December 2025

The JEDI Council (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) is wrapping up its third year at CFHT. The Council came together in early 2023, at the request of Executive Director Jean-Gabriel Cuby to encourage a positive and inclusive environment within CFHT. The Council advises the CFHT Executive and internal committees on diversity, equity, and inclusion matters within the corporation.

The committee meets bi-weekly and consists of members representing each of the administrative divisions within CFHT. In 2024, the committee abolished the position of committee chair, though throughout the year, one member has been the administrator of the committee, organizing meetings and documenting committee business. All strategic decisions and objectives are set by the full committee.

Each staff representative is a voting member of the committee.

Committee membership has remained consistent throughout the year, with no resignations in 2025.

In addition to the staff representatives, there are two ex officio seats on the committee, Executive Group Representative and External Community Consultant. Ex officio seat holders do not vote on committee matters, but serve as advisors to the committee.

Within the Ex Officio seats there has been turnover. Due to staff departures, the Executive Group Representative seat was vacant from February 2025 to October 2025.

Additionally, the committee bid a fond a hui hou to our External Community Consultant. She served as the External Community Consultant from the inception of the committee in 2023 until September 2025. She resigned from the committee for personal reasons. The committee is grateful for her meaningful contributions and insightful perspectives.

Committee Mandate

In a continuation of last year, much of the work of the committee this year can be traced back to the JEDI Staff Survey conducted in 2024, and the resultant recommendations.

The final report on the survey was published in December 2024 and the Executive Response was received by the committee in July 2025. This resulted in a meeting in September 2025 between the Executive Team and the JEDI Council which was very instructive and informative — and changed the modus operandi of the committee. Since the formation of the JEDI Council in 2023, the committee has generally adhered to being an advisory body, rather than a group that takes direct actions and leads initiatives (this is most clearly seen within the Staff Survey Report itself: this report issues ‘recommendations’, it does not announce new programs or make changes to CFHT).

However, as a result of this meeting, the committee has has been directed to take a more active role in leading initiatives and organizing events. These should be done in coordination with the Executive and/or Group Managers, were applicable, but the committee does have license to move beyond a simple advisory capacity. This is a significant change that will impact the committee, and CFHT, into the future.

Committee Accomplishments & Initiatives

At the beginning of the year, the committee set four ‘initial goals’, which the committee planned to accomplish in 2025. These goals were:

1. Followup on the Survey Recommendations after formal response from the Executive.
2. Conduct a review and implement changes to the hiring policy.
3. Produce updated and inclusive Staff and Land Acknowledgements.
4. Install permanent trilingual restroom signage.

Each of these goals is discussed below —

1. Followup on the Survey Recommendations after formal response from the Executive.

As noted above, the Executive Response to the Staff Survey was received by the committee in July and discussed in a meeting between JEDI and the Executive in September. This followed a presentation to the CFHT staff on the response, and the next steps for each of the recommendations. This was also published as a report, and made available to the CFHT staff.

Several of the recommendations were sent back to JEDI as future initiatives. These will be addressed in the coming year.

2. Conduct a review and implement changes to the hiring policy. 

Some initial work towards this goal was conducted in the spring, though no formal changes were recommended. This remains an ongoing task for the committee.

Despite the lack of formal recommendations, some potential changes to the process were trialed over the course of the year. Most notably, this included streamlining of the interview process to eliminate free-form, unstructured ‘group interviews’ and enforce standardized question sets during the initial screening stage. The results of these trials were promising, though it remains unclear if they sped up the process — one of the objectives of this review.

As noted above, further work by the committee is required for this project.

3. Produce updated and inclusive Staff and Land Acknowledgements.

The creation and publishing of updated and inclusive Staff and Land Acknowledgements was one of the successes of the committee in 2025. This process began in January and the final text was published in May. The process of creating these acknowledgments was challenging (as there are many opinions), but the final result is an excellent demonstration of the collaboration and compromise between the committee, the Executive, and external consultants and connections. The committee is very proud of these acknowledgements. They have been published and made available on all CFHT public acknowledgment reference pages (of which there are 10!).

The text for each is as follows:

Staff Acknowledgment
Full Text: We would like to thank the Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope (CFHT) Operations, Instrumentation, and Software Groups for their contributions and diligence in maintaining observatory operations; the CFHT Astronomy Group for their observation coordination and data acquisition efforts; and the CFHT Finance & Administration Group for their contributions to the management and administration of the observatory.

Alternate Text: Quality observations are made possible by relentless effort of the entire staff at Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope.

Land Acknowledgment
Recommended Text: CFHT is located on Maunakea on Hawaiʻi Island, a mountain of considerable cultural, natural, and ecological significance. Maunakea is a sacred site to Native Hawaiians, also known as Kānaka ʻŌiwi.

4. Install permanent trilingual restroom signage.

This final goal was set as result of a report first issued in November 2024 on the inclusivity of the restrooms at CFHT. As part of the subsequent implementation discussions, it was suggested to further this inclusivity expansion by creating trilingual signage, not only for the restrooms, but for other common areas throughout CFHT HQ.

The JEDI Council worked with an French and Hawaiian language speakers to draft appropriate translations for seven of the most commonly accessed areas of the building, including the restrooms, the RO Room and Conference Rooms. Once completed, this project was passed to the facilities staff for the final installation of the signage.

This signage is now installed.

Other Initiatives

Outside of these four goals, the committee has also been involved in:

• Reviewing Job Descriptions and Job Postings.
• Reviewing Interview Screening Questions.
• Sitting on Hiring Committees (select members).
• Planning for the resumption of ‘Free Lunch Talks’.
  • The committee plans to resume these in early 2026.
  • The initial plan is to host one talk per quarter.
• New Hire Orientation
• and, advocating for the dedication of the LCR to a former staff member.

The JEDI Council has had a full and productive year, and is very pleased with what has been accomplished.

The Mission Statement of the JEDI Committee is:

The JEDI Council will foster intentional relationships within our workplace and among our many communities, upholding and fulfilling kuleana as stewards, implementing systemic growth through ongoing education of ourselves and others, cultivating a sense of belonging.