Canada’s indigenous peoples have been struggling against systemic abuse and discrimination for over a century. They suffer from unequal access to healthcare while being disproportionately victimized by violence and discriminated against in the housing market. Canada’s indigenous peoples suffer from a multitude of issues, all stemming from a lack of consistent ethics and social responsibility in Canada’s legal and civic institutions.
Cathy Petrolo, a former paralegal and prosecutor, is very familiar with Canadian institutions and the injustice often found within. The Toronto-born businesswoman began advocating on behalf of her Indigenous neighbors in support of her common-law partner in 2020, who was able to get his certificate of Aboriginal status after being stymied by Canadian institutions for 28 years. After seeing the breadth of injustice faced by indigenous communities and being inspired by the Anishinaabe 8th Fire Movement, she pivoted her life, academic studies, and career toward justice via relentless advocacy.
“It is my opinion that most of the injustices, challenges, and failures—whether health, clean water, or housing—were and are caused by the Canadian Government,” Petrolo says. “I am interested in the ongoing struggles for Indigenous rights and in helping provide a framework for advocating for Indigenous peoples’ rights and contributing to the world.
Guiding Ethical Values
It’s reasonable to assume that an individual or organization’s advocacy is driven or guided by a well-constructed and stable ethical foundation. Cathy Petrolo is no exception; her advocacy and work are dictated by her strict adherence to a personal code of integrity and transparency and guided by values of fairness, justice, and respect for all individuals.
“Ensuring that my professional efforts contribute positively to society, particularly for marginalized communities, is a fundamental aspect of my work,” Petrolo says.
Integrity and transparency are key to balancing Petrolo’s advocacy with her business and profit. She strikes that balance by prioritizing long-term social impact over short-term personal gains; if effecting meaningful change for Indigenous communities requires sacrificing immediate financial benefits, that is what Petrolo does. When balancing advocacy and business in this way, it’s incredibly important to build and maintain trust and credibility with her community, and she facilitates that by maintaining clear and regular communications about the challenges and progress of her advocacy efforts. Integrity demands accountability, and Cathy Petrolo works hard to ensure that she is open to scrutiny and constantly demonstrating her genuine commitment to ethical practices.
“When faced with ethical dilemmas, I prioritize ethical considerations over business goals,” Petrolo explains. “I believe that maintaining integrity and adhering to ethical principles is essential for long-term success and credibility.“
Good intentions alone aren’t enough to maintain an ethical practice, however. As social and cultural networks shift, laws change, and policies evolve, it becomes incredibly important to be continuously learning to keep up. Petrolo knows this and regularly reviews new literature, participates in professional networks, and attends a variety of conferences and workshops focused on ethics and social responsibility to stay up-to-date. She also regularly engages with Indigenous communities and experts to ensure that her advocacy is properly supported and in alignment with their needs and best practices.
Prioritizing Social Responsibility
The same values of fairness, justice, and respect for individuals that guide Cathy Petrolo’s ethical considerations also define her approach to corporate and social responsibility. She’s committed herself to social justice and advocacy, and thus a fundamental aspect of her work revolves around ensuring that her professional efforts contribute positively to society as a whole, and especially to the marginalized communities she fights for. This drive goes back to her battles with the Canadian bureaucracy for her partner’s Aboriginal status in 2020; there was an ongoing injustice that was rooted in the policies of an institution, and she fought to correct it.
Petrolo knows that it’s not enough to want to change society for the better—you have to actually do so. That requires knowledge and awareness that only intentional learning and engagement can bring. To that end, Petrolo conducts continuous research and academic study about Indigenous issues, actively participates in networked advocacy efforts and mutual aid events, and vocally supports initiatives targeting the systemic issues faced by Indigenous communities.
One such initiative she’s supported aims to simplify the process of obtaining Aboriginal status for Indigenous individuals in the Canadian legal system. The excess bureaucracy that currently stands—the same problem she faced down in 2020—presents an outsized barrier to often impoverished Indigenous communities throughout Canada, and puts barriers between citizens and their own rightful legal identities.
As she’s built her business and career, Cathy Petrolo has learned when to lead the change and when to step aside and allow her platform to amplify the voices of those in need. Whether being herself a voice for change or supporting the voices of others in her advocacy circles, Petrolo constantly uses her platform to raise awareness and promote understanding wherever and whenever possible.
Leadership and Advocacy Goals
As she grows her platform for Indigenous advocacy, Cathy Petrolo has had to get accustomed to the fact that, in real, tangible ways, she’s become a leadership figure. Whether it’s within her own business operations or in cooperation with other organizations and individuals in advocacy circles, Petrolo has established herself as a leader in her area. She’s taken care to integrate her ethical values into her leadership style by modeling integrity, fairness, and respect in all of her interactions. By encouraging an open dialogue, supporting ethical decision-making, and promoting a culture of accountability, she hopes to refine and crystallize her leadership style as one of integrity and empathy.
There are many problems to solve; Canada’s Indigenous people have been suffering from deeply entrenched problems with the nation’s institutions that have myriad knock-on effects. From the lack of culturally informed healthcare options in Indigenous communities to the crisis of missing and murdered women and girls from those same communities to the lack of clean water and safe housing, Canada’s Indigenous people often struggle to have everything they need to survive and thrive. Cathy Petrolo works to resolve these problems, and many others, by working alongside Indigenous groups and other advocacy groups in hopes of building a better future.
