Office of the Secretary to the Governor General
Letter on Implementation of the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion

Summer 2021 update

Dear Ms. Charette,

As requested in your message dated June 28, 2021, and in response to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Public Service put forth by Mr. Shugart last January, this letter aims to describe the actions, progress, challenges, lessons learned and path forward that the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (OSGG) has been working on, and to reiterate our firm commitment to meaningful results.

The past few years have been challenging for OSGG employees and for the institution itself. Consequently, the focus since my arrival in February 2021 has been on workplace restoration and transition to a new governor general. While these two critical endeavours have been priorities, it has been equally important to me, as the new secretary, to convey very early in my tenure my commitment and expectations in the areas of racism, equity, diversity and inclusion, and to take the time to foster engagement.

Within this context, the OSGG has initiated several actions over the past 12 months and specifically since the launch of the Call to Action. Our focus so far has been on raising awareness, training for executives, building engagement with the management team, identifying representation gaps, and initiating the development of a multi-year action plan with concrete deliverables. We expect that our actions will continue to evolve as we more actively engage both employees and managers, and ensure that the “Nothing Without Us” principle is well embedded in what we do. More specifically, the following bullets describe several of the concrete actions we have undertaken:

• We established the departmental baseline indicating the OSGG’s current status with respect to representation of designated group members. This baseline shows where we need to focus our attention and take steps to reduce the gaps between OSGG representation and the latest Workforce Availability data.
• Work has been initiated and discussions are under way to flesh out an Employment Equity Strategy and a Multi-Year Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan.
• Greater emphasis is being put on managers’ accountability, with concrete departmental performance objectives being identified for the 2021–2022 performance management cycle, especially to reduce representation gaps, which I have identified as a priority.
• All executives have completed by March 31, 2021, unconscious bias training through the three following modules offered online by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS): Understanding Unconscious Bias (W005), Overcoming Your Own Unconscious Bias (W006) and Overcoming Unconscious Bias in the Workplace (W007).
• Employees have been encouraged through various means to take advantage of the many learning activities offered by the CSPS, including its Indigenous Learning Series.
• In September 2020, the OSGG Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EEDIC) was launched with employee representatives from across the OSGG. Its mandate is to provide advice and support to the OSGG on the promotion of employment equity, diversity and inclusion; to organize activities that encourage learning and open discussion; to foster a respectful and inclusive workplace for all employees; to identify actions to eliminate any procedural, physical and/or behavioural barriers; and to review and make recommendations on other relevant items or issues. Please note that I was struck by employees’ enthusiasm, engagement and eagerness to contribute to this committee and make a lasting difference.
• Since its inception, the EEDIC has hosted and led several department-wide activities, including three webinars: the first one, on racism, with Dr. Helen Ofosu, was held on March 5, 2021; a second event, on Indigenous culture, with Riley Yesno, was held on June 21, 2021, to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day; and a third event on Workplace Inclusion For Gender and Sexual Diversity with Kate Moore on August 23, 2021, to mark the National Pride Week. These virtual connections were catalysts to encourage conversations as well as to provide an opportunity for employees to learn and ask questions. Messages were also sent to all employees to highlight commemorative days such as International Women’s Day (March 8), the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21), and Canadian Multiculturalism Day (June 27).
• In the coming months, the OSGG will lead a self-identification campaign to collect information on the composition of the current workforce, as well as to gauge employee satisfaction regarding training and awareness opportunities. The department will also actively seek out and draw from first-person experiences among designated group members.
• The review of staffing processes and practices is also in our work plan. We know that we can count on the Public Service Commission (PSC) to help us with this endeavour. As a matter of fact, last June the PSC delivered workshops that included a component on diversity and inclusion in staffing.

In terms of challenges, barriers and lessons learned, the OSGG is very aware that it needs to continue to restore the workplace and to once again become an employer of choice to which individuals—including designated group members—will be attracted. This endeavour will take time, but it is a pre-requisite to have a trusting workplace environment, one that is healthy, safe, inclusive, well-functioning, collegial and purposeful.

We also know that career advancement opportunities are not as numerous in a small organization such as ours. Consequently, we want to contribute to employees’ development and growth, and also prepare them for positions that become available across the entire public service.

In addition, we would like to ensure that managers as well supported and provided with the required training, guidance and tools so that they are equipped to foster real change and keep the momentum in the area of diversity and inclusion. While the role of leaders in setting the examples and the tone is critical, we cannot underestimate the role that middle managers and supervisors play in moving this agenda forward and achieving results.

When it comes to engaging employees and designated group members, and to measuring employee workplace experience, we want to be more active and leverage various tools including all-staff meetings, pulse surveys and other consultative processes that will allow employees to have a voice, to contribute and to feel safe.

Moving forward, the OSGG is determined to finalize and implement its action plan, work towards closing representation gaps, engage all employees and to learn from the lived experiences of designated group members. Being a small organization, we also look to larger organizations and central agencies to learn from their best practices and to obtain tools that we can either borrow or adapt. I thank those organizations in advance, including the PSC and the CSPS, for graciously guiding us and providing us with services and tools. We also intend to take advantage of already-created pools to staff vacant positions and to benefit from departments that have established linkages with external organizations to recruit designated group members.

In closing, the recent appointment of the Right Honourable Mary Simon as the 30th governor general of Canada clearly inspires us to do more and better. Her example and leadership will guide us as we move forward. We know that we have everything to gain from building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization and public service.

Sincerely,

Ian McCowan
Secretary to the Governor General