:

The following purposes shall be carried out in a manner that is consistent with Indigenous worldviews. This shall be achieved by ensuring that the purposes are carried out in a manner that is grounded in and reflects the diverse socio-cultural contexts and beliefs, values, skills, and knowledge of Indigenous individuals and communities, and that promotes the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as set out in Indigenous laws and teachings, Canadian laws, and international law.

a. To provide midwife-led birth services rooted within and informed by the communities it serves.

b. To provide perinatal services to pregnant people and families that encourage a healthy approach to childbirth, within a service environment that promotes the cultural safety and well-being of the communities it serves.

c. To educate the public about perinatal services and options regarding out-of-hospital births.

d. To champion the self-determination of Indigenous midwifery and the recognition of midwives as independent and autonomous health care providers.

e. To educate the public, families, midwives, midwifery students, and other health care providers and learners regarding childbirth and reproductive and sexual health across the lifecycle.

f. To support and enable midwives and other care providers and learners to improve their knowledge and skills in practicing in culturally safe and anti-oppressive ways, including through a focus on health equity for Indigenous people.

g. To support and foster community-led and community-based collaborative research regarding childbirth, midwifery, reproductive and sexual health, and Indigenous health equity.

h. To purchase, lease, erect, construct, build or otherwise acquire, own, operate or use buildings or any other facilities necessary for its purposes.

i. To employ staff and appoint healthcare providers to its Midwifery Staff to carry out its purposes.

j. To actively engage, build and maintain community relationships to strengthen responsiveness to and be reflective of community needs.

k. To acquire, accept, or otherwise obtain or receive donations, legacies, grants, gifts or bequests.

The purposes do not include the operation of a public hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act or the operation of a private hospital within the meaning of the Private Hospitals Act.

The CORE VALUES of the Toronto Birth Centre are:

SELF DETERMINATION, EQUITY, DIGNITY and JUSTICE

Self Determination – All persons involved with the birth centre are recognized as doing so of their own free will. We acknowledge and remember we are all responsible to ourselves, to our families and to our community.

Equity – The birth centre is committed to establishing policy, procedure and guidelines that promote equity among all peoples.

Dignity – We aim to conduct all our relationships and interactions with the utmost dignity. This includes acting in a manner that builds trust, creating an environment free of judgment, being honest and direct in all our dealings, acknowledging power differentials, and being open to discussion.

Justice – We work to create an environment and practice that resists false narratives of history, society and health while actively addressing health disparities both in voice and in action.

Indigenous Framework

The Toronto Birth Centre is founded within an INDIGENOUS FRAMEWORK, which informs all aspects of the program. These include nurturing healthy and reciprocal partnerships, integrating opportunities for leadership and capacity building into general operations, establishing clear roles and responsibilities for all peoples involved, and building this on a foundation of strong policies and protocols.

The integration of realistic ITAPISINOWIN, or Indigenous worldviews, into midwifery and reproductive care services ensures they are grounded in the diverse socio-cultural contexts and beliefs, values, skills, and knowledge of First Nations, Indian, Indigenous, Inuit, and Métis individuals and communities. The birth centre and the coalition supporting it are committed to ensuring the cultural integrity of this centre by supporting a majority Indigenous representation and administration within the governing structure. Governance is based on an Indigenous framework that includes the tenets of:

Promote the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as enshrined in the Canadian Constitution
Ontario Human Rights Code
the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous teachings on our collective roles and responsibilities, including our right to practice Aboriginal/Indigenous midwifery fully in the ways of our ancestors (scope), and support for working with Aboriginal midwives practicing under the exemption clause
Acknowledging our histories and the legacy of colonization
Respect for the sacredness of life, kinship relationships, the interconnectedness of creation; and, our roles and responsibilities to the natural world.