The internal report’s findings found that Black, Indigenous and people of colour staff at the Privy Council Office are routinely subjected to a culture of “racial stereotyping, microaggressions and verbal violence”.
The damning report, obtained by the Coalition Against Workplace Discrimination through the Freedom of Information Act and released by the coalition on Monday, said the organization does not know the extent or impact of discrimination faced by employees.
There are also “significant material barriers to meaningful representation and participation” in the workplace, the report said.
The Privy Council Office’s 1,200 staff make up the lead branch of the civil service, supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet in implementing policy directives across the Federal Government.
According to the report, black employees reported that managers had “casually used the N-word in their presence” and later expressed surprise that they “did not know” it was a derogatory term for black people.
Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president and CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat, speaks about a report outlining widespread discrimination in the Privy Council Office of Canada.
Privy Council Office discrimination report ‘shocking’
The report also said managers made Islamophobic remarks and “feigned innocence when white employees were unfairly promoted at their expense”.
Report author Rachel Zellers, an associate professor and researcher at Saint Mary’s University, said one of the main findings was a culture of “discouraging reporting,” with widespread indications among employees that “accountability mechanisms currently don’t exist.”
Zellers compiled the report after speaking with 58 employees at the office from November 2021 to May 2022.
“We were shocked when we received this report,” Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president and CEO of the Black Class Action Office, said at a press conference Monday after the report’s release.
“He is the head of the civil service. It is the Privy Council Office that has instructed the entire federal civil service to tackle racism,” he said. “It is shocking, but it is what we have seen across the civil service, across every department and agency.”
In January 2021, Ian Shugart, former Clerk of the Privy Council, Chief Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Federal Civil Service, Called on the leaders Advancing anti-racism efforts across the civil service and taking action to drive systemic change.
The department commissioned work that led to the internal report as part of its Calls to Action for 2021. Thompson said Monday that Shugart’s calls had been ignored.
“Despite the Secretary’s own call for the public service to take concrete and meaningful action to address racism, equity and inclusion, the report identified the PCO’s own corporate service as a key obstacle to that call,” he said.
The coalition is calling for the resignation of two senior office officials, including the deputy secretary in charge of discrimination, for failing to address the issues outlined in the report.
Additionally, the coalition is calling on the government to settle class action lawsuits filed by black employees.
‘double standard’
Black employees Zellers interviewed reported a “double standard” in the career advancement opportunities offered to them, including access to French language training, which is considered a key factor for promotion at the Privy Council Office.
They also shared stories of being “discouraged” from participating in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The message they received, according to Black employees, was that it would clash with their bipartisan efforts as public servants and “could detract from the value of their 9-to-5 jobs.”
Non-Black employees of color reported seeing instances where Black employees’ career advancement was hindered by managers or other employees.
Indigenous employees asked the office to define what reconciliation means to the ministry and to identify specific initiatives that management can accomplish.
“White employees and executives detailed personal experiences and career advancement opportunities that were quite different from those of Black, Indigenous and people of colour employees,” the report said.
Page 4 Recommendations
The report includes four pages of recommendations on how the office’s leadership could address some of the concerns.
Recommendations include changes to hiring and promotion practices, including “anonymous screening” where applicable.
The report also emphasizes the importance of building trust with employees when it comes to DEI activities. The report calls on leadership to implement programs to better understand the historical context of the experiences of Black Canadians.
In a July 26 letter to Thompson and made public by the coalition on Monday, Deputy Secretary Christine Fox said leaders are committed to effecting change across the civil service and within the agency.
Historically, civil servants have proven incompetent to police themselves for systemic discrimination.– Nicholas Marcus Thompson
These measures include sharing a quarterly “employment equality dashboard” aimed at identifying representation gaps and setting hiring and promotion targets, appointing a chief diversity officer who will report to the Clerk of the Privy Council, and establishing new tools to allow people to report issues without fear of retaliation.
“I want to reassure you that my clerk and I, along with the entire leadership team at PCO, are committed to actions and outcomes that remove barriers and ensure Indigenous, Black and people of colour employees can fully benefit from the opportunities and experiences PCO has to offer,” Fox wrote.
In a separate statement to CBC News on Monday, Privy Council Clerk John Hannaford reiterated much of what Fox said in his letter.
“My entire leadership team and I are committed to taking ongoing action to identify and address any barriers that may exist in the federal civil service,” Hannaford said in a statement. “We are best able to serve our government and Canadians when employees feel their voices are heard, valued, respected and included.”
Despite this assurance, Thompson said he had no confidence in the Privy Council Office’s ability to implement reforms on its own.
“We are witnessing scenarios where those who have been the perpetrators are tasked with implementing the solution, and we have seen time and time again that this simply does not work,” Thompson said.
“Historically, public officials have proven incompetent to police themselves for systemic discrimination.”
