Vancouver execs sign open letter condemning DEI purge

A number of Vancouver and B.C.-based tech executives have signed an open letter that protests against the erasure of DEI initiatives in Canadian companies.

What in the Tech, an organization that builds a hub of information for new founders, wrote the near-800-word missive after the recent controversy where Canadian-founded Shopify came under fire for hosting a store selling swastika t-shirts.

A prominent Super Bowl ad that ran in various markets directed consumers to the online shop, which was owned by Ye — the artist formerly known as Kanye West. Shopify eventually took down the store which was selling the shirts two days after the ad spot ran. The yeezy.com storefront was "unavailable" from that date, according to a message on its homepage.

The letter ties that move to Shopify’s recent removal of protections and support for women, LGBT people, Black and Indigenous communities, immigrants, and other marginalized groups on its company pages. Shopify, Canada’s most valuable tech company, dismantled its Equitable Commerce team, which was responsible for social impact initiatives at the organization. According to BetaKit, Shopify also shuttered its Build Native program for Indigenous entrepreneurs in January and locked a Slack program support channel for Black business owners on Feb 1: the start of Black History Month. 

The letter proclaims that the rollbacks of diversity, equity, and opportunity (DEI) in the country — which mirror recent policy changes in the U.S. under Donald Trump — is the wrong direction for Canada.

“Canada is a country that values fairness, inclusion, and opportunity,” it reads. “We get it wrong, often, and there is still so much work to be done. But make no mistake — powerful forces in our tech sector want to reshape Canada in the image of those who see inclusion as an obstacle, not an advantage. They lobby politicians, control media platforms, and influence policies that move us closer to the divisive politics of our southern neighbour.”

America’s slashing of DEI policies in its own administration, which are being copied by businesses across the country, are tied in a large part to tech billionaire Elon Musk and his newly implemented U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The office has suggested that diversity initiatives should be cut from organizations in the name of efficiency. Various tech leaders have called for the Canadian government to implement its own DOGE in the model of Musk’s, many of which coalesce under the banner of “Build Canada”.

Among the current Vancouver signatories on the open letter are Michelle Sklar, chair of Vancouver Entrepreneurs Forum; Tricia Hollyer, chief people officer at MineSense Technologies; Meghan Kennedy, innovation manager at YVR; Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO of TAP Network; Caitlin Murphy, head of people and culture at Kobalt.io; and Diraj Goel, CEO of GetFresh Ventures. There are currently more than 300 names on the document, and more local signatures continue to be added to the list.

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