Parole Board of Canada
Letter on Implementation of the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion

Summer 2021 update

Dear Janice Charette:

As Canadians, we have had several sad reminders recently, as well as cause to reflect on the ways in which Canada has unjustly treated Indigenous, Black and other racialized Canadians over the course of its history.

It is clear that addressing the systemic discrimination of these groups within Canada’s criminal justice system is an essential component to shaping a future that more fully and truly reflects the Canadian ideals that we strive for, both as a federal public service and more broadly as a country.

As a key part of Canada’s criminal justice system, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) contributes to the protection of society by facilitating, as appropriate, the timely reintegration of offenders and the sustained rehabilitation of individuals into society as law-abiding citizens. The Board achieves this through independent, quality conditional release, record suspension and expungement decisions, as well as clemency recommendations, in a transparent and accountable manner, while respecting diversity and the rights of offenders and victims.

In pursuing our important public safety mandate, the PBC’s values statements guide the perspective and actions of the Board and define its culture and beliefs, as follows:

• Respect - We respect the inherent potential and rights of all members of society.
• Openness, Integrity, and Accountability - We are committed to openness, integrity and accountability in the execution of our mandate.
• Excellence - We achieve the PBC’s Mission through the contributions of qualified individuals working in a continuous learning environment.

The PBC is committed to demonstrating leadership in taking action to ensure anti-racism, equity and inclusion in its policies and operations, and to contributing to change more widely across Canada’s criminal justice system.

I am pleased to provide the following information on the various initiatives and actions that the PBC has undertaken over the past year in response to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion.

PBC’s Approach to Advancing Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion 

The PBC is committed to combatting all forms of racism and discrimination within its workplace. Given the nature of our mandate, and the over-representation of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized and marginalized offenders within the criminal justice system, taking action on systemic barriers within our policies and operations has been a significant part of our focus, while also investing in an inclusive and informed workforce. While many of our initiatives already support anti-racism objectives, in 2020, the PBC sought to develop an overarching targeted and strategic national approach to focus efforts and achieve stronger results.

With that in mind, the PBC and the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) established a Joint Committee on Diversity and Systemic Racism.

The Committee found that significant resources existed in the form of studies on the issue of over-representation of Black Canadians and Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. The Committee reviewed multiple existing reports and recommendations relevant to addressing the unique needs of racialized offenders and aimed at increasing the diversity and inclusion of PBC and CSC employees (see Annex B for a list of documents considered in that review).

Following this review, the Committee identified common themes/objectives and mapped current PBC and CSC policies, programs and practices in place against those themes.

• Consideration of systemic and background factors for Indigenous and Ethno-cultural offenders in the decision-making process;
• Developing and implementing culturally appropriate interventions and services;
• Ensuring staff and Board members are representative of the diversity of the Canadian population at all levels within the PBC and CSC;
• Providing cultural training to staff and Board members, including overcoming unconscious bias;
• Increasing and improving engagement with Indigenous and Ethno-cultural communities and criminal justice partners;
• Improving and expanding data collection, research and reporting on Indigenous and Ethno-cultural offenders; and,
• Developing and implementing culturally appropriate victim services.

The PBC is now conducting national and regional focus groups/consultations with internal and external ethno cultural advisory groups and organizations to validate findings of that review. The outcome of those consultations will prioritize and inform the PBC’s strategic plan for advancing equity and inclusion, and driving meaningful change over the next few years.

That plan will build on a strong existing framework that embraces diversity and supporting our current efforts to reflect and respect the needs of Canadians, including those of Indigenous, Black and other minority ethnic backgrounds.

Meanwhile, over the past year, within our workplaces, the PBC worked to ensure our team reflects Canada’s diversity, to build skill in recognizing and interrupting racism, to embrace multiculturalism in our communications, and to open frank conversations about race-related issues among our team and with our partners. As an organization, we also found innovative ways to maintain existing initiatives that respond to the needs of racialized groups by overcoming challenges created by the pandemic. Overall, we have pursued many initiatives intended to foster diversity and inclusion, and to respond to your call to action on these important issues.

Pending completion of our action plan, our efforts this year have largely focused on two key areas of this challenge:

• Ensuring progress in personal-learning activities regarding  racism, reconciliation, accessibility, equity and inclusion, and fostering a safe, positive environment where these conversations are encouraged throughout our workplaces; and,
• combatting all forms of racism, discrimination and other barriers to inclusion in the workplace by taking action on what we have learned, empowering employees to speak up about bias and oppression, and better equipping managers to address these issues.

Below are highlights of our achievements in these and the other priorities identified in the Call to Action.

Current initiatives

Appoint Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to and within the Executive Group through career development and talent management

• The PBC currently employs 13 Executives, including one that self-identifies as a member of a visible minority group. In 2020-2021, one new EX was appointed; that EX is not a member of a targeted group. To date in 2021-2022, one developmental acting EX opportunity appointment has been made to a member of a visible minority group.
• Of the 78 current Board members, 13% are Indigenous and 9% are Visible Minority. Over the past two years, the PBC has taken steps to increase the diversity of its Board members through expanded recruitment efforts among Indigenous people, visible minorities, LGBTQ2 and women Targeted outreach to multiple racialized and Indigenous communities/groups was undertaken, informing them of the opportunity to apply to the active Board member process, and engaging them to encourage applicants from their communities. In the 2018 application process, 8 percent of applicants self-identified as Indigenous and 23 percent as members of Visible Minority groups. In 2020, 8.8 percent of applicants self-identified as Indigenous, and 32.6 percent as members of Visible Minorities – a year-over-year increase of 10 percent, and 39 percent, respectively.

Sponsor high-potential Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles

• Multiple acting and assignment opportunities have been offered to racialized employees across the country to promote growth and development, including opportunities at the management level.
• Work is underway to develop tracking and measurement tools that will allow for quantitative reporting in this area. In engaging employees and stakeholder groups, we will also seek recommendations on more targeted opportunities to support Indigenous, Black and other racialized employees to support more access to development and career advancement.

Recruiting highly qualified candidates from Indigenous communities and Black and other racialized communities from across all regions of Canada

• PBC has conducted targeted hiring of Indigenous and visible minority students through Co-Op and FSWEP programs to create bridging opportunities that will facilitate future recruitment.

Committing to personal-learning activities about racism, reconciliation, accessibility, equity and inclusion, and fostering a safe, positive environment where these conversations are encouraged throughout our workplaces

• PBC continues to review and update its Board member training to ensure the appropriate level of focus on cultural competency. Board members receive training on conscious, unconscious and perceived bias as part of their onboarding, and their ongoing training and development. Board members also receive a three-day Indigenous Cultural Awareness Training during the first year of their appointment.
• In 2021, national Annual Training on Risk Assessment (ATRA) included a session titled Offenders of African Descent, providing all Board members with training on the socio-historical characteristics of Black Canadians and their relevance to decision-making on conditional release. That training builds on the PBC’s 2019 ATRA session entitled Offender Race and Bias presented to Board members and hearing officers.
• As part of the Board Member Training Program, Board members are required to participate in various continuous learning events each year.  In an effort to promote anti-racism, equity and inclusion, many training & learning events have taken place including:
  • Unconscious Bias and a Human Rights Approach to Decision-Making;
  • Offenders of African Descent;
  • Gladue in Conditional Release Decisions;
  • Gender Considerations in Decision and Communication with Offenders; and
  • Indigenous Cultural Awareness Training.
• Across the country, regional Board Member training sessions included topics relevant to diversity issues. Examples include:
  • Pre-Migration Experiences, Impact And Cultural Influences In Refugee And Newcomer Families;
  • Anti-Racism Learning Series: Black Lives Matter;
  • Systemic Racism – What Does It Look Like; and
  • The Uncomfortable Truth: A Brief History of the Relationship Between Indigenous Peoples and the Government of Canada
• In addition to this group training, self-directed training by individual Board members also included significant study on issues concerning Black and Indigenous communities.
• In 2020, the PBC added a course called, “Overcoming Your Own Unconscious Bias” to its mandatory Learning Roadmap for employees. Developed by the Canada School of Public Service, this course assists employees to recognize, identify and accept their own unconscious biases, take steps to overcome them, and embrace workplace diversity more fully.
• In 2020, the PBC provided virtual training on Indigenous Peoples to further target biases though exposure to Indigenous cultures and realities. Following this, in February 2021 the PBC provided Board member continuous training on Indigenous culture and unconscious bias.
• PBC regularly celebrated and supported diversity and inclusiveness events, and shared information through regular communications to employees concerning diverse communities, including racialized communities, religious minority communities and/or Indigenous Peoples, to acknowledge and educate employees about diversity in the workplace. Examples of this include Black History Month, Asian Heritage Month, National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day.
• The Prairie regional office proposed and developed a webinar panel discussion entitled Primer on Black Lives Matter, Anti-Racism and Discrimination, and Unconscious Bias. This was developed and delivered in partnership with the Prairie Federal Council and the Canada School of Public Service, which hosted the seminar for 4,000 participants.
• The PBC has a Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) Framework, ensuring that GBA+ is applied in all areas of the PBC’s policies, programs and initiatives. The framework guides the PBC in considering not only biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences, but also other factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
• In March 2021, the PBC issued a Training Communiqué on Gender Considerations. This communiqué provides direction on the PBC’s approach to gender considerations in decision-making and in communication with offenders awith needs related to gender identity or expression.

Including voices from diverse backgrounds in the identification of systemic racism, discrimination and barriers to inclusion, and the design and implementation of actions to address them

• The Chairperson of the PBC (its deputy head) hosts a Chairperson’s Indigenous Circle, twice per year, drawing on the wisdom of Indigenous community leaders from across Canada to help PBC better understand and adapt to issues that impact Indigenous offenders in a conditional release context. The Circle provides advice and recommendations on policy, procedures, training or operations arising from the Board's mandate for Conditional Release or Clemency and Record Suspension that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Board in meeting the needs of Indigenous offenders, applicants, victims and communities.
• Significant progress has been made towards bolstering engagement with new and existing partners and stakeholders. This included outreach to targeted Indigenous organizations such as the Canadian Native Friendship Centre, First Nations University of Canada, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, and Indigenous healing lodges. The PBC has also engaged with the Egale Human Rights Trust in order to ensure the LGBTQ2 community is well represented on the PBC’s Committee on Victims. The PBC also expanded its community partnerships and advisory functions.
• PBC conducted in-reach with offenders within institutions across Canada to explain the PBC’s mandate to these offenders, to raise awareness of parole and to prepare offenders for upcoming reviews. Targeted in-reach included vulnerable populations such as Indigenous offenders, women offenders, and offenders from minority ethno-cultural groups.
• PBC continues to offer alternate models of hearings for Indigenous offenders, notably Elder-Assisted Hearings and Community-Assisted Hearings. The objective of these hearings is to provide a culturally responsive process to offenders, while adhering to the criteria for conditional release decision-making. Through substantial in-reach to offenders and cooperation with the CSC, PBC has significantly increased uptake of Elder Assisted Hearings. The PBC conducted 743 Elder Assisted Hearings in 2019-20, an increase of 83% over the past 5 years. In addition, the PBC conducted 8 Community Assisted Hearing in 2019-20, double the number from 2018-19.
• In 2020-2021, in consultation with Indigenous leaders, the PBC implemented an approach to allow remote culturally adapted hearings through videoconference to ensure that offenders could continue to have the support of an Elder at hearings where public health restrictions prevented in-person Elder Assisted / Community Assisted Hearings.

Combating all forms of racism, discrimination and other barriers to inclusion in the workplace by taking action on what we have learned, empowering employees to speak up about bias and oppression, and better equipping managers to address these issues

• PBC led a series of open discussion groups for employees on Unconscious Bias in partnership with CSC, Canada Revenue Agency and Canadian Energy Regulators.
• PBC introduced the use of “Safe Space” sessions to foster open conversations among employees about the impacts of racism.
• In the coming year, the PBC will look at opportunities to share best practices and expand regional approaches that may be useful nationally or in select other areas. For example, our Atlantic Region is in the process of securing the services of a cultural advisor who will provide support and advice to employees and Board members in supporting the needs of Black offenders. In the Quebec Region, the Regional Director General offers individual briefings to new employees to explain our zero tolerance policy on racism, discrimination, and harassment.

Support the participation of Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees in leadership development programs (for example, the Executive Leadership Development Program) and career development services (for example, official language training)

• PBC contributed to an initiative of Canada Energy Regulators by participating in a panel discussion concerning challenges to career progression for Black employees.
• PBC supports access to English and French language training for all of its employees through a central, national training fund that was created in 2021 to maximize equitable access to language training.

Enabling and advancing the work of grassroots networks and communities within the Public Service by providing necessary resources and bringing them into discussions at senior executive tables

• Over the past year, PBC contributed to a joint initiative of the Federal Black Employee Caucus of BC and the Federal Youth Network by participating in an executive panel discussion, entitled Career Discussions with Senior Black Leadership (overcoming obstacles related to race). Going forward we will look for more opportunities to support internal networks and engage them to help shape and support anti-racism initiatives, as well as other policy and decision-making concerns.

Measurements and results

Measuring progress and driving improvements in the employee workplace experience by monitoring disaggregated survey results and related operational data (for example, promotion and mobility rates, tenure) and acting on what the results are telling us

At the PBC, mandatory training on Unconscious Bias was implemented in 2020. To date, 376 of 466 employees (80.7%) have completed that training. We continue to monitor and work towards a 100 per cent completion rate. In addition, multiple opportunities such as workshops, training sessions and open discussions were provided to support managers and employees to deepen their understanding and their skills in addressing and preventing racism and related problems.

Elsewhere, a lack of metrics or inconsistent use of metrics was identified as a key challenge by our national Joint Working Group Diversity and Systemic Racism. At present, most employment data is not disaggregated by race. This has made it difficult to obtain detailed information or to compare information across datasets. Still, it is apparent that career progress remains imbalanced for racialized employees. Work is ongoing to gather baseline information that will support comparison and quantitative measurement of progress in future. Going forward, we will work towards consistent and standardized data collection that will allow for more substantive reporting. Available baseline data is included in Annex A.

Key challenges and barriers

As we have seen through the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, the criminal justice system has a disproportionately negative history with Indigenous, Black and other marginalized groups. Moving forward, it will be important to build on existing positive relationships with stakeholder groups to expand contacts and deepen relationships with other organizations and opinion leaders to facilitate more engagement and recruitment within racialized communities.

There is limited research available on Black offenders and a lack of Indigenous and ethno-culturally specific assessment tools to inform decision making on conditional release. Work is needed to develop and/or identify resources necessary to support more culturally sensitive and informed operations.

Maintaining our momentum and next steps

Over the past year, the PBC has undertaken many important initiatives that respond to the Call to Action and contribute to a respectful, inclusive and harassment free workplace.

In terms of sustaining the momentum that we have achieved, we will be making efforts to better coordinate many of the initiatives outlined through the efforts of our Working Group on Systemic Discrimination and Racism. This will enable us to undertake these initiatives in a more strategic way, target our efforts in the most effective and efficient manner possible, and allow us to share best practices more widely with Board members and employees throughout the organization.

The PBC’s Internal Committee on Systemic Discrimination and Racism is following up on the review and recommendations from the Joint PBC/CSC Committee whose early work laid a foundation on which to build our action plan, and this work is well underway.

Conclusion

We recognize that through this initiative, we will be part of a coordinated and concerted effort to build a more diverse and inclusive public service where all people are treated with dignity and respect, all people have the same opportunity to contribute and all people are able to realize their full potential. This is a laudable, timely and achievable objective. On behalf of the Parole Board of Canada, I thank you for inspiring this drive to realize this important goal.

Jennifer Oades,
Chairperson

Annex A: Data Annex

Overview

At present, drawing from data collected on recruitment and employment equity from the PBC’s Human Resource Management System (HRMS), the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Report on Equity, and PBC Learning Roadmap results, we are able to track progress in some areas, and establish baselines in others:

• Of the 78 current Board members, 55% are women, 13% are Indigenous and 9% are Visible Minority. Over the past two years, the PBC has taken steps to increase the diversity of its Board members through expanded recruitment efforts among Indigenous people, visible minorities, LGBTQ2+ and women.
• According to data provided by TBS, as of March 31, 2020, 79.8% of PBC's 425 employees are women, 14.4% are Visible Minority and 4.9% are Indigenous. During the last 5 fiscal years, the PBC has consistently exceeded government targets for representativeness for these three employment equity groups.

Relevant information, data and/or metrics that demonstrate your progress in increasing representation through the first four actions in the Call to Action

1. Appoint Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to and within the Executive Group through career development and talent management:
   • There are 13 executive positions at the PBC. One Black employee currently occupies an EX position with the Board. Eight of the PBC’s 13 executives (62%) are women, including the current Chairperson (the first woman to be appointed to this position), the Executive Vice Chairperson, two Regional Vice Chairpersons, and three Regional Directors General. The Executive Director General of the PBC identifies as a person with a disability and as a member of the LGBTQ2+ community.
   • There are currently 78 Board members currently employed with the PBC: 55% are women, 9% are visible minority and 13% are Indigenous. It is important to note that Board members are appointed through an order in council. That said, the PBC is involved in the identification of candidates for Board member positions. In 2020, the PBC launched a Notice of Opportunity for Board members that resulted in 32.6% of applications from Visible Minorities, 8.8% from Indigenous peoples, and 5.8% from the LGBTQ2+. Finally, 48.3% of all applications were from women.
2. Sponsor high-potential Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles:
   • Nineteen of the PBC’s EX-1 received Succeeded +/Surpassed Rating and were automatically offered a Talent Management Plan. Of these 19 individuals, 15 are women and 3 are from a visible minority group.
3. Support the participation of Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees in leadership development programs and career development services:
   • 45 current PBC employees have completed the Canada School of Public Service development programs (Supervisors, Managers, Executives, Aspiring Director, New Director, New DG). Three of those employees are Indigenous (6.7%) and six are members of a visible minority (13.3%).
4. Recruit highly qualified candidates from Indigenous communities and Black and other racialized communities from across all regions of Canada:
   • Percentage of new hires (Indeterminate and Term employees):
     • 2019-20
       • 171 new hires: 11 (6.4%) were part of a visible minority group and 11 (6.4%) were Indigenous.
     • 2020-21¹
       • 124 new hires: 2 (1.6%) were part of a visible minority group and 7 (5.6%) were Indigenous.
   • Indeterminate employees who left the PBC:
     • 2019-20
       • 53 employees left the PBC: 6 (11%) were part of a visible minority group and 3 (5.6%) were Indigenous.
     • 2020-21
       • 38 employees left the PBC: 3 (7.8%) were part of a visible minority group and 2 (5.2%) were Indigenous.

Annex B:

Reports and Recommendations Reviewed by the PBC/CSC Joint Committee on Systemic Discrimination and Racism

• Annual Reports of the Correctional Investigator
• Ethnocultural Offenders In Canada: Creating Culturally Responsive Policy, Senator Wanda Bernard Thomas’ Report and Recommendations
• Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
• Report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security: Indigenous People in the Federal Correctional System
• Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women: A Call to Action - Reconciliation with Indigenous Women in the Federal Justice and Corrections Systems
• Report of the Visible Minority Employee Consultations: Working Towards Achievement of a Barrier-Free and Inclusive CSC
• Statement by the Parliamentary Black Caucus (June 17, 2020)
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action