Public Prosecution Service of Canada

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
• Work is underway to set goals.

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?

Given Public Prosecution Service of Canada’s (PPSC) unique mandate, recruitment and retention remains challenging for some equity groups (e.g., Indigenous and Black Peoples). The recent review and update of the PPSC Deskbook guidelines, like 2.3 Decision to Prosecute, should help to make the PPSC more appealing for equity groups: strengthening recruitment and retention as we deliver our core mandate in new and different ways.

Some recruitment goals for Indigenous Peoples, and specifically for Inuit, have been set in our Nunavut Regional office. These goals are driven by the Inuit Land Claims Agreement and are supported by our own Inuit Employment Plan.

As part of the Northern Recruitment Strategy, unique approaches to recruitment have been taken like:

• Participating as an exhibitor in the Nunavut Career Fair and Training Expo in Iqaluit;
• Attending the Yellowknife Career Fair and Training Expo; and,
• Announcing our attendance at Training Expos on various social media platforms.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) Horizontal Audit of Racialized Persons in Executive and Management Positions in the Public Service compelled us to conduct an Employment Systems Review which led to setting goals at a feeder group level for Black employees.

Other helpful work is underway to support more recruitment goals and includes the following examples:

• Hosting Learning Labs with our sub-delegated managers titled “Intentionally Diversifying our Workforce”;
• Supporting a newly hired Data Analyst and mining unique data for the first time;
• Formalizing a commitment, endorsed by our Director of Public Prosecution and the Senior Management Team, to intentionally target diversity hiring; 
• Preparing to provide National, Regional and Directorate under-representation data to sub-delegated managers based on Workforce Analysis data; and,
• Developing commitments to support targeted diversity hiring and uniquely embedding them into each employees’ performance management agreements for 2024-2025.

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.
• Work is underway to set goals.

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 PPSC developed an ambitious Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) Action Plan for 2021-2024 with over 50 focused activities. This EDIA Action Plan was mapped to the Privy Council’s Office’s Calls to Action and the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions’ relevant Calls to Action. This mapping was published internally and externally and clearly outlines how our EDIA Action Plan will help address the Calls to Action and foster greater inclusion.

Significant to fostering greater inclusion, the PPSC has established five (5) National Councils of Employees (NCEs):

• Employees Living with Disabilities;
• Indigenous Employees;
• Black Employees;
• 2SLGBTQIA+ Employees; and,
• Racialized Employees.

PPSC’s Advancement Centre for EDIA (ACEDIA) hosts regular meetings with NCEs Co-leads to help build a community of practice. The PPSC also offers annual funding to each of the NCEs to support their unique initiatives.

The ACEDIA also provides ongoing support to eleven (11) Regional EDIA Committees, hosting regular meetings with their Co-Leads and offering annual funding support for their local efforts.

A national mandatory training program for prosecutors and paralegals, Expanding our Mindset – Applying an Intersectional Lens to Prosecutorial Work: A Gender-based Anaysis Plus (GBA Plus) Approach, was officially launched in September 2021. A national working group of prosecutors was created to co-facilitate and moderate the course in partnership with a professional facilitator from Centre for Intercultural Learning. Between September 2021 and December 2023, 97% of prosecutors and 97% of paralegals completed this mandatory training program. All this work, from our perspective, leads to deepening our understanding of diversity and strengthens our commitment to greater inclusion in a very broad but important way.

The PPSC set another goal to foster greater inclusion by the development of mandatory Indigenous Realities training. This training consists of four (4) modules.

• Module 1: Historical Relationship between the Crown and Indigenous people to present-day relationship
• Module 2: Cultural Competency/Systemic Discrimination/Stereotypes/Present-Day Realities for Indigenous peoples
• Module 3: Trauma and Intergenerational trauma
• Module 4: Legal and practical principles of the Gladue Reports

This training series is managed and delivered by NVision Insight Group Inc. (nvisiongroup.ca), a consulting firm that is mostly owned by Indigenous people. In the past year 10 sessions were delivered reaching a very important level of completion as only 3 regions remain to be covered.

The ACEDIA has embedded Census Data and other data dashboards (e.g., Public Service Commission) on its internal iNet page under the tab “Plans, Reports and Audits” for all employees to access.

Based on the outcomes of the recent Office of the Auditor General (OAG) Report #5 - Inclusion in the Workplace for Racialized Employees, the PPSC have assembled a large and diverse Co-Development Team to bring life to our published Action Plan. Our plan will include identifying key indicators to measure greater inclusion and overall EDIA maturity in the PPSC.

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?)?

By consulting with a variety of stakeholders, the PPSC has been able to measure its progress for many established goals.  We have produced and published an:

• EDIA Progress Report 2023; and,
• Accessibility Plan Progress Report 2023.

These reports were shared by our Director of Public Prosecution (i.e., Deputy Minister equivalent) and published internally and externally.

As mentioned, our Data Analyst is still fairly new. To date, they have been mining data (e.g., disaggregated Workforce Analysis data, recruitment, departures, etc.) for various corporate stakeholders within Human Resources and the ACEDIA. Some data has been shared more broadly.

The Internal Audit and Evaluation Division reviewed PPSC’s Articling Student recruitment practices and related costs. Their review included EDIA considerations. Findings were communicated to the Senior Management Team in January 2023.

In collaboration with Human Resources, the ACEDIA developed a reflection tool to assist our EX/LC community in reporting progress against their EDIA-related performance management agreement (PMA) commitments 2023-2024. The usage of this tool was not mandatory but considered helpful while they prepared for their year-end assessments.

The PPSC completed Treasury Board Secretariat’s (TBS) Maturity Model on Diversity and Inclusion (MMDI) Survey and received its results in December 2023. Our Designated Senior Official for Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (SOEEDI) shared our results with our Senior Management Team, members of our EDIA Governance Structure and presented findings to the Departmental Audit Committee. We are waiting for an accessible version of our results, from TBS, before sharing widely.

As mentioned above, our Co-Development Team assembled to respond to the recommendations of the OAG Audit Report #5, will incorporate guidance from the TBS to establish performance indicators to measure PPSC’s EDIA maturity.

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.
• Work is underway to develop approaches to establish accountability for results in either of these processes.

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

Currently, all our EX/LC employees have several EDIA-related commitments in their PMAs.

The following were their 2023-2024 commitments, and more details are available upon requests:

1. Advance anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) at the PPSC;
2. Foster the inclusion of both official languages in the workplace;
3. Ensure the application of an intersectionality lens in decision-making and throughout processes; and,
4. Take Action Against Systemic Discrimination and Racism in the Criminal Justice System (LC employees only).

Specifically, under commitment #3 above, their PMA stated:  “Complete and support all identified employees in completing the mandatory training Expanding our Mindsets – Applying an Intersectionality Lens to Prosecutorial Work (a GBA Plus approach).”

Where lack of progress is evident and final PMA ratings are affected, discussions follow with the respective EX/LC employee.

There are examples of other employees that have EDIA-related commitments in their PMAs (e.g., Human Resources, all Counsels of our Alberta Regional Office, etc.) which are available upon request.

We are working on strengthening the use of PMAs and ensuring that there are commitments for all levels within the organization.  For example, we will embed mandatory, anti-racism training into all PMAs as determined by our OAG Audit Action Plan Co-Developers.

A Talent Management framework is under development and key stakeholders (e.g., NCEs) are being consulted currently.

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?

• I have sponsored at least two Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles.
• Work is underway to develop an approach to sponsorship.

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.  

A Senior General Counsel (LP05) process was launched in early 2024. The announcement clearly outlined a commitment to increase diversity at this important organizational level:

“In addition to the advertised process, we have approached talented employees from equity deserving groups directly for non-advertised appointments. Our goal is to increase diversity among senior general counsel. Building a richly diverse workforce favours the exchange of perspectives and ideas, improves problem-solving, and creates a respectful, accepting work environment. It helps us improve and enhance our service to the evolving Canadian society, which includes conducting prosecutions in a way that contributes to reducing over-representation and systemic discrimination of historically marginalized groups in the Canadian criminal justice system. To ensure a fair and objective assessment, these candidates will be considered using, in part, the assessment tools from the advertised selection process.”

As part of the above-mentioned LP05 process, Seniors Leaders approached talented equity group employees in view of using a non-advertised approach for them. We see these intentional approaches as examples of concrete sponsorship.

There are other examples of providing developmental opportunities to equity group employees like providing opportunities to act or assume Senior Leader positions in different regions.

We continue to follow Mentorship Plus and the Mosiac Leadership Development Program and hope to weave these opportunities into a larger PPSC Talent Management framework.

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.

As outlined above for Question 5, the LP05 process has set aside seats for equity group employees deemed ready. Our head of organization and her deputies approached equity group employees directly to promote the process and sponsor them specifically.

Question 7

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

• Work is underway to develop an approach to prioritizing official language training for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are ready for advancement.

How is your organization prioritizing official language training?

PPSC’s Official Languages (OL) Action Plan 2022-2025 identifies evaluating and promoting priority access to second official language training for members of equity group employees. More details are available upon request.

“Language learning and development are an integral part of training, talent management and succession planning programs for employees, particularly members of equity groups, to increase employment opportunities.” (OL Action Plan 2022-2025)

Human Resources have:

• Connected with Correctional Services of Canada who have launched language training initiatives for Indigenous, Black and other Racialized employees;
• Begun to discuss how to best approach language training for employees who will be affected by some changes in the Official Languages Act. This will include those affected who are equity deserving employees; and,
• Promoted our language training resources to all employees including our unique Language Learning Bootcamp and Language Twinning programs. More details are available upon request.

PPSC’s OL Champions and OL Committee are very committed to inclusive language training.

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

“Recognizing that Indigenous languages, French and English are the historical foundations of Canada's linguistic diversity, the PPSC demonstrates leadership, innovation, and creativity in meeting its official languages obligations and contributes to initiatives that support strengthening the use of Indigenous languages.” (OL Action Plan 2022-2025)

To recognize the use of Indigenous languages by some of our employees, various national communications were translated and distributed in Inuktitut (roman and syllabics) and in Inuinnaqtun.

Some examples are:

• PPSC’s EDIA Action Plan 2021-2024;
• Languages Day 2022;
• Director of Public Prosecution’s Announcement (DPP) of the new Deputy Chief Federal Prosecutor of the Nunavut Region;
• DPP’S holiday message sent to all employees; and,
• DPP’S Announcement of our National Accessibility Plan 2022-2025.

Most emails sent from the Advancement Centre for EDIA references the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 14.i., which states “Our Aboriginal languages are a fundamental and valued element of Canadian culture and society, and there is an urgency to preserve them.”

Worth noting as well, our Nunavut Regional Office has invested greatly in acknowledging Inuktitut as a working language in their region and are supporting Indigenous language training.  Some of their achievements are highlighted below:

• Established an Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) committee that created IQ boards that are updated regularly. One board is focused on Inuktitut language and expressions, and one is focused on Inuit culture and history;
• Continued collaborating with Human Resources and Communications on a Northern Recruitment Strategy;
• Supports employees who wish to take lessons in Inuktitut;
• Drafted an Inuit Court Worker Development Program, embedding a “language phase” where promotion to the EC-04 working level requires fluency in an Inuit language. Participants of the program who will require language training will receive funding and support. It is anticipated that training will be provided through Pirurvik, with the possibility of support from Pilimmaksaivik;
• Continued to participate actively in the work and initiatives of the following interdepartmental committees:
  • Working group on Indigenous Languages in Nunavut (linked to the efforts made to meet the obligations under Article 23 – Inuit Employment Within Government of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement)
  • Joint Committee on the Use of Indigenous Languages in the Public Service
• Explored the possibility of offering Indigenous languages discovery activities to all employees in support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's "Language and Culture" Calls to Action 13 to 17; and,
• Will explore opportunities and ways to consult and engage Indigenous communities to understand their needs for Indigenous language services.

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).

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

Similar to our response to question 2, the PPSC has established five (5) National Council for Employees (NCEs) and supports them on an ongoing basis as unique community of practices and strategic influencers.

The NCEs have had significant impact in a variety of ways including influencing our updated Values and Ethics and changes to our PPSC Deskbook guidelines that our legal community uses to conduct our core business. NCEs  have also been providing input on changes to our Federal Prosecution Development Program (FPDP).Additionally, NCEs have been invited to speak at Orientation Sessions for new PPSC employees.

Also mentioned in our response to questions 2, is our network of Regional EDIA Committees and how we support them on an ongoing basis.

In our effort to build more religious, secular and spiritual literacy and support our unique faith-based employees/communities, the PPSC has invested in some of the following ways:

• ACEDIA team members attended CCDI’s “Religious inclusion, a starting point for the workplace”;
• Five (5) PPSC employees were sponsored to attend Encounter World Religions’(EWR) “Make the Case for Religious Literacy at Work”;
• Promoted EWR’s “Demystifying Islam: How to be an Ally to your Muslim Colleagues”;
• Hosted an EWR customized learning event called “Religiously Literate Leader” for PPSC’s Senior Management Team and the Supervisors’ Network; and,
• Continue to mark multiple religious holidays through national emails.

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.

Every two years, the PPSC typically develops new organizational priorities. For 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, the priorities have been extended. They are:

• foster a culture of trust and engagement;
• advance equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace;
• take action against systemic discrimination and racism in the criminal justice system; and,
• modernize the way we work. 

Specifically and worth noting under “advance equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in the workplace”, the PPSC will continue to build an accessible, inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace environment where all employees can thrive. This includes prevent and protect employees from discrimination, harassment, and violence. 

Guiding our prosecutorial work is PPSC’s Deskbook. Over the last two years, significant review of several chapters has led to changes that, if adhered to, will help to address systemic discrimination and anti-racism within the criminal justice system.

As part of our business plan, PPSC has mandated customized training on the “Historical and Present Indigenous Realities, Trauma and Gladue Reports”. This was developed in consultation with the Indigenous Justice and Reconciliation Committee and National Indigenous Council for Employees. A significant portion of PPSC’s prosecutors and paralegals have now completed this learning series.

Worth noting as a regional initiative/business plan, and part of the PPSC’s response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Calls for Justice, the Northwest Territory Regional Office created a Specialized Sexual Violence Prosecution Team (SSVPT) in April 2022. The SSVPT responsibilities include reviewing and improving PPSC practices and policies related to sexual violence investigations and prosecutions with the objectives of adopting trauma-informed and culturally competent approaches and promoting legal and advocacy excellence.

The PPSC’s Mental Health and Wellness Strategy aims to support mental health in the workplace with the goal of creating a culture that enshrines psychological health, safety, and well-being in all aspects of the workplace through collaboration, inclusivity, and respect.  PPSC’s updated organizational priorities are reflected in the work and consultations led by the Mental Health and Wellness Committee to implement their strategy.  Two of the priorities directly align with the mental health and wellness agenda for the PPSC:

• Foster a Culture of Trust and Engagement: The PPSC will foster a culture of trust and engagement, where all employees are treated with respect, dignity, and fairness; and,
• Advance Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace: The PPSC will continue to build an accessible, inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace environment where all employees can thrive.

Question 10

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

• Work is underway to develop this calendar at my organization.

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

PPSC regularly invites all staff to consult the Canada’s Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) Diversity Calendar to ensure commemorative moments are avoided when booking major meetings and events.

The ACEDIA uses an internal communication platform, called the PPSC Insider, to provide access and promote CCDI’s monthly calendar. We also have embedded this message and link in national communiques.

In collaboration with the ACEDIA, the PPSC’s Communications Team is currently developing an EDIA Communications Plan that will address managing commemorative moments across the organization. The Communications Team has also recently reached out to PPSC’s IT/IM colleagues to also discuss ways of automatically embedding CCDI’s Diversity Calendar into our MS Outlook Calendars.

As outlined in our response to question 8, we have invested in religious, secular and spiritual inclusivity in a variety of ways. Our investment has included many learning opportunities around different sacred days and periods for different faith-based employees. It is hoped that building awareness of these important moments, provokes further consideration of not hosting major meetings and events during them.

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.

Resources

For meaningful and sustainable work on the Calls to Action there are many systems, currently in place, that need to be dismantled and rebuilt. Given the lack of extra resources for this work to be done thoroughly and without better alignment and guidance from TBS, the PPSC, as a smaller organization, is slightly overwhelmed.

Since the Calls to Action, the PPSC has had to answer to two (2) major Audits:  

• Canadian Human Rights Commission’s (CHRC) Horizontal Audit of Racialized Persons in Executive and Management Positions in the Public Service; and,
• Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) Inclusion in the Workplace for Racialized Employees.

The resources required to respond to these audits responsibly and thoroughly meant diverting attention to other priorities like the Calls to Action. For smaller organizations, the pressures and timelines are the same but the resources differ significantly.

There are simply too many requirements for plans, reports, audits that compete for limited resources and are rarely aligned.

Core mandate

Given the PPSC’s core mandate and the service we offer to Canadian society, the PPSC have invested much effort to make changes to address massive incarceration of Indigenous peoples and overrepresentation of Black, Racialized, and other groups in the criminal justice systems.  In fact, one third of our EDIA Action Plan is devoted to this important area (i.e., “Integrate an intersectional lens in our prosecutorial work.”) with many supporting, ongoing activities.

Despite our intentions and progress, this fundamental work is rarely or never considered in any reporting processes. The PPSC believes this work is essential for greater inclusion and equally connected to PPSC’s capacity to retain and attract Indigenous, Black and Racialized talented persons.

Recruitment

Given our unique mandate, recruitment and retention remains challenging for some equity deserving groups. The recent review and update of several PPSC Deskbook guidelines, like 2.3 Decision to Prosecute, should help to make the PPSC more appealing for equity group individuals as we deliver our core mandate in new and more inclusive ways.

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 ACEDIA has influenced the use of personal acknowledgements, in a variety of ways, to highlight intersectionality’s.  For example, we have done so in a tool called Leaning in…to Learn: A Guide to Hosting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Conversations. This guide has been shared with PPSC’s 11 Regional EDIA Committees.

Members of the ACEDIA Team have written personal acknowledgements and shared their intersectionality’s online.
During learning events, hosted by the ACEDIA, identify factors are shared to, again, highlighting the notion of intersectionality.

PPSC’s GBA Plus Responsibility Centre has posted resources on intersectionality, have created guides and have hosted mini workshops on how to support integration of GBA Plus consideration in policies, processes, and decision-making. The guides are available upon request.

A first ever PPSC survey, Understanding and Supporting our 2SLGBTQIA+ Employees, launched in 2022, asked about intersectionality’s.

The PPSC is at an infancy stage of analysing intersectionality data and supporting their employees with multi-intersectionality.

The idea of intersectionality is explored thoroughly though through mandated training of our legal and paralegal communities. It is focused primarily on those going through the criminal justice system and how it affects our prosecutorial work. This extensive training is called Expanding Our Mindsets - Applying an Intersectional Lens to Prosecutorial Work: (A GBA Plus Approach). It is assumed that one additional benefit of going through this training provokes reflection of one’s own intersectionality’s and those of our colleagues.

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. 

Many things have influenced the culture of our organization including the Calls to Action. It is difficult to attribute our progress and ongoing maturity to simply the Clerk of the Privy Council’s Calls to Action.

A mapping of PPSC’s EDIA Action Plan against the Calls to Action and staying focussed on our 50 plus activities provides us with the confidence that we will continue to address not only the Calls to Action but also work toward other important discoveries, recommendations and mandates.

All things considered, the overarching impacts of many legal and moral directives have influenced our organizational priorities, values and ethics and our People Strategy as evidenced below:

Organizational priorities

• Take Action Against Systemic Discrimination and Racism in the Criminal Justice System.
• Advance Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace.
• Foster a Culture of Trust and Engagement.
• Modernize the Way We Work.

Values

People strategy

• Pillar 1 – Build a Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable Workforce
• Pillar 2 – Foster a Safe, Healthy and Respectful Workplace
• Pillar 3 – Develop Talent and Strengthen Leadership
• Pillar 4 – Be Agile, Increase Innovation, and Focus on Effect