Mandate Letter

Download the Mandate Letter

Welcome Message from Troy Crosby, Assistant Deputy Minister

5 Commitments - 5 Responsibilities to Diversity and Inclusion

1. Building a respectful, accessible, diverse, psychologically safer, and inclusive workspace	We are calling on all the leaders of Materiel Group to come together to establish psychological safety in our organization. The goal is to create an environment where employees are not only included, fully engaged, and encouraged to collaborate, but also where they feel respected, confident and motivated. Leaders must engage team members and prioritize psychological safety alongside operational objectives. Creating healthy and supportive spaces that will foster intercultural competence and tolerance, and uplifting each other are fundamental to psychological safety, preventing and stopping cases and instances of unacceptable conduct. Preventive measures include: hosting open discussions with our teams to inform on harassment in the workplace and advise on possible strategies to address it; participating in learning opportunities such as Ask Me Anything, Town Halls and Jam Sessions, and learning about the resources available to all members; raising awareness about the existence of unconscious bias; and, promoting access to centrally curated resources and processes in support of diversity and inclusion.
2. Partnering to build resilient, sustainable communities	We will create and maintain workplaces, events, and workgroups that support work on diversity and inclusion. Based on values of open-mindedness, compassion, equity, and fairness, these spaces will encourage members to contribute their best efforts and ideas and share their diverse backgrounds, authentic selves, and talents. These spaces will inspire colleagues to take meaningful actions towards evolving our workplaces and our communities to be connected, adaptable, resilient, and sustainable.
3. Expanding Unconscious and Conscious Bias Education.	We will support ongoing learning opportunities and expand knowledge materials on unconscious and conscious biases and objective staffing processes. We will continue to strongly encourage leaders and members to attend learning opportunities such as listening circles, Jam Sessions, and monthly Ask Me Anything events. Events such as these introduce us to different backgrounds and experiences and allow us to walk in another person's shoes. They serve as a step towards creating a psychologically safer workplace and preventative measures against unacceptable conduct. In a diverse, inclusive, and psychologically safe environment, leaders and members make better decisions for our organization and do their best work for Canadians.
4.Share Best and Previously Ineffective Practices	We will share best and ineffective practices through ongoing dialogue within teams using a library of resources, including the #AMAChallenge, Cascade conversations, Jam Sessions, and bi-weekly L1 Working Group Meetings on Diversity and Inclusion. We will welcome feedback from colleagues to update and improve the library of resources. We will share what has worked and what has not, which will help attain equity and fairness, and evolve our organizations' future. Sharing our best and previously ineffective practices is vital for ongoing annual updates to the Mandate Letter.
5. Commitment to Working Together on the Diversity and Inclusion Plan	Our commitment to working together begins with fulfilling the commitments contained in the Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan. We commit to using the Companion Guide attached to this Mandate Letter and adding relevant actions at Annual Performance Reviews. We're making daily commitments to consciously create an inclusive workplace and using resources and tools to address unconscious and conscious biases. By leaders and members working together on the Commitments, our organization will illustrate diversity and inclusion's power in decision-making and in encouraging Federal Public Servants to contribute their best efforts and ideas.