Question Period Note: Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the public service

The Government of Canada recently announced its priorities to promote diversity and inclusion in the public service.

•We cannot ignore that bias, barriers, and discrimination are an everyday reality for too many Canadians. Even though the public service has long made diversity and inclusion a core value, more needs to be done.
•To that end, the Government has been releasing disaggregated data since fall of 2020 to provide a deeper, more comprehensive picture of the makeup of the core public administration.
•The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat launched a suite of concrete initiatives, co-developed with equity-seeking employee networks, to support departments in addressing barriers to recruitment and promotion at the executive echelons of the public service.
•Guided by the Government of Canada’s first Deputy focused on accessibility, and informed by extensive consultations, Nothing Without Us – An Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada, serves as a roadmap to prepare the public service to lead by example as an accessible and inclusive employer and service provider.
• As well, the Government amended the Public Service Employment Act to reaffirm the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce and to strengthen provisions to address potential bias and barriers in the staffing processes.

The work of building a representative public service is a concerted effort that must be taken across the enterprise, given that these responsibilities are held by many organizations with different areas of influence and control. To name a few:

•the Clerk sets out expectations and appoints deputy heads
•the Public Service Commission administers the Public Service Employment Act and delegates to Deputy Heads the authority to appoint public servants
•Treasury Board sets the policy frame for the core public administration, and sets terms and conditions of employment
•The Treasury Board Secretariat collects and researches data and supports senior executive talent management
•The Employment Equity Act sets the definition of designated employment equity groups for all federally regulated organizations.

The Federal Black Employee Caucus (FBEC) has advocated strongly for disaggregated data and initiatives to increase the Executive representation of Black employees. FBEC’s recommendations and the steps being taken in the public service are aligned with the recommendations of the previous reports, such as the Many Voices, One Mind report on Indigenous representation and the Final Report from the Joint Union/Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion in the Public Service.

In Budget 2018, the Government announced funding for a Centre for Wellness, Inclusion and Diversity in the public service. This launched in June 2019 and was the basis for as the Centre on Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) launched in October 2020, after funding was announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement. CDI’s resources support the evolving diversity and inclusion agenda in the public service, and the wellness component will be handled by the Centre of Expertise on Mental Health in the Workplace.

In January 2021, the Clerk of the Privy Council launched a call to action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service to all Deputy Ministers, Heads of Separate Agencies, and Heads of Federal Agencies to take deliberate actions to address systemic racism and make the Public Service more inclusive. At the same time, the former President of the Treasury Board announced the five areas of focus for the public service on diversity and inclusion:
•disaggregating and publishing data for a more accurate picture of representation gaps
•ensuring the right benchmarks
•increasing the diversity of the senior leaders of the public service
•addressing systemic barriers
•engagement, awareness and education

In Budget 2021, the Office of Public Service Accessibility was renewed for three years to help the federal public service meet the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act.

In 2019, the government established an Anti-Racism Secretariat at Canadian Heritage, which has developed an Anti-Racism Strategy for all of Canada. The 50 – 30 Challenge is another recently-launched external-facing initiative among the Government of Canada, business and diversity organizations. The goal of the program is to challenge Canadian organizations to increase the representation and inclusion of diverse groups within their workplace.

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