Canada Revenue Agency

Goal setting

Question 1

Has your organization set goals (for fiscal year 2023-2024 or future fiscal years) for recruiting and promoting Indigenous peoples and Black and other racialized people?

• My organization has set recruitment goals for:
  • Indigenous peoples
  • Black people
  • Racialized people
• My organization has set promotion goals for:
  • Indigenous employees
  • Black employees
  • Racialized employees

Please provide details and/or examples, including what your organization is using to set its goals (e.g., operational priorities, labour market availability [LMA], population data, workforce availability [WFA]), and how these goals are communicated to employees, if applicable. What has been the most helpful in advancing towards the goals you have set? What challenges, if any, have you encountered?

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) sets goals for recruiting and promoting Indigenous peoples and Black and other racialized people based on the Labour Market Availability  (LMA) compared to the demographics of the CRA employee population. CRA strives to have representation at or above LMA levels for all equity groups. However, additional work must be done to disaggregate data to improve our understanding of representation gaps that may exist within the employment equity groups. 

Recruitment and promotion objectives and actions to eliminate barriers to further Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives in conjunction with the Call to Action are communicated in the Employment Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Canada Revenue Agency Annual Report on both internal and public facing CRA websites.

The CRA has established partnerships with several external groups and post-secondary institutions to strengthen employment opportunities for equity-deserving groups. These partnerships allow CRA brand ambassadors to engage with diverse communities to educate them about employment opportunities at the CRA.

The National Employment Equity Staffing Strategy is an ongoing initiative at the CRA for non-executive positions and has been CRA’s proactive approach to help close employment equity gaps. The strategy requires a mandatory statement on employment equity on notices of job opportunities and that employment equity must be used as the first staffing requirement for appointment purposes in all advertised non-executive staffing processes where an employment equity gap exists.

Demonstrating its commitment to inclusion, the Agency launched a National Indigenous Recruitment Initiative. The initiative engages with and incorporates feedback from Indigenous partners, internal and external to the CRA, to promote employment, facilitate the onboarding process, and offer career support for Indigenous employees. Additionally, the CRA has a program called Connecting Pathways for Indigenous Students to support Indigenous students by partnering them with CRA Indigenous employees. Experienced Indigenous employees share their knowledge and provide guidance to the students. The program’s goal is to provide a positive experience and facilitate bridging the students to permanent employment. 

Additionally, programs such as the Building Black Leaders Program and Indigenous Learning Circles were created within regions of the CRA to assist Indigenous and Black employees with their career progression.  

The CRA continues to support and explore ways by which the implementation of special programs, under the Canadian Human Rights Act, can be utilized to increase representation beyond the minimum goals that are based on labour market availability.

Question 2

Has your organization set goals to foster greater inclusion (for fiscal year 2023-2024 or future fiscal years)?

• My organization has set goals to foster greater inclusion.

Please provide details and/or examples, including which metrics or data your organization is using, if applicable (e.g., your Public Service Employee Survey results, pulse surveys, exit interviews, human resources administrative data).

The CRA has established strategic objectives and actions to foster greater inclusion through equity, diversity, and inclusion strategies and action plans focused on specific equity groups such as Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized workers, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. The strategies and action plans include activities to raise awareness of challenges that exist within employment equity communities in order to create a more inclusive culture.  

An engagement on anti-racism and bias initiative was launched to foster intercultural awareness and promote ongoing dialogue and engagement on matters related to anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion. A series of tools and resources have been launched to help support all employees. Tools include learning products and activities regarding Code-switching, Inclusive virtual meeting best practices, Microaggressions, Proximity bias, Reconciliation of Our Language, Story of our names, and Courageous conversations in safe spaces.    

The CRA mandated all its staff to participate in unconscious bias training, which was launched in 2023-2024 and was completed by 97% of employees by the end of the fiscal year (2023-2024).   

A diversity and inclusion self-guided learning platform named Inclusion+ has been introduced.  It offers curated content to encourage self-reflection through microlearning resources and activities. 

In addition, a Gender-based Analysis plus initiative was developed to ensure inclusive outcomes for employees belonging to diverse communities and address any unintended differential impacts and barriers created by the hybrid model of work.

The CRA is developing a Directive on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The purpose of this directive is to support equitable treatment of all employees and ensure that employees feel valued and respected as members of the organization. The CRA does not tolerate any form of harassment, discrimination, or racism, and will continually strive to uphold the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. The directive supports building a workforce that reflects Canada's diverse population.

Measuring progress

Question 3

Has your organization developed an approach for measuring progress towards your established goals? 

How is the approach being implemented within your organization (e.g., how is it communicated to employees? What are the roles of executive team members including the Chief Data Officer and Head of Audit and Evaluation and regional management if applicable? How are you reporting on results and outcomes both internally and externally?)?

The CRA strategically measures the progress of established staffing and inclusion goals within the equity, diversity, and inclusion strategies and action plans. Each strategy and action plan contains activities with objectives, actions, and includes framework of accountability and timelines. Progress is reported on all strategies and action plans on CRA internal webpages. Some action plans, such as the Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and the Canada Revenue Agency’s Accessibility Plan are also published for the public.

A new dynamic Employment Equity (EE) Dashboard utilizing PowerBI platform has been implemented. It provides an overview of key EE indicators to support CRA's leadership team in making informed decisions in support of equity, diversity and inclusion.    

CRA hired an external firm to conduct an Employment Systems Review (ESR). The main purpose was to identify systemic barriers for designated EE group members (women, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and racialized employees). The CRA also included the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in the review. The ESR report will act as a guide for leadership in support of employment equity legislative requirements and initiatives and to facilitate and actively promote diversity, inclusion and anti-racism efforts within the Agency.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) sent an employment equity survey to all departments and agencies with more than 500 employees. The CRA was one of the entities chosen. The Agency has shared the report of the main findings and remedies proposed by the CHRC with all employees. The audit report included a Management Action Plan, which set out what the CRA needed to do to comply with the requirements of the Employment Equity Act. While the CRA has met the requirements, the work continues to create a respectful, inclusive workplace free from discrimination and harassment, and a workforce representative of Canada's diverse population.

CRA managers and executives use Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) results, diversity and inclusion statistics, exit interviews, and internal surveys to make better informed decisions. Another powerful measurement tool is through feedback from the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer’s (OCHRO) Maturity Model on Diversity and Inclusion. CRA managers and executives use the PSES and OCHRO results to obtain timely information directly from employees to improve decisions. 

The CRA is developing an Equity Diversity and Inclusion Performance Measurement Framework. It includes a logic model to drive and effectively measure the Agency’s equity, diversity, and inclusion program by evaluating the entire employee life cycle.

CRA’s Chief Data Officer provides leadership and strategic oversight to:  

• ensure the Agency maximizes the use of the data that is collected and acquired
• ensure data is well-defined, well-catalogued, and easily accessible
• develop policies that enable the Agency to make reliable decision-making
• establish partnerships and ensures collaboration with other government departments on initiatives, challenges, and solutions
• enable the Agency to monitor and report on the progress of data initiatives

Consequential accountability

Question 4

How is your organization using performance management and/or talent management processes to establish accountability for results?

• Quantitative goals are part of performance management agreements. 
• Qualitative objectives are in performance management agreements.
• Progress towards representation and inclusion goals is part of the criteria for being considered for talent management.

Please provide details about how performance management and/or talent management processes are being used to establish accountability for results.

To establish consequential accountability, the yearly performance agreements of CRA executives include a strengthened commitment and individual performance measures associated with advancing anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. Executives are expected to include results achieved by taking deliberate and tangible actions to build a representative and diverse workforce and to model the behaviors to ensure a work environment that is inclusive, accessible, obstacle-free, non-discriminatory and conducive to linguistic duality. Executives are also expected to increase awareness and learning opportunities regarding employment equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.  

The Assistant Commissioners’ and Deputy Assistant Commissioners’ performance agreements include an additional performance measure with respect to increasing representation of employment equity groups, to further strengthen CRA’s commitment to achieve and maintain the internal representation rate of each employment equity designated group. 

Performance expectations for CRA executives contain government-wide corporate priorities identified by the Privy Council Office. CRA executives are expected to deliver on mandatory measures during the performance cycle such as: 

• Adopt Agency-wide strategies and take deliberate and concrete actions, invoke change, set goals, and measure progress, to build a representative, inclusive and diverse workforce, while promoting linguistic duality
• Take direct, practical and concrete actions to tackle persistent or systemic barriers and establish a culture that values and upholds diversity, inclusion, equity, accessibility, respect, and belonging in the workplace
• Create opportunities and implement activities that raise awareness and increase education with respect to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, linguistic duality, and tackling racism and discrimination.

Specific, tangible actions outlined in the forward direction of the Call to Action

Question 5

Have you, as head of your organization, and/or your executive teams sponsored at least two Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles?

• My executive team has sponsored at least two Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles.

Please provide details about the nature of sponsorship that you and/or your executive team have provided, along with other programs, such as mentorship or leadership development, if applicable.  

CRA executives have prioritized the sponsorship of Indigenous employees and Black or other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles through the SponsorMe+ program. 24 participants have completed the program, and 82 are active participants.  

The Commissioner is among the CRA executives sponsoring employees and the previous Deputy Commissioner virtually met with the participants several times during the year.  

The CRA has established an Indigenous Mentoring Initiative, which supports Indigenous mentees in developing leadership skills. Mentees work towards self-development and form new perspectives. Mentors learn Indigenous perspectives and participate in information sessions to support cultural awareness. This experience promotes inclusion and increases retention of Indigenous employees, which benefits the Agency as a whole. A number of senior executives in the Agency have participated as mentors in this initiative.

To facilitate access to professional mentors by members of equity-deserving groups, CRA's online mentoring platform has been updated with additional search functions that allow mentees to find mentors with whom they have things in common. Based on feedback received, mentees feel more comfortable choosing mentors who share certain identity factors, such as the same first language or shared ethnic heritage. 

The Agency Leadership Development Program aims to strengthen the CRA’s leadership capacity through accelerated development, driven by business objectives and succession planning, and tailored to participants' leadership development needs. In 2022-2023, the CRA surpassed its objective of achieving a 70% participation rate from members of equity deserving groups.

Question 6

Have you, as head of your organization, personally endorsed at least one recruitment campaign for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees?

• Work is underway so that I will personally endorse at least one recruitment campaign for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees.

Please provide details.

The Human Resources Branch has implemented a new staffing practice for executives under the Canadian Human Rights Act to support Agency efforts to increase diversity in the executive cadre. 

Following a successful executive staffing process for visible minorities in 2021, a national executive staffing process for Indigenous Peoples was launched on October 30, 2023. The process concluded in February 2024, and successful candidates were placed in a pre-qualified pool for placement. 

Moreover, for executive and management processes and all other processes, when possible, the staffing board must include at least two representatives from employment equity designated groups. All staffing board members must participate in unconscious bias, diversity and inclusion and intercultural effectiveness, and awareness training before undertaking their role in the staffing process.

Question 7

Has your organization prioritized official language training for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are ready for advancement?

• My organization has prioritized official language training for:
  • Indigenous employees
  • Black employees
  • Racialized employees

How is your organization prioritizing official language training?

The CRA’s Official Languages Action Plan defines its main objectives and initiatives for complying with the modernized Official Languages Act (OLA). The action plan aims to facilitate understanding of the fundamental issues and obligations of the OLA. Inspired by the CRA's "People First" philosophy, the action plan will empower CRA employees to excel and thus provide a strong, versatile workforce with the language skills to meet operational needs in an ever-changing environment. 

The CRA has introduced a suite of new official language learning tools and approaches to allow for the different learning needs of our diverse workforce. Employment equity was added as a criterion during the review of CRA’s Learning Directive and for the intake of participants in the language coaching program. Employment equity was also used for managers which was identified as part of ongoing efforts for the Official Languages Reform, which aims to raise the language profiles to CBC levels.  

With the above efforts, it is evident that our employment equity groups have been accessing our various language training options at a higher proportion and particularly, visible minority employees that represent 42% of learners.    

The CRA’s Official Languages program and activities respect the diversity of our employee community and are implemented with the desired outcome of serving all Canadians and ensuring that our employees from both linguistic groups have equal access to opportunities for employment and advancement at the CRA, regardless of ethnic diversity or first language learned.

Does your organization offer access to Indigenous language training or have plans to offer access? Please provide details. 

No Indigenous language training courses or programs are available at the CRA.

Question 8

Has your organization provided support and/or invested resources for organizational employee networks and communities?

• Engagement with employees and employee networks in my organization’s decision-making is meaningful and regular.
• Governance structures are in place to support employee networks and communities (e.g., champions, champions/chairs participate at management tables).
• Material supports are provided for employee networks and communities (e.g., dedicated funding, FTE support, allowing time to engage in activities).
• Work is underway for my organization to further engage with or to provide support for and/or invest resources in departmental employee networks and communities.

Please provide additional detail about how your organization engages with and supports employee networks and communities.

The CRA is committed to providing support and continues to invest resources to nurture its diverse employee communities and employee networks. 

Diversity and inclusion at the CRA are amplified through the six equity networks: the Black Employee Network, Indigenous Employee Network, Pride Network, Persons with Disabilities Network, the Visible Minorities Network, and the Women’s Collaborative Network. The networks are regularly consulted in the development of programs, policies, and directives. To support the networks with events, communications, and to pursue initiatives, there is a dedicated support team within the Human Resources Branch. 

Guidance and direction on diversity and inclusion initiatives is also provided by CRA’s National Employment Equity and Diversity Committee, a dedicated community of champions who, in partnership with functional areas and other partners, leverage key opportunities to increase the profile of Agency priorities. Champions for the networks leverage their senior leadership positions to help employees identify and address systemic barriers within the Agency.

Question 9

Has anti-racism, equity and inclusion work been embedded in your organization’s integrated business plan and/or mental health plan?

• Anti-racism, equity and inclusion work has been embedded in the organizational plan.
• Anti-racism, equity and inclusion work has been embedded in regional and/or branch plans.

Question 10

Does your organization have a calendar to avoid holding major meetings and events during significant religious, spiritual, and cultural periods?

• My organization currently has a calendar for this purpose.

If the calendar already exists, please provide additional details on how this calendar is communicated or promoted within your organization.  

The CRA publishes a list of commemorative dates in collaboration with the diversity networks, updated annually. This list is available on the CRA’s internal webpage and is accessible to all employees. The commemorative dates selected by employee networks have communication products destined to the whole workforce and can be accompanied by a network event. They provide an opportunity for all Agency employees to gain cultural awareness about the communities represented at the CRA. 

Recently, in support of the Call to Action, the CRA added a message for all employees to avoid holding major meetings and events during significant religious and cultural periods.

Additional information about your organization’s ongoing initiatives 

Question 11

What are two or three specific barriers that you have faced in advancing work on the Call to Action?

Please provide two or three examples.

One of the barriers to advancing the work on the Call to Action is having access to disaggregated employee data to ensure all communities are represented.  For example, the employment equity representation for visible minorities within the CRA is above the LMA; however, it is unclear if communities within the larger visible minority community, such as Black employees, are well represented. The Agency is awaiting Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s implementation of the modernized Workforce Profile Questionnaire which will provide a complete picture of employees belonging to any subgroup. With the help of this tool the Agency will be able to continue to develop strategies.

In addition, lack of funding and resources dedicated to the work on equity, diversity, and inclusion, especially to support to the diversity networks, continues to be a challenge.

Addressing the intersectionality of identities adds complexity to anti-racism and inclusion efforts.

Question 12

Recognizing that employees often have multiple identities, what actions is your organization undertaking to support Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are also members of other communities, such as persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and religious minorities who face compounding barriers of discrimination?

Please provide details.

The Agency is currently exploring methods to better understand the unique experiences and challenges faced by individuals with multiple identities.  

The Agency has many plans and strategies in place to support employees who are also members of other communities:  

• Strategy for Recruitment, Onboarding, and Retention of Persons with Disabilities at the Canada Revenue Agency 2022 to 2025 proposes solutions to enhance the employment experience of persons with disabilities and better address the barriers they face in gaining access to employment and establishing meaningful careers with the CRA. 
• Emerging from the Purge at the CRA Report helps chart a path for the CRA’s commitment to improving inclusion for 2SLGBTQIA+ persons.

Question 13

In your first year of implementing the forward direction of the Call to Action, what impact has this work had on the culture of your organization?

Please provide the two or three most important impacts. 

The Call to Action inspired and mobilized CRA employees to view all its strategies and actions with a lens focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Implementing the forward direction of the Call to Action has helped increase the intercultural awareness and opened an ongoing dialogue between employees on matters related to anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion.  

Three important impacts at the Agency are:

1. The CRA established a Black Employee Network in June 2023 to create a safe space for Black employees to connect, collaborate, and discuss their specific needs to be addressed within the Agency. 
2. The importance of sponsoring, mentoring and coaching Indigenous, Black, and other racialized employees is becoming more prevalent and adopted across the Agency. 
3. Although more work is needed, the CRA has increased the tools, and resources available to assist employees with cultural awareness, removal of barriers, and create a culture of inclusion.