Question Period Note: Culture Change and Reconciliation

• This Government is committed to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and is sustaining its efforts to build relationships that recognize and respect Indigenous rights, priorities, and interests.
• We recognize that there is more work to be done to address systemic racism and we are taking practical and sustained actions as the basis for change and culture shift.
• We are implementing strategies to support and promote Indigenous employment and recruitment in our workforce, including collaboration with Indigenous experts and educators on learning activities and tools to facilitate ongoing training for all federal employees.
• The Public Service has implemented mandatory training on cultural bias and Indigenous history, which is foundational in supporting the necessary culture shift.

• The Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) supports employee learning and training aiming to address the issues of racism and systemic barriers for marginalized and racialized groups in Canada. Learning resources offered by the CSPS and other internal service providers include orientation kits, job aids, the “Ask Me Anything” series, and the Joint Learning Program for public servants at all levels, as well as events designed specifically for managers and executives.
• Moreover, the CSPS Indigenous Learning Series provides public servants access to self-directed and classroom courses, workshops, and other events and resources on the history, culture, rights, and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #57, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard (DFO-CCG) has made part of the CSPS Indigenous Learning Series mandatory for employees to complete by March 31, 2025.
• In addition, DFO-CCG employees are encouraged to participate in learning opportunities to increase cultural awareness, understanding of treaty rights, and appreciate the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples through relationship competency development training, Indigenous perception training, and KAIROS Blanket Exercise Workshops.
• The Department is working to address systemic and attitudinal barriers to employment opportunities for designated Employment Equity groups, including Indigenous Peoples, through its 2024 Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (EEDIAP). The EEDIAP charts a course to 2027 making inclusive culture one of the three core pillars. The Department has launched its Inuit Employment Plan, in order to enhance program and service delivery in the north and better meet the needs of those communities.
• The Department’s Center for Anti-Racism and Equity (CARE) was launched in July 2024 to identify systemic racial barriers and gaps, develop new initiatives, and review existing policies, services, and programs to combat racism and racial discrimination.
• The Department is working to move from a relationship with Indigenous Peoples that is based in colonialism, and by definition systemic racism, to one that recognizes and respects Indigenous rights and interests. DFO-CCG employees have a key role to play in the transformation of the Government of Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples. The Department’s Reconciliation Strategy serves as a tool for internal culture change, including guidance for staff as they build and maintain relationships with Indigenous partners.
• The Department leads 11 measures in the 2023-28 United Nations Declaration Act (UNDA) Action Plan, including addressing systemic racism in the enforcement of fisheries laws and regulations and incorporating Indigenous knowledge in fisheries management.
• The Department recognizes the importance of making information on rights-based fisheries easily accessible to stakeholders and the general public. For example, DFO hosts a public webpage entitled “Fishing in pursuit of a moderate livelihood,” which includes historical information on the Peace and Friendship Treaties in the Maritimes and Gaspé, as well as on the Marshall decisions, which affirmed the rights originating from these treaties. DFO has a public webpage detailing the right through which Indigenous harvesters may fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes as protected under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. These webpages will be kept up to date to inform Canadians and Government of Canada employees of important context related to rights-based fisheries.

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