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We would like to congratulate Michael Taylor who received the African Canadian Achievement Award (ACCA) for Excellence in Religion. Since 2013, Michael has been CSC's Ontario Regional Chaplain. He is Canada's first Muslim to complete professional chaplaincy training and has been active in chaplaincy for over 20 years. CSC is proud of what Michael has accomplished, and we are grateful to have him as part of our family.
Here are some recent highlights of Michael’s outstanding work:
- Michael serves as an Honorary Witness to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Commission presented its report to the Government of Canada in 2015 and from 2011 Michael has supported the work of the Commission as it responds to the impacts of Canada’s Residential School system on Aboriginal People. He has an ongoing commitment to this witnessing and reconciliation.
- In May 2015, Michael was a speaker at an Ontario Interfaith Forum on HIV/AIDS. He worked with Africans in Partnership Against Aids (APAA), the Aids Council of Toronto (ACT), and African Caribbean Council on HIV AIDS (ACCHO). He is also part of a Provincial Advisory Committee that is currently working to engage religious leaders from Black and Muslim communities in Ontario to reduce stigma around HIV/AIDS.
- Michael held the position of Coordinator of the Muslim Studies Program at Emmanuel College (University of Toronto) and was a guest speaker on black spirituality and religion at several universities in Canada.
- Michael is the current Secretary of the Canadian Council of Imams and is active on issues related to Muslim communities in Canada. He serves as a co-chair for the Muslims for White Ribbon, which seeks to reduce and eliminate violence against women in Canadian Muslim communities. Michael is now working on a project to bring faith communities together around the issue of mental health and the law.
The ACAA pays tribute to the contributions of the African Canadian public, including their communities.