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ARAN Employment Equity Act Review (view source)
Revision as of 12:22, 14 June 2022
, 12:22, 14 June 2022Created page with "The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the..."
The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network
the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation
the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples
the shared, unceded, ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
Attn: Centre on Diversity and Inclusion
Cc: Kabis, Marie-Josee
Dear members of the Centre on Diversity and Inclusion,
The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network (ARAN) is a grassroots network of federal and provincial public servants engaged in the challenging, but important, fight for meaningful equity, diversity, and inclusion. As we are sure you are aware, the ''Employment Equity Act'' (the Act), its contents, and its impacts are a sensitive issue for many in historically underrepresented and marginalized communities. The Act directly impacts employees in federally regulated organizations and indirectly impacts provincial and municipal public servants and their crown corporations. It impacts all people who live in Canada. This is the default Act that employers in Canada refer to and apply to their workforces. Indeed, people who live in Canada are impacted by the federal employees, who develop and implement the government’s public policies, programs, and services.
The speaking points we write for leaders include remarks about meaningful inclusion of stakeholders and the importance of lived experience. This consultation process has not provided enough time to meaningfully engage with public service employees who live with inequities in the workplace.
We echo the concerns of many and share the view this process was rushed and burdensome on those who are most impacted by employment inequity, harassment, and discrimination as well as other exclusionary behaviours in the workplace. The questions are complex and require a strong background in policy.
Written submissions take time and cannot be turned around quickly by networks and individuals working on these questions on the side of their desks. These factors led many to believe this was a futile, 'checklist' exercise. We work for departments which have followed your direction to consult with employee networks, and some of us work for employers who have not followed your direction or who have treated this consultation as a performative action. This process has not garnered confidence among the same communities it is trying to reach.
Public service employees who live with inequities in the workplace are used to performative actions from leadership. To provide such little time for this important consultation, after decades of status quo, is disappointing at best, and harmful at worst. In the last several years, a number of projects and initiatives promised progress on matters of equity and inclusion in the federal public service. However, after people from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups repeated their needs and shared their experiences, they continue to be met with false promises, lack of actions and rigour.
Second, a note on our methodology. As an umbrella network, we coordinated responses from multiple partners across governments in an effort to optimize time and resources. Below is a summary and consolidation of those responses.
Some recommendations may be conflicting or repetitive—that is the unintended outcome when consultations are conducted in this manner. Many communities share similar concerns, but we urge the taskforce not to overlook the distinct social, historic, and political realities of each distinct groups, especially, Indigenous and Black people.
We include our recommendations in the document attached.
Respondents include:
Federal Youth Network (FYN), Federal Black Employee Caucus (FBEC), Muslim Federal Employee Network (MFEN), Martin Nicholas, Black Employee Networks (BEN), Pacific Aboriginal Network (PAN), Sikh Public Servants’ Network (SPSN), members of the Anti Racism Ambassadors Network (ARAN), provincial public servants
Sincerely,
Board members of the Anti Racism Ambassadors Network
'''Who should be included in the Act, and how should they be described? Should more groups be added to the Act? If so, why?'''
Equity-seeking groups must be included, but a new definition that does not erase distinct identities must be outlined. It would give effect to the principle that employment equity means more than treating persons in the same way but also requires special measures and the accommodation of differences for redressing of systemic discrimination.
* Black people (as a distinct designated group) <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* West Asians, South Asians, East Asians, South East Asians, Indo-Caribbeans<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Accurate descriptions of Indigenous peoples (instead of Aboriginal peoples)<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Persons with disabilities <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Women<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Religious minorities (Muslim Federal Employee Network’s separate written submission elaborates on this point)<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Members of other racialized groups, not simply ‘Visible Minorities’ <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''Black people as a distinct designated group'''
There is irrefutable evidence for the stagnation of Black people, Indigenous Peoples, and visible minorities in the federal public service. The adverse effects are the worst for Black people as shown by the large decrease of the Disproportionality Index values with an increase in salary '''(Please refer to the attached table prepared by Martin Nicholas).''' Black people in the public service make disproportionately lower salaries, despite their credentials and a higher percent of people within the Black population speak French at home compared to the total population. Unfortunately, experiences of Black people are buried within the 'visible minorities' group. This term masks their unique experiences. This in effect perpetuates racism against Black people, especially in the employment context, where their experiences aren't always captured in data (among other things). By naming Black people in the Act specifically, we can empower departments and Agencies to collect and analyze disaggregated data and in turn learn more about the lived experiences of self-identified, unique employee groups.
In May 2021, a class action lawsuit was filed in the Federal Court of Canada on behalf of Black federal employees. This action concerns systemic racism in the Public Service of Canada, directed at self-identifying Black individuals who work for or with the Public Service of Canada. The lawsuit is seeking long-term solutions to permanently address systemic racism and discrimination in the Public Service of Canada. Damages include the wrongful failure to promote, intentional infliction of mental suffering, constructive dismissal, wrongful termination, negligence, and in particular, violations of employment law, human rights law, and Charter of Rights and Freedoms breaches. Although not part of this Class Action, the Federal Black Employees Caucus(FBEC) stands in solidarity with all those giving voice to the issue of anti-Black racism. The claims outlined in the Class Action further highlight the systemic anti-Black racism that Black employees have been facing in the federal workplace.
'''West Asians, South Asians, East Asians, South East Asians, Indo-Caribbeans'''
In addition, the category of 'Asian' requires disaggregation. Asians represent 60-65% of the world's population. Asians come from a multitude of ethnicities, religions, cultures, languages, ways of being and thinking. A lump sum grouping is illogical and ineffective. There is no disaggregated data to see how people from West Asia, South Asian, South East Asia, and East Asia experience differences in the workplace, beyond the stereotypes associated with being “a model minority” group – a term that is offensive and inappropriate.
Indo-Caribbean is suggested because this group is distinct from Black people and South Asians and have a history rooted in slavery and displacement.
'''Indigenous peoples'''
The term Aboriginal peoples should be replaced with Indigenous peoples. Moreover, we note that the vague definition of Indigenous peoples continues to perpetuate their erasure.
'''2SLGBTQIA+'''
Sexual orientation was originally not included, for example, as a prohibitive ground for discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). Sorely missing from the current Act, inclusive and proper definitions of gender and sexual identities, expressions, and orientations are needed. In addition, the Act should be reviewed and amended more frequently to allow for up-to-date definitions and inclusions. Societal values change over time and so should our legislation, policies and actions.
'''Persons with disabilities'''
We should amend the definition of 'Persons with Disabilities' to match sub-groups as defined in the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability. There is a range of variance between visible and invisible disabilities, chronic and mental illness, as well as neurodivergence.
'''Women'''
Consider the intersectionality of women’s lived experiences. For example, Black women in the workplace continually face additional degrees of inequity as compared to other women.
'''Religious minorities'''
Religious minorities (including Islam, Judaism, Sikhism) should be added as a designated group. The practice of members of religious groups varies. Some practices and traditions are accepted by society and not seen as threatening and others are. Make space for diverse ways of knowing and doing. We should accept a variety of worldviews: diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds and those who do not adhere to a particular faith.
'''Visible minorities'''
Furthermore, we should change the term visible minorities with other racialized groups.
'''Linguistic minorities'''
Linguistic minorities could be considered as a group based on regional demographics.
'''Additional Considerations:''' There is overwhelming evidence that our institutions and the groups within them center whiteness, Christianity, heteronormativity, ableism, cisgenderism, classism, patriarchalism, and European culture. Within established equity groups, those who have a proximity to whiteness tend to face less obstacles and resistance. Black women, Black persons with disabilities, Black Muslims, Black Jews, Black Indigenous, queer Black people…experience interlocking systems of oppression and exclusion. These intersections are not captured in data and programs/opportunities that seek to foster equity and inclusion. For this reason we should consider looking at sub-groups in their own right. Their descriptions should be done by regulation.
'''Should the EEA align with the definition of equity-seeking groups per 2021 amendments to the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA)?'''
* The term “equity-seeking” should be replaced with “equity-denied” or “historically excluded” to acknowledge bias (conscious and unconscious) and where power lies.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* It should align with the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) and the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) definitions. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Revised Act must reference systemic discrimination and shows it understands power dynamics and historical realities that brought us to this point.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''What barriers should the Act address and how? Are there barriers to employment that are not adequately addressed in the Act? How could they be addressed?'''
'''Some of the barriers not adequately addressed in the Act we identified are:'''
* Systemic racism and discrimination, which are sometimes covert, and bias (conscious and unconscious)<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* “Best-fit” selections that are not equity related<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Character-based assessments that are not equity-informed or culturally responsive<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Myth of meritocracy<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Official languages are used in a manipulative manner. They are leveraged in an exclusionary manner and cause opaque decision-making. Moreover, they are used against non-white bilingual employees to feed the secondary labor market with little to no meaningful opportunities to advance their careers
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Tedious recognition of foreign credentials <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Lack of and limited accommodations; ‘reasonable’ accommodations are subjective<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Unnecessary requirement of a degree. It is a barrier for individuals coming from marginalized communities<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Pay inequities<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Lack of regional considerations <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Current structure, role, and composition of Human Resources (HR)<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Neglect of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black systemic and historical racism
'''Our recommended solut'''<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>'''ions are:'''
* Protection against discrimination and racism by the Act should be done through regulation. Equity-denied groups should be added separately through an amendment to enable the protection of their human rights.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>The generalization of exit surveys and 360-performance reviews at all levels could mitigate the lack of accountability and a toxic work environment. Results of complaints, exit surveys, and 360-performance reviews should be factored in bonus payment and promotion decisions.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Increased accountability for performing regular and comprehensive Employment Systems Reviews (ESR) by a third party which uses anti-racist methods to identify, address, and redress gaps (e.g., pay and representation), and other issues (e.g., harassment, occupational segregation, etc.).
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>ESR results should be public domain. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Departments should be required to set recruitment, retention, and promotion targets for equity-denied groups and sub-groups. They must be representative of the population they serve, not only on a national level, but also on a local, and provincial level.
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Disaggregated data about applicants, successful and unsuccessful candidates, appointments, and those remaining in selection pools should be public domain.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* The Act should look at providing official status to Indigenous languages. The two Canadian official languages are legacies of colonialism. As a result, demanding Indigenous peoples to learn them discredits non-western ways of thinking, knowing, and learning. As part of our reconciliation efforts we should acknowledge and support Indigenous language speakers.
* In<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>creased support for official language training, especially for equity-denied groups who historically faced limited access to learning second official languages. Moreover, non-official languages should be acknowledged as assets.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Accommodations for persons with visible and invisible disabilities; single parents; caregivers and members of religious minorities. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Collection and promotion of the use of accessible, disaggregated data.<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-racism (EDIAA) work must be dissociated from HR. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** They work for management and the employer which results in a conflict of interest. Moreover, HR remains a predominantly white and euro-centric field in the public service. They cannot be effectively responsible for supporting managers and employees.
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Employers should have programs that clearly provide growth for opportunities for equity-denied groups and not ones where upper management selects the person.
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Efforts should be made to generalize proactive career outreach, tailored to each community, particularly to recruit for the public service.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Collective agreements must be amended to be more inclusive. They must reflect the needs of minorities and marginalized communities working in the public service.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** There is no way that an HR function can make the meaningful change it needs to do while feeding the performance write ups of its most senior management positions. There is a direct and overt contradiction to this concept. It is impossible to say we are not doing something well – and how do we put that in our senior management’s performance
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Recognition of the competencies and skills associated with straddling cultures can be incorporated into staffing actions: <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Diverse ways of thinking and knowing<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Recognizing employees who speak languages other than French and English<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Cultural competencies, in particular for work that involves the public and for international work<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Incorporation of different world-views in addition to innovation. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Increase practices of non-advertised appointments for equity-denied groups especially when representational gaps have been identified
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''What support do equity-seeking employees need? Please provide concrete examples?'''
* Active and meaningful efforts to address systemic discrimination and racism against Black employees in the Federal Public Service. There is an urgent priority to start with a focus on Black employees, while recognizing that disaggregated data and efforts to address systemic discrimination and racism for all racialized people and sub-groups is important. The attached table on Salaries is evidence that Black employees are the most affected. To increase the representation of Black employees, we should practice targeted hiring of Black people within or outside the federal public service. We should amend article 7 of the Act applicable to Indigenous Peoples to include the Black People. This amendment would confer similar authority.
The app<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>lication to all employers of the suggested amendment to the article 7(1)(2) could state:
“Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where an employer is engaged in serving the interests of Black People, the employer may give preference in employment to Black People or employ only Black People, unless that preference or employment would constitute a discriminatory practice under the Canadian Human Rights Act.”
* Each department/agency should be required to set targets for the number of Black employees across all business lines that are equal or more than the representative population in their provinces at all levels of government.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Section 8 of the Act should be amended to address bias and discrimination in Workforce Adjustment practices when an employer is downsizing or restructuring, under a collective agreement or pursuant to an established practice.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** The application to all employers of the suggested amendment to the clause 8(2) should add: “It would be deemed a discrimination under subsection (2) if the results from the proposed actions are shown to be disproportionately adverse to persons in equity-denied groups.”
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>To mitigate the adverse impact on employment opportunities namely in the public sector, the <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>clause 8(4)(b) should add: “only if the results from the proposed actions are shown not to be disproportionately adverse to persons in equity-denied groups.” <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Set up a critical mass of equity-denied groups across all business lines at the entry, middle management, and senior m<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>anagement level. It will provide a safer psychological work environment to employees, who could feel more at ease to bring their authentic selves to work.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Acknowledge the importance of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-racism (EDIAA) work. In the context of the public service (federal, provincial, and municipal), each department should appoint a senior official to work on EDIAA on a full-time basis. Appropriate resources (meaningful funding, a team of qualified and experienced staff…) and access to qualitative disaggregated data must be granted to support such critical work. This official should be accountable to the Deputy Minister and the Minister.
* Clear actions for each business area should be written in the executive performance plans and accountability measures put in place. It is essential that corrective measures are put in place, for those who don't achieve their outcomes.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Consider a change in the selection process. A third-party hiring could be utilized where a diverse panel makes a selection.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
· In order to eradicate the pay inequities, all jobs should pay the same amount based on job description. The sliding scale method should be legislated to be unlawful. Studies show that women typically do not request salaries at the same level as men, which results in pay inequities.
* Equitable and meaningful approach to official language training to ensure that levels are completed within a set period of time. We recommend two years.
* The Public Service Commission (PSC) should review the criteria for work and excellence. In many institutions “getting along” is considered an interpersonal skill, but it also leads to status quo and complicity. Innovation stems from diversity of thoughts. An other example is the experience implementing policies requested on job poster. The experience challenging policies should be requested as well.
'''Do'''<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span> '''employee groups require more support from the employer? What type of support?'''
* Offer cult<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>urally appropriate onboarding and sponsorship to equity-denied groups <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Microaggressions, harassment, discrimination, and racism impact the sense of belonging and ultimately the mental health. Such toxic work environments are fostered by a lack of accountability.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Decolonized mental health support and wellbeing programs adapted to individual realties, cultural, and historical contexts are necessary. They should understand power dynamics, racism, ableism, etc.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is not suitable for Black, Indigenous, or other racialized employees. There is an urgent need to add Anti-Racism as a factor to the National Psychological Health & Safety Standard.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* A real system of accountability. A user-centered and effective complaint system that shields employees from overt and covert retribution is required to foster a respectful work environment.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Targeted universalism for hiring and promotion programs <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Language learning programs must be accessible to persons with learning disabilities<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* The release of qualitative disaggregated data to the public would permit identifying, addressing, and redressing gaps (including representation and pay) in groups and sub-groups.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Recognition of employee “side of the desk” efforts that support employee wellbeing, networks, and cultural change through performance reviews and, where applicable, a time code that recognizes contributions.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Promote grassroots diversity networks independent of the employers (ARAN, FBEC, PAN, SPSN…). All employees should be given time to actively participate in such networks. The employers must plan, engage, and co-develop with them on all their strategic work.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''Is enforcement of the Act effective? What other means of enforcement would you suggest?'''
'''No. Enforcement of the Act is ineffective. Our suggestions are as follow:'''
* It should be built into performance management systems<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* The Act must clearly state, preferably in a preamble, that it is the main vehicle to redress and address systemic racism and discrimination in the workplace. Similar to the PSEA and Canadian Multiculturalism Act, it should set the context.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>The Act should detail what amounts to duty of care and due diligence for compliance. This would create a baseline context for enforcement.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Examine how Privy Council Office (PCO) and Statistics Canada could play a role in the re-examination of the roles of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and PSC.
* We must set stronger accountability and enforcement mechanisms:<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Have more structured audits<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
§ Increase the scope and use of EE compliance audits.
§ Delineate duties, powers, and obligations of the Commission and Compliance Officers to increase accountability.
§ Address obstruction and false statements.
· Strengthen the powers of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), HR tribunal, and compliance officers. They should be more accountable for enforcement.
· Increase penalties to force compliance.
· Use the Accessibility Canada Act approach for the oversight of the Act compliance for non-core federal public service (outside of TBS mandate).
· Re-examine the terms of reference of the EE tribunal to make it more effective.
· Create an independent Commissioner on Black Employment Equity Issues who reports directly to Parliament.
* There is no central oversight function for employers under clauses 4(1)(b) and 4(1)(d). This has resulted in a lack of transparency and a lack of availability of EE representation and other data, especially disaggregated. The Accessibility Canada Act is applicable to all these employers and facilitates getting EE data for persons with disabilities. A similar approach is required for the Act. As a result, we should add a clause to the Act to enable this through regulation.
* The<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span> Article 5 of the Act should add to the identification and elimination of employment barriers, “systemic discrimination including to equity-denied groups”. Moreover, it should acknowledge that employment barriers and systemic discrimination may result from employer’s application of best-fit criteria.
'''What should chan'''<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>'''ge with the methods of collecting representation data or self-id information, uses of employee data, sources of labour market data?'''
* Introduce anti-racism data legislation <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Proportionality framework to increase qualitative representation, including by regions<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Cooperation between provincial and federal governments; for instance, ON and BC governments have more progressive disaggregated data policies.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Use projections for out-of-date workforce availability (WFA) and use labour market availability (LMA) like the private sector, which is federally regulated by the Act.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** As a result, data of the private sector is more current than the public service and calls for more meaningful efforts to diversify its workforce. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** The methodology developed at Justice Canada has been approved for implementation by the Senior Executive Committee of that department.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* LMA should be used for all externally advertised positions like in the PSEA.<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Amend subsection 25 1.1 to recognize that WFAs are out of date. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Low self-id rates should not be an excuse for poor outcomes.<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Mitigating bias in data<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Collect and analyze disaggregated data on performance appraisals and their impacts on marginalized groups versus the dominant group. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Collection, accessibility, and promotion of the use of disaggregated data to identify trends with those of intersecting identities and better address the barriers they face in the workplace.
'''How can public reporti'''<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>'''ng lead to better accountability?'''
* The clause 18(1)(c) which pertains to records and reports should be applicable to the federal public service<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Add salary ranges of employees and the degree of representation of designated groups/sub-groups. It would help identify, address, and redress occupational segregation
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Encourage people who live in Canada and are eligible to work for governments to apply to government positions. This may also be discouraging if numbers don’t change over time.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''Annex 1'''
'''Evidence for the stagnation of Black Employees, Indigenous Peoples and VMs in the Federal Public Service'''
<nowiki>https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/innovation/human-resources-statistics/diversity-inclusion-statistics.html</nowiki>
A disproportionality index (DI) compares the percentage representation of an equity group for a particular salary range to the overall average value.
Disproportionality index (DI) = (Percentage in a given salary range) / (Overall Percentage)
If there were not any types of discrimination for promotion of an equity group member, the representation of an equity group would be uniform across all salary ranges. If not we would note the following:
1. If there was a barrier to advancement to the management and EX levels, the DI value would be less than 1.0 for the higher salary ranges
2. If there was stagnation making people stagnate at the lower levels, the DI value would be greater than 1.0 for the lower salary ranges
3. If there were no barriers to progress the DI value would be close to 1.0 for all salary levels.
Stagnation means the absence of career progression. Jurisprudence in Canada indicates that stagnation could be used as evidence for systemic discrimination.
Evidence of barriers to career advancement for Visible Minorities:
Ø The DI > 1 for the lowest salary range.
Ø The DI<< 1 for the highest salary range
Ø There is a steady decrease of the DI value with an increase in the salary range
'''Distribution of Salary Ranges of public service of Canada employees for Black, Visible Minority Group, Indigenous Peoples and Persons with Disabilities (as of March 31, 2020)'''
the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation
the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples
the shared, unceded, ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
Attn: Centre on Diversity and Inclusion
Cc: Kabis, Marie-Josee
Dear members of the Centre on Diversity and Inclusion,
The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network (ARAN) is a grassroots network of federal and provincial public servants engaged in the challenging, but important, fight for meaningful equity, diversity, and inclusion. As we are sure you are aware, the ''Employment Equity Act'' (the Act), its contents, and its impacts are a sensitive issue for many in historically underrepresented and marginalized communities. The Act directly impacts employees in federally regulated organizations and indirectly impacts provincial and municipal public servants and their crown corporations. It impacts all people who live in Canada. This is the default Act that employers in Canada refer to and apply to their workforces. Indeed, people who live in Canada are impacted by the federal employees, who develop and implement the government’s public policies, programs, and services.
The speaking points we write for leaders include remarks about meaningful inclusion of stakeholders and the importance of lived experience. This consultation process has not provided enough time to meaningfully engage with public service employees who live with inequities in the workplace.
We echo the concerns of many and share the view this process was rushed and burdensome on those who are most impacted by employment inequity, harassment, and discrimination as well as other exclusionary behaviours in the workplace. The questions are complex and require a strong background in policy.
Written submissions take time and cannot be turned around quickly by networks and individuals working on these questions on the side of their desks. These factors led many to believe this was a futile, 'checklist' exercise. We work for departments which have followed your direction to consult with employee networks, and some of us work for employers who have not followed your direction or who have treated this consultation as a performative action. This process has not garnered confidence among the same communities it is trying to reach.
Public service employees who live with inequities in the workplace are used to performative actions from leadership. To provide such little time for this important consultation, after decades of status quo, is disappointing at best, and harmful at worst. In the last several years, a number of projects and initiatives promised progress on matters of equity and inclusion in the federal public service. However, after people from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups repeated their needs and shared their experiences, they continue to be met with false promises, lack of actions and rigour.
Second, a note on our methodology. As an umbrella network, we coordinated responses from multiple partners across governments in an effort to optimize time and resources. Below is a summary and consolidation of those responses.
Some recommendations may be conflicting or repetitive—that is the unintended outcome when consultations are conducted in this manner. Many communities share similar concerns, but we urge the taskforce not to overlook the distinct social, historic, and political realities of each distinct groups, especially, Indigenous and Black people.
We include our recommendations in the document attached.
Respondents include:
Federal Youth Network (FYN), Federal Black Employee Caucus (FBEC), Muslim Federal Employee Network (MFEN), Martin Nicholas, Black Employee Networks (BEN), Pacific Aboriginal Network (PAN), Sikh Public Servants’ Network (SPSN), members of the Anti Racism Ambassadors Network (ARAN), provincial public servants
Sincerely,
Board members of the Anti Racism Ambassadors Network
'''Who should be included in the Act, and how should they be described? Should more groups be added to the Act? If so, why?'''
Equity-seeking groups must be included, but a new definition that does not erase distinct identities must be outlined. It would give effect to the principle that employment equity means more than treating persons in the same way but also requires special measures and the accommodation of differences for redressing of systemic discrimination.
* Black people (as a distinct designated group) <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* West Asians, South Asians, East Asians, South East Asians, Indo-Caribbeans<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Accurate descriptions of Indigenous peoples (instead of Aboriginal peoples)<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Persons with disabilities <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Women<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Religious minorities (Muslim Federal Employee Network’s separate written submission elaborates on this point)<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Members of other racialized groups, not simply ‘Visible Minorities’ <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''Black people as a distinct designated group'''
There is irrefutable evidence for the stagnation of Black people, Indigenous Peoples, and visible minorities in the federal public service. The adverse effects are the worst for Black people as shown by the large decrease of the Disproportionality Index values with an increase in salary '''(Please refer to the attached table prepared by Martin Nicholas).''' Black people in the public service make disproportionately lower salaries, despite their credentials and a higher percent of people within the Black population speak French at home compared to the total population. Unfortunately, experiences of Black people are buried within the 'visible minorities' group. This term masks their unique experiences. This in effect perpetuates racism against Black people, especially in the employment context, where their experiences aren't always captured in data (among other things). By naming Black people in the Act specifically, we can empower departments and Agencies to collect and analyze disaggregated data and in turn learn more about the lived experiences of self-identified, unique employee groups.
In May 2021, a class action lawsuit was filed in the Federal Court of Canada on behalf of Black federal employees. This action concerns systemic racism in the Public Service of Canada, directed at self-identifying Black individuals who work for or with the Public Service of Canada. The lawsuit is seeking long-term solutions to permanently address systemic racism and discrimination in the Public Service of Canada. Damages include the wrongful failure to promote, intentional infliction of mental suffering, constructive dismissal, wrongful termination, negligence, and in particular, violations of employment law, human rights law, and Charter of Rights and Freedoms breaches. Although not part of this Class Action, the Federal Black Employees Caucus(FBEC) stands in solidarity with all those giving voice to the issue of anti-Black racism. The claims outlined in the Class Action further highlight the systemic anti-Black racism that Black employees have been facing in the federal workplace.
'''West Asians, South Asians, East Asians, South East Asians, Indo-Caribbeans'''
In addition, the category of 'Asian' requires disaggregation. Asians represent 60-65% of the world's population. Asians come from a multitude of ethnicities, religions, cultures, languages, ways of being and thinking. A lump sum grouping is illogical and ineffective. There is no disaggregated data to see how people from West Asia, South Asian, South East Asia, and East Asia experience differences in the workplace, beyond the stereotypes associated with being “a model minority” group – a term that is offensive and inappropriate.
Indo-Caribbean is suggested because this group is distinct from Black people and South Asians and have a history rooted in slavery and displacement.
'''Indigenous peoples'''
The term Aboriginal peoples should be replaced with Indigenous peoples. Moreover, we note that the vague definition of Indigenous peoples continues to perpetuate their erasure.
'''2SLGBTQIA+'''
Sexual orientation was originally not included, for example, as a prohibitive ground for discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). Sorely missing from the current Act, inclusive and proper definitions of gender and sexual identities, expressions, and orientations are needed. In addition, the Act should be reviewed and amended more frequently to allow for up-to-date definitions and inclusions. Societal values change over time and so should our legislation, policies and actions.
'''Persons with disabilities'''
We should amend the definition of 'Persons with Disabilities' to match sub-groups as defined in the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability. There is a range of variance between visible and invisible disabilities, chronic and mental illness, as well as neurodivergence.
'''Women'''
Consider the intersectionality of women’s lived experiences. For example, Black women in the workplace continually face additional degrees of inequity as compared to other women.
'''Religious minorities'''
Religious minorities (including Islam, Judaism, Sikhism) should be added as a designated group. The practice of members of religious groups varies. Some practices and traditions are accepted by society and not seen as threatening and others are. Make space for diverse ways of knowing and doing. We should accept a variety of worldviews: diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds and those who do not adhere to a particular faith.
'''Visible minorities'''
Furthermore, we should change the term visible minorities with other racialized groups.
'''Linguistic minorities'''
Linguistic minorities could be considered as a group based on regional demographics.
'''Additional Considerations:''' There is overwhelming evidence that our institutions and the groups within them center whiteness, Christianity, heteronormativity, ableism, cisgenderism, classism, patriarchalism, and European culture. Within established equity groups, those who have a proximity to whiteness tend to face less obstacles and resistance. Black women, Black persons with disabilities, Black Muslims, Black Jews, Black Indigenous, queer Black people…experience interlocking systems of oppression and exclusion. These intersections are not captured in data and programs/opportunities that seek to foster equity and inclusion. For this reason we should consider looking at sub-groups in their own right. Their descriptions should be done by regulation.
'''Should the EEA align with the definition of equity-seeking groups per 2021 amendments to the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA)?'''
* The term “equity-seeking” should be replaced with “equity-denied” or “historically excluded” to acknowledge bias (conscious and unconscious) and where power lies.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* It should align with the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) and the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) definitions. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Revised Act must reference systemic discrimination and shows it understands power dynamics and historical realities that brought us to this point.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''What barriers should the Act address and how? Are there barriers to employment that are not adequately addressed in the Act? How could they be addressed?'''
'''Some of the barriers not adequately addressed in the Act we identified are:'''
* Systemic racism and discrimination, which are sometimes covert, and bias (conscious and unconscious)<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* “Best-fit” selections that are not equity related<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Character-based assessments that are not equity-informed or culturally responsive<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Myth of meritocracy<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Official languages are used in a manipulative manner. They are leveraged in an exclusionary manner and cause opaque decision-making. Moreover, they are used against non-white bilingual employees to feed the secondary labor market with little to no meaningful opportunities to advance their careers
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Tedious recognition of foreign credentials <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Lack of and limited accommodations; ‘reasonable’ accommodations are subjective<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Unnecessary requirement of a degree. It is a barrier for individuals coming from marginalized communities<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Pay inequities<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Lack of regional considerations <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Current structure, role, and composition of Human Resources (HR)<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Neglect of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black systemic and historical racism
'''Our recommended solut'''<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>'''ions are:'''
* Protection against discrimination and racism by the Act should be done through regulation. Equity-denied groups should be added separately through an amendment to enable the protection of their human rights.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>The generalization of exit surveys and 360-performance reviews at all levels could mitigate the lack of accountability and a toxic work environment. Results of complaints, exit surveys, and 360-performance reviews should be factored in bonus payment and promotion decisions.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Increased accountability for performing regular and comprehensive Employment Systems Reviews (ESR) by a third party which uses anti-racist methods to identify, address, and redress gaps (e.g., pay and representation), and other issues (e.g., harassment, occupational segregation, etc.).
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>ESR results should be public domain. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Departments should be required to set recruitment, retention, and promotion targets for equity-denied groups and sub-groups. They must be representative of the population they serve, not only on a national level, but also on a local, and provincial level.
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Disaggregated data about applicants, successful and unsuccessful candidates, appointments, and those remaining in selection pools should be public domain.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* The Act should look at providing official status to Indigenous languages. The two Canadian official languages are legacies of colonialism. As a result, demanding Indigenous peoples to learn them discredits non-western ways of thinking, knowing, and learning. As part of our reconciliation efforts we should acknowledge and support Indigenous language speakers.
* In<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>creased support for official language training, especially for equity-denied groups who historically faced limited access to learning second official languages. Moreover, non-official languages should be acknowledged as assets.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Accommodations for persons with visible and invisible disabilities; single parents; caregivers and members of religious minorities. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Collection and promotion of the use of accessible, disaggregated data.<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-racism (EDIAA) work must be dissociated from HR. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** They work for management and the employer which results in a conflict of interest. Moreover, HR remains a predominantly white and euro-centric field in the public service. They cannot be effectively responsible for supporting managers and employees.
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Employers should have programs that clearly provide growth for opportunities for equity-denied groups and not ones where upper management selects the person.
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Efforts should be made to generalize proactive career outreach, tailored to each community, particularly to recruit for the public service.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Collective agreements must be amended to be more inclusive. They must reflect the needs of minorities and marginalized communities working in the public service.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** There is no way that an HR function can make the meaningful change it needs to do while feeding the performance write ups of its most senior management positions. There is a direct and overt contradiction to this concept. It is impossible to say we are not doing something well – and how do we put that in our senior management’s performance
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Recognition of the competencies and skills associated with straddling cultures can be incorporated into staffing actions: <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Diverse ways of thinking and knowing<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Recognizing employees who speak languages other than French and English<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Cultural competencies, in particular for work that involves the public and for international work<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Incorporation of different world-views in addition to innovation. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Increase practices of non-advertised appointments for equity-denied groups especially when representational gaps have been identified
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''What support do equity-seeking employees need? Please provide concrete examples?'''
* Active and meaningful efforts to address systemic discrimination and racism against Black employees in the Federal Public Service. There is an urgent priority to start with a focus on Black employees, while recognizing that disaggregated data and efforts to address systemic discrimination and racism for all racialized people and sub-groups is important. The attached table on Salaries is evidence that Black employees are the most affected. To increase the representation of Black employees, we should practice targeted hiring of Black people within or outside the federal public service. We should amend article 7 of the Act applicable to Indigenous Peoples to include the Black People. This amendment would confer similar authority.
The app<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>lication to all employers of the suggested amendment to the article 7(1)(2) could state:
“Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where an employer is engaged in serving the interests of Black People, the employer may give preference in employment to Black People or employ only Black People, unless that preference or employment would constitute a discriminatory practice under the Canadian Human Rights Act.”
* Each department/agency should be required to set targets for the number of Black employees across all business lines that are equal or more than the representative population in their provinces at all levels of government.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Section 8 of the Act should be amended to address bias and discrimination in Workforce Adjustment practices when an employer is downsizing or restructuring, under a collective agreement or pursuant to an established practice.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** The application to all employers of the suggested amendment to the clause 8(2) should add: “It would be deemed a discrimination under subsection (2) if the results from the proposed actions are shown to be disproportionately adverse to persons in equity-denied groups.”
** <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>To mitigate the adverse impact on employment opportunities namely in the public sector, the <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>clause 8(4)(b) should add: “only if the results from the proposed actions are shown not to be disproportionately adverse to persons in equity-denied groups.” <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Set up a critical mass of equity-denied groups across all business lines at the entry, middle management, and senior m<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>anagement level. It will provide a safer psychological work environment to employees, who could feel more at ease to bring their authentic selves to work.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Acknowledge the importance of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-racism (EDIAA) work. In the context of the public service (federal, provincial, and municipal), each department should appoint a senior official to work on EDIAA on a full-time basis. Appropriate resources (meaningful funding, a team of qualified and experienced staff…) and access to qualitative disaggregated data must be granted to support such critical work. This official should be accountable to the Deputy Minister and the Minister.
* Clear actions for each business area should be written in the executive performance plans and accountability measures put in place. It is essential that corrective measures are put in place, for those who don't achieve their outcomes.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Consider a change in the selection process. A third-party hiring could be utilized where a diverse panel makes a selection.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
· In order to eradicate the pay inequities, all jobs should pay the same amount based on job description. The sliding scale method should be legislated to be unlawful. Studies show that women typically do not request salaries at the same level as men, which results in pay inequities.
* Equitable and meaningful approach to official language training to ensure that levels are completed within a set period of time. We recommend two years.
* The Public Service Commission (PSC) should review the criteria for work and excellence. In many institutions “getting along” is considered an interpersonal skill, but it also leads to status quo and complicity. Innovation stems from diversity of thoughts. An other example is the experience implementing policies requested on job poster. The experience challenging policies should be requested as well.
'''Do'''<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span> '''employee groups require more support from the employer? What type of support?'''
* Offer cult<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>urally appropriate onboarding and sponsorship to equity-denied groups <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Microaggressions, harassment, discrimination, and racism impact the sense of belonging and ultimately the mental health. Such toxic work environments are fostered by a lack of accountability.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Decolonized mental health support and wellbeing programs adapted to individual realties, cultural, and historical contexts are necessary. They should understand power dynamics, racism, ableism, etc.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is not suitable for Black, Indigenous, or other racialized employees. There is an urgent need to add Anti-Racism as a factor to the National Psychological Health & Safety Standard.
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* A real system of accountability. A user-centered and effective complaint system that shields employees from overt and covert retribution is required to foster a respectful work environment.
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* Targeted universalism for hiring and promotion programs <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Language learning programs must be accessible to persons with learning disabilities<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* The release of qualitative disaggregated data to the public would permit identifying, addressing, and redressing gaps (including representation and pay) in groups and sub-groups.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Recognition of employee “side of the desk” efforts that support employee wellbeing, networks, and cultural change through performance reviews and, where applicable, a time code that recognizes contributions.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>Promote grassroots diversity networks independent of the employers (ARAN, FBEC, PAN, SPSN…). All employees should be given time to actively participate in such networks. The employers must plan, engage, and co-develop with them on all their strategic work.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''Is enforcement of the Act effective? What other means of enforcement would you suggest?'''
'''No. Enforcement of the Act is ineffective. Our suggestions are as follow:'''
* It should be built into performance management systems<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* The Act must clearly state, preferably in a preamble, that it is the main vehicle to redress and address systemic racism and discrimination in the workplace. Similar to the PSEA and Canadian Multiculturalism Act, it should set the context.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>The Act should detail what amounts to duty of care and due diligence for compliance. This would create a baseline context for enforcement.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Examine how Privy Council Office (PCO) and Statistics Canada could play a role in the re-examination of the roles of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and PSC.
* We must set stronger accountability and enforcement mechanisms:<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** Have more structured audits<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
§ Increase the scope and use of EE compliance audits.
§ Delineate duties, powers, and obligations of the Commission and Compliance Officers to increase accountability.
§ Address obstruction and false statements.
· Strengthen the powers of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), HR tribunal, and compliance officers. They should be more accountable for enforcement.
· Increase penalties to force compliance.
· Use the Accessibility Canada Act approach for the oversight of the Act compliance for non-core federal public service (outside of TBS mandate).
· Re-examine the terms of reference of the EE tribunal to make it more effective.
· Create an independent Commissioner on Black Employment Equity Issues who reports directly to Parliament.
* There is no central oversight function for employers under clauses 4(1)(b) and 4(1)(d). This has resulted in a lack of transparency and a lack of availability of EE representation and other data, especially disaggregated. The Accessibility Canada Act is applicable to all these employers and facilitates getting EE data for persons with disabilities. A similar approach is required for the Act. As a result, we should add a clause to the Act to enable this through regulation.
* The<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span> Article 5 of the Act should add to the identification and elimination of employment barriers, “systemic discrimination including to equity-denied groups”. Moreover, it should acknowledge that employment barriers and systemic discrimination may result from employer’s application of best-fit criteria.
'''What should chan'''<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>'''ge with the methods of collecting representation data or self-id information, uses of employee data, sources of labour market data?'''
* Introduce anti-racism data legislation <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Proportionality framework to increase qualitative representation, including by regions<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Cooperation between provincial and federal governments; for instance, ON and BC governments have more progressive disaggregated data policies.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Use projections for out-of-date workforce availability (WFA) and use labour market availability (LMA) like the private sector, which is federally regulated by the Act.
* <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** As a result, data of the private sector is more current than the public service and calls for more meaningful efforts to diversify its workforce. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
** The methodology developed at Justice Canada has been approved for implementation by the Senior Executive Committee of that department.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* LMA should be used for all externally advertised positions like in the PSEA.<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Amend subsection 25 1.1 to recognize that WFAs are out of date. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Low self-id rates should not be an excuse for poor outcomes.<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Mitigating bias in data<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Collect and analyze disaggregated data on performance appraisals and their impacts on marginalized groups versus the dominant group. <span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Collection, accessibility, and promotion of the use of disaggregated data to identify trends with those of intersecting identities and better address the barriers they face in the workplace.
'''How can public reporti'''<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>'''ng lead to better accountability?'''
* The clause 18(1)(c) which pertains to records and reports should be applicable to the federal public service<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Add salary ranges of employees and the degree of representation of designated groups/sub-groups. It would help identify, address, and redress occupational segregation
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
* Encourage people who live in Canada and are eligible to work for governments to apply to government positions. This may also be discouraging if numbers don’t change over time.
<span lang="EN-CA">The Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network</span>
'''Annex 1'''
'''Evidence for the stagnation of Black Employees, Indigenous Peoples and VMs in the Federal Public Service'''
<nowiki>https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/innovation/human-resources-statistics/diversity-inclusion-statistics.html</nowiki>
A disproportionality index (DI) compares the percentage representation of an equity group for a particular salary range to the overall average value.
Disproportionality index (DI) = (Percentage in a given salary range) / (Overall Percentage)
If there were not any types of discrimination for promotion of an equity group member, the representation of an equity group would be uniform across all salary ranges. If not we would note the following:
1. If there was a barrier to advancement to the management and EX levels, the DI value would be less than 1.0 for the higher salary ranges
2. If there was stagnation making people stagnate at the lower levels, the DI value would be greater than 1.0 for the lower salary ranges
3. If there were no barriers to progress the DI value would be close to 1.0 for all salary levels.
Stagnation means the absence of career progression. Jurisprudence in Canada indicates that stagnation could be used as evidence for systemic discrimination.
Evidence of barriers to career advancement for Visible Minorities:
Ø The DI > 1 for the lowest salary range.
Ø The DI<< 1 for the highest salary range
Ø There is a steady decrease of the DI value with an increase in the salary range
'''Distribution of Salary Ranges of public service of Canada employees for Black, Visible Minority Group, Indigenous Peoples and Persons with Disabilities (as of March 31, 2020)'''
