The City of Toronto’s Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards recognize people and organizations that have created a more equitable city by advancing reconciliation and justice, addressing discrimination, and working to eliminate barriers to equity.

The awards are community-driven. Nominations come from Toronto residents and are selected by a panel of community members with relevant experiences, expertise and knowledge. The Constance E. Hamilton Award is selected by the female-identifying Members of City Council.

Watch the 2023 Access, Equity & Human Rights Awards ceremony on YouTube, which took place on December 7 at City Hall.

2023 Award Recipients

View each award recipient and the award criteria below:

Mino Bimaadiziwin Award (Indigenous Award): Joyce Carpenter and Shannon Simpson

Disability Access Award: Shakhlo Sharipova

Constance E. Hamilton Award for Women’s Equality:

Safia Parveen and Centre of Learning and Development

Pride Award: Moe Akel

William P. Hubbard Race Relations Award: Francis Jeffers

2023 Nominees

The City would like to recognize this year’s nominees for their contributions to building a more equitable city:

Across Boundaries

Faziltun Nessa Babli

Fariba Bashiri

Kehkashan Basu

Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing

Daughters for Life Foundation

Cheryl Dobinson

Fife House

Fatima Lee Garsi

Alina Haidary

Samuel Kisitu

Kelvin Kung

Lorraine Lam

Marty Lampkin

Christine Le

Iman Mohamed

Music for Every Child

Travis Myers

John Neretlis

Christopher Nkambwe

Ben Poynton

Robin Rice

Tysir Salih

Start Proud

Flora Terah

Nicholas Marcus Thompson

Women in Capital Markets

Applications for the 2023 Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards are now closed.

In 2022, the Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards were paused in order in order to review the awards process and categories to ensure that achievements are recognized in a way that is meaningful to the communities they are designed to serve. Feedback offered by community, via online survey, showed that the Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards are meaningful to communities and that improvements should be implemented to raise awareness of the awards as well as make them more impactful, more accessible, and more aligned with how diverse communities want to be recognized.

Based on feedback received, some of the changes implemented for the 2023 Access, Equity and Human rights Awards include:

  • Recognizing recipients in a virtual/in-person awards Ceremony;
  • Translating promotional materials into Toronto’s most-spoken languages
  • Prioritizing selection committee members have specific lived experiences related to the award category they are reviewing.

Feedback will continue to be implemented and reviewed on an ongoing basis, including for future editions of the Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards. Send your feedback to EquityUnit@toronto.ca.