Today, the Coalition Against Workplace Discrimination, of which the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is a member, released an internal report obtained through the Access to Information Act, which revealed blatant and widespread discrimination at the Privy Council Office (PCO). The federal government is Canada’s largest single employer, and it relies on the Privy Council Office to manage the public service, while also supporting the Prime Minister and the federal Cabinet. As such, the findings are extremely troubling, and a concern to all Canadians.

Through interviews with staff conducted over the course of six months, Dr. Rachel Zellars discovered a workplace where racial stereotyping, microaggressions, and verbal violence was regularly practiced and normalized, including at the executive level, and a culture that discouraged reporting, and lacked accountability mechanisms. Further, Dr. Zellars found that white employees and executives detailed career-advancing opportunities that were in stark contrast to those of Black, Indigenous, and racialized employees, who were clustered in temporary and lower-level positions.

“It is shocking that this level of blatant discrimination occurred in one of Canada’s highest offices. Once again, those who have been perpetrators of discrimination are being tasked with implementing change. This approach has consistently failed, and it’s time for real arms-length accountability mechanisms, and structural changes to meaningfully address anti-Black discrimination,” said Nicholas Marcus Thompson, President, Black Class Action Secretariat.

In 2021, the then Clerk of the Privy Council, Ian Shugart, issued a Call to Action to public service leaders to take specific and meaningful actions to address racism, equity, and inclusion. But in the report, Black and racialized employees at PCO describe its Corporate Services department as a key barrier to that Call to Action.

“Instead of fighting racism in the public service, the Privy Council Office, the highest office responsible for combating discrimination, is allowing it to fester,” said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National President. “This confirms what we’ve been hearing from our members for years – Black, Indigenous and racialized employees experience a very different public service where microaggressions, putdowns and indignities are a daily reality. We demand urgent, concrete action to address systemic racism and discrimination in Canada’s public service.”

The PCO provided the Coalition with an update on the steps they have taken since this report was released internally. While its list of initiatives show some attempt to implement the report’s recommendations, they lack the depth required to fully tackle the systemic issues identified, and there are still many key recommendations that have not been addressed.

PSAC is calling for:

• The federal government to appoint a Black Equity Commissioner to address systemic anti-Black racism across all levels of government (similar to the two representatives appointed to address Antisemitism and Islamophobia)

• The federal government to implement the Employment Equity Act amendments it promised in December 2023, to add Black Canadians as an employment equity group.

• The federal government to provide restitution to Black public sector workers who have launched a class action lawsuit based on years of discrimination, as identified in multiple federal reports.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

The following op-ed by Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National President, was published in the Ottawa Citizen and other Postmedia papers. 

Two firefighters risk their lives to keep us safe. One battles a burning building, the other fights a dangerous wildfire. Both have tough jobs that take a physical toll, resulting in mounting injuries over time. But only one can retire without penalty after 25 years of demanding frontline service.

Most firefighters, law enforcement, and public safety workers can retire with unreduced pensions after 25 years because their jobs are so demanding. But federal firefighters facing another wildfire season, firefighters on military bases, frontline workers at CBSA, northern paramedics, Coast Guard search and rescue workers, territorial Corrections Officers, and many others who keep us safe in so many ways don’t get this benefit.

These public safety workers do tough jobs but for decades have been treated as second-class workers, forced to work five extra years before they can retire compared to others doing similar demanding work.

Imagine this: after years of frontline work that takes a huge physical toll, you can’t pass qualifications anymore. But, unlike someone doing a similar job for a province or municipality, you face a big financial penalty if you retire after 25 years of service.

For over 20 years, the Public Service Alliance of Canada has been pushing the government to correct this. We were delighted when Treasury Board President Anita Anand announced in June that the government was moving forward with legislation in the fall designed to allow federal public safety workers to retire without penalty after 25 years of service, regardless of their age.

Correcting this inequality was a challenge, and our work isn’t done yet. While most unionized workers can negotiate pension conditions, federal public sector workers fall under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act – a restrictive law that does not allow pensions to be part of collective bargaining. For us, these changes can only be made by jumping through all the hoops needed to introduce and pass legislation. Progress like this can only happen when government is willing to work together with public service unions to fix these inequities.

The forthcoming change to the legislation is a testament to the hard work of so many workers who fought for years for pension equality. Soon, thousands of federal public safety and law enforcement workers across Canada will have the same equitable retirement benefits as their peers. We finally got the government to act.

Our union will be monitoring the legislation closely to ensure that pension fairness for all deserving federal public safety workers is achieved. The details will make all the difference and it’s crucial the government get things right.

I’m sure every Parliamentarian agrees Canada should honour the service of those who put their health and wellbeing at risk to keep us safe and secure. They can show their appreciation by working with us to strengthen and pass this legislation as soon as possible – so these workers can finally get the equitable retirement they deserve.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.