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.
