Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship 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
  • 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?

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has established clear hiring goals to increase the representation of Black people and other racialized groups, Indigenous People, and persons with a disability. The methodology behind the IRCC employment equity (EE) representation baseline objectives (baselines) is to shift away from the traditional use of workforce availability (WFA) data and move towards leveraging the labour market availability (LMA) of the Canadian population which will enable IRCC to build a workforce more representative of all Canadians at all career levels: entry, middle managers and executives.

In October 2021, IRCC’s Executive Committee endorsed a three-year commitment to achieve these baselines. This minimum representation benchmark for EE groups includes disaggregated data for Black employees, who represent the largest racialized subgroup at IRCC, and binary gender for all EE groups. Non-binary will be added once available. The Department considers these new baselines as the “floor” and not the “ceiling.”

IRCC created the EE Status Report Tool to monitor the representation of EE groups using disaggregated data through the provision of snapshots of data over the short, medium and long term, enabling IRCC to identify areas requiring improvement, to establish clear goals and to effectively measure progress. It is updated monthly and is one of the main reference tools required to be considered during the planning of all staffing actions across the Department, as it enables hiring managers to make sound people management decisions that support the achievement of the baselines.

IRCC’s EE representation baseline objectives are regularly communicated to employees and managers using various communication channels such as in governance committees, working groups, communities of practice, human resources, client service meetings, town hall events, information/training sessions, IRCC’s newsletter, intranet, various departmental reporting, etc.

Continuous and ongoing communications regarding achieving and surpassing the baselines as well as regular reporting on IRCC’s progress in support of increased transparency and accountability has been essential to advancing towards these goals and as a result, there has been an increase of EE representation in IRCC’s workforce at all career levels.

IRCC recognizes that there is a lack of awareness and understanding of the self-identification (self-id) process (departmental collection, management and usage of this data) which continues to result in a lack of trust and skepticism and may be preventing IRCC from having a true portrait of the diversity of its organization.

Furthermore, in October 2023, IRCC underwent an extensive departmental reorganization and although data is still being analyzed on the impact that this change has had on employee well-being and satisfaction, preliminary results indicate change management and survey fatigue.

As a result, although IRCC intends on launching a comprehensive departmental engagement strategy to address the myths and various concerns related to self-id, it has decided to postpone until the new modernized self-id questionnaire and platform are launched by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS). This strategy will avoid any duplication of effort, minimize employee survey and change management fatigue and maximize employee interest, understanding, and participation.

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).

IRCC’s Anti-Racism (AR) Strategy 2.0 (2021–2024) includes an Anti-Racism Strategy Action Plan and Accountability and Transparency Framework, which identifies measurable goals, timeframes for results and key responsible departmental stakeholders. Key performance indicators pertaining to each thematic pillar of Strategy 2.0 include evidence-based measures of progress based on increased availability of research and disaggregated data to ensure leadership accountability and an equitable workplace. A key established goal of Strategy 2.0 is to address systemic bias in employment systems by filling gaps in EE representation at senior management levels.

Further to the above, IRCC has been actively gathering relevant information and intelligence over the last few years based on research and consultations with employees including those from EE groups, management and subject matter experts, to inform the development of a multi-year departmental Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ARDEI) People Management Plan. This plan which will support IRCC in achieving its EE Representation Baselines objectives and foster an inclusive, barrier-free workplace. It will include concrete timelines, key performance indicators and will be accompanied by the implementation of the IRCC ARDEI Monitoring and Reporting Framework which will support the continual assessment of progress in implementing the plan and communication to employees and other key stakeholders at all levels of the organization including various diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-related governance committees and the executive committee.

IRCC’s data gathering efforts are summarized below and have permitted IRCC to establish baseline measurements for each EE group for a number of key human resources indicators including wellbeing, engagement, workplace health and safety, accessibility, inclusion, microaggressions and incivilities. These are being tracked over time for longitudinal research and used to measure the performance and impact of various ARDEI-related initiatives, programs, and policies.

• IRCC has developed and implemented a People Management Employee Survey Framework as part of its focus on organizational culture including the introduction of the Employee Pulse Survey Program which provides all employees the opportunity to express their views, opinions, and concerns on various issues that may be impacting them and their workplace. This program will also enable IRCC to further explore issues that are top of mind for employees through additional surveys to segments of the organization in order to gain a better understanding of the issues and to be more equipped to address them in a timely manner. The enterprise-wide Employee Pulse Survey conducted in February 2024 included various questions on employee satisfaction with respect to the actions, initiatives, and efforts being undertaken by the department with respect to ARDEI as they affect IRCC’s workforce and workplace as well as how well employees perceived the performance of their senior executives in achieving their ARDEI corporate commitments. This information will be essential baseline data as IRCC’s multi-year ARDEI People Management Plan is finalized and implemented.
• In addition to the above and the Public Service Employee Survey, IRCC has conducted several departmental surveys on various topics such as workforce arrangements, future of work, employee wellness (e.g., Guarding Mind 2023), and anti-racism (2 have been launched since 2021).
• IRCC has also undertaken several in-depth reviews such as:
  • Anti-racism-focused reviews based on (1) employee focus group discussions conducted by the Pollara Strategic Insights, an independent research firm hired to consult with IRCC employees in March 2021 and February 2023, (2) independent reviews in Etobicoke and Montreal, etc.
  • In 2023, IRCC conducted nine focus group sessions with equity-seeking groups to gain a better understanding of the challenges regarding the return to the office and to co-operatively seek solutions. The data gathered provided insight on the barriers affecting employees and possible actions to address them.
• Over the last year, the Department has been conducting an Employment Systems Review (ESR) to identify employment barriers within IRCC’s systems, policies, and practices, and proposing measures to address them.
• The EE Status Report Tool was also recently improved to include additional data considerations such as promotions and acting appointments to better inform IRCC stakeholders of progress and priorities as well as to enable IRCC to effectively identify areas requiring attention for inclusion in the departmental ARDEI People Management Plan.

As outlined in IRCC’s Accessibility Plan, culture was identified as an overarching priority area, acting as a condition for success in all pillars of the Accessible Canada Act. Data gathered through the various sources outlined above will inform the development of concrete action items to be incorporated into the departmental ARDEI Plan that will support accessibility and disability inclusion across IRCC.

Furthermore, IRCC is piloting the newly developed ARDEI Index which is an executive performance management tool that will measure executives’ performance in achieving their corporate ARDEI commitments through workforce data including EE representation, employee feedback and a self-assessment on executive progress on ARDEI commitments.

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?)?

IRCC has put in place several measures to regularly track departmental progress towards achieving its EE Representation Baseline objectives such as regularly updating and promoting the use of IRCC’s Human Resources (HR) Dashboard which is a web-based demographic tool that provides a general overview of IRCC’s workforce. The HR Dashboard, available to all IRCC employees, is updated on a weekly basis and provides a snapshot of the Department’s demographics, workforce mobility, retirement eligibility, sick leave, and EE representation. It enables users to amend the search parameters such as Fund Centre, Employment Type, Occupational Group, Employee Status, and/or Appointment Type to best suit their needs for most indicators. It is one of several tools that HR advisors and hiring managers are to consult on a regular basis to inform their people management decisions.

In addition, IRCC has equipped its HR professionals with the tools, training and resources to support their clients in achieving the IRCC baselines including the use of the EE Status Report Tool which was created to monitor the representation of EE groups using disaggregated data. It enables IRCC to identify gaps in representation, to establish clear goals and to effectively measure progress. IRCC is actively planning a departmental engagement strategy to align to the launch of the TBS modernized and centralized self-id questionnaire and platform to ensure up-to-date data collection so that areas requiring attention are identified and considered by managers.

As part of reporting progress towards established goals, IRCC has integrated results reporting on the implementation of actions in Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0 Action Plan in the Department’s Annual Report to Parliament and the Departmental Results Report, and shared outcomes with the Minister and IRCC employees on a quarterly basis to support transparency. As referenced in IRCC’s Departmental Plan 2024-25, the Department will update its Anti-Racism Strategy and work towards a holistic approach to equity-related work to advance equity for its employees, clients and Canadians.

As IRCC finalizes the development of its multi-year ARDEI People Management Plan, it will simultaneously implement the IRCC Monitoring & Reporting Framework which will support the continual monitoring and reporting of progress, ensure accountability at all levels, support the timely provision of strategic advice and recommendations to address challenges and support ongoing and regular communication on progress to all levels of the organization from employees to senior management. The findings from the biannual Public Service Employee Survey which includes specific questions regarding discrimination, harassment as well as leadership behaviour in the workplace, and other data gathering measures such as the ESR, targeted focus group discussions, etc., are other methods IRCC uses to effectively track progress. Survey results are published on IRCC’s intranet and concrete actions to address any issues or concerns raised by the survey results are developed, actioned, and communicated to employees. Moving forward, any ARDEI-related actions will be incorporated into the IRCC ARDEI People Management Plan to support increased accountability, transparency and alignment.

IRCC will also be able to leverage the ARDEI pilot project results as an additional indicator of ARDEI progress as it will enable the Department to assess the effectiveness of the efforts of its leaders in this space, monitor employee perspectives and adapt its strategies and advice in support of achieving results.

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.

Recognizing the need for increased transparency and accountability, IRCC is leveraging its executive performance and talent management processes to drive change.

The EE Status Report Tool was developed to track the department’s progress and hold hiring managers accountable. IRCC tracks the number of hires and the promotion of employees by establishing benchmarks for all EE groups by career levels.

IRCC is also piloting the ARDEI Index that was designed to complement the existing executive performance management program. Executives are assessed on the following 3 pillars: workforce demographics (i.e., EE representation), employee feedback and a self-assessment in achieving Government of Canada ARDEI commitments. Although individual results will only be shared with senior management, this measure will promote accountability, track progress and address shortfalls.

Pending the success of this pilot, IRCC will contemplate establishing consequential accountability for executives explicitly linking executives’ performance pay, and opportunities for advancement to the achievement of Executives' ARDEI objectives.

IRCC has included sector-specific anti-racism commitments in the performance management agreements (PMAs) of all employees which includes requirements to increase their awareness and learning of the topic. This has empowered employees to identify ARDEI-related-training or events in their learning plans, increases their contributions towards fostering a more safe, respectful and inclusive workplace and increases manager accountability in prioritizing ARDEI training, activities, and initiatives.

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.
• 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.  

IRCC has allocated resources in leadership development programs for employees belonging to the following equity-seeking groups: Indigenous Peoples, persons with a disability, racialized persons, and 2SLGBTQIA+ .

IRCC has adopted and implemented the sponsorship component of the TBS-sponsored Mentorship Plus Program where the first cohort paired five (5) senior executive (EX) sponsors with five (5) protégés from equity-seeking groups. In October 2022, the second cohort, with four (4) sponsorship relationships, was launched and both cohorts were completed.

IRCC is currently working on developing a new leadership development program with the following objectives:

• To eliminate barriers in the selection of talent at the senior management level;
• To expedite culture change by placing employees from EE designated groups in leadership positions so they can have a positive influence throughout the department;
• To increase representation in our leadership roles because inclusive leadership is a powerful driver of progress at IRCC; and
• To develop our next generation of leaders from within.

To meet its objectives, the program will develop its participants through individual learning plans, mentorship and sponsorship, and networking opportunities. As participants demonstrate their readiness to advance, they will be marketed to hiring executives.

IRCC piloted developmental leadership programs with the McKinsey Leadership Academy (please note that IRCC has discontinued the use of these programs) resulting in 48 IRCC participants successfully completing the McKinsey Connected Leaders Academy Programs which equipped the following communities: Asian, Black, Hispanic and Latino.

IRCC endorsed the Mosaic Leadership Development Program led by TBS in 2021. Following the successful completion of all components of the program, the employee selected for the first cohort of this elite program was appointed to an executive position. Two (2) IRCC participants were selected for the second cohort of the program that is currently underway with an expected end date of December 2024. Participants are provided with an IRCC sponsor throughout the duration of the program.

The Talent Management Questionnaire (TMQ) for EX-feeder groups collects data to understand the needs and career aspirations of substantive EX-minus 1 and EX equivalent feeder group employees (including Indigenous, black or other racialized employees), plans for their future and drive talent management discussions on EX-feeders at management review panels. From 2021 to 2022, 283 EX-feeders completed their EX Feeder TMQ, of which 51% self-identified as being part of at least one EE group. A total of 30 requests were processed to provide lists of recommended EX-feeders in relation to succession planning, identifying promising candidates for EX positions or extending learning and development opportunities.

Furthermore, IRCC will participate in the Indigenous Career Navigator Program led by the Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion. The program focuses on aiding Indigenous employees by providing the necessary resources and knowledge for career development as well as assisting hiring managers in recruiting Indigenous talent by offering guidance focused on recruitment, retention, and promotion.

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?

• I have personally endorsed at least one recruitment campaign for:
  • Indigenous employees
  • Black employees
  • 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.

IRCC has different initiatives in place that facilitate the recruitment of EE groups such as:

• Inventories of employees looking for other opportunities or potential talent ready for assessment;
• Partnering with equity-seeking communities to attract and retain new talent that reflects Canada’s diversity and promoting current employment opportunities on social media; and,
• Other marketing methods such as paid advertisements on targeted job boards.

Taking into account intersectionality, IRCC also participates in various recruitment initiatives such as:

• EE career fairs,
• Youth Futures Program,
• Federal Internship Program for Canadians with Disabilities,
• Accessible Career Transitions (ACT) To Employ Students; Ontario Disability Employment Network,
• Information Technology (IT) Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples,
• Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work,
• Employment Accessibility Resource Network,
• Federal Internship for Newcomers Program,
• High-School Students with Intellectual Disabilities Program, etc.

IRCC’s Pool Management Platform (soon to be rebranded to the Talent Bank) empowers individuals eager to join IRCC by enabling them to self-declare, thus facilitating the ability for hiring managers to find candidates aligned with their EE targets. Additionally, the Personnel Mobility Database, which provides IRCC staff with the opportunity to voluntarily establish profiles to express their interest in exploring other roles within the department, will be introduced. This initiative enhances mobility opportunities for our employees, offering them greater accessibility within the department’s framework. It serves as a valuable resource for hiring managers in addressing EE gaps effectively.

IRCC is also working on the design of a targeted collective staffing pilot project for EE employees within the department. The objective of this pilot is two-fold:

1. To create a staffing process targeted at EE groups at IRCC to address gaps in representation and to facilitate upward career mobility of EE groups and,
2. To design a process that addresses and eliminates bias and barriers that are typically found in staffing processes that can be leveraged to establish new best practices and encourage a positive culture shift and lasting impact on staffing practices at IRCC.

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 IRCC Centre of Expertise for Second Language Training launched a language training pilot program for equity-seeking/deserving groups by offering online learning and virtual coaching/tutoring to 100 employees to support their career development.

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

IRCC currently does not offer or plan to offer access to Indigenous language training. However, IRCC is currently conducting an ESR which will assist in determining if this should be raised as an area of need and a departmental priority. If so, actions will be identified in the departmental ARDEI People Management Plan.

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 Champion and Employee Network Secretariat (CNS) was created to provide support to IRCC champions and the department’s six DEI-related employee networks (i.e., Women’s Network, Indigenous Peoples Circle, Pride@IRCC, Racialized Employees and Allies Network, Persons with Disabilities, and the Black Employee Network). Their mandate is to administer new champion appointments and transitions, act as a liaison between the 25 champions, networks and human resource management, provide advice and guidance regarding the champion role and ensure alignment with departmental priorities and strategies/plan through monthly meetings.

In support of fostering a strong and diverse culture, IRCC believes in empowering employee communities by ensuring they have a voice at executive tables through various forums, such as:

• IRCC Executive Committee membership which includes IRCC’s Champion for DEI;
• Deputy Minister town halls/meetings with DEI employee networks (e.g., held meetings on the return to the office mandate in 2023–2024 fiscal year).

IRCC also ensures that the voices and experiences of employees networks are integral to decision-making processes by conducting an ESR, involving employees from equity-seeking communities in consultations (e.g., focus group sessions, surveys, etc.) on various people management topics and throughout the development of new policy instruments and/or projects, ensuring that their unique needs and perspectives are taken into account.

In parallel, IRCC’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0 was developed in close collaboration with DEI-related employee networks and anti-racism advisory bodies with representation from racialized employees across all levels and sectors of the organization. IRCC’s forthcoming multi-year departmental ARDEI People Management Plan, aimed at identifying and implementing concrete actions to eliminate employment barriers faced by equity-seeking communities, will be providing key stakeholders including DEI communities the opportunity to contribute to the development of the plan through a series of consultations. This process will ensure that the identified actions will address the unique concerns of our diverse workforce.

Furthermore, IRCC has made a two-year commitment to allocate financial resources and send an IRCC employee on a 6-month micro-assignment to support the Public Service Pride Network. IRCC is also in the process of securing departmental funding and resources for the CNS to centrally manage a budget in support of each of the IRCC DEI networks to better equip and support the Champions and network members in achieving their objectives.

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.
• Work is underway on our integrated business plan and/or mental health plan to embed anti-racism, equity and inclusion work.

Since 2021, anti-racism, equity, and inclusion work has been integrated into the department’s strategic and operational plans, as outlined in IRCC’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0 (2021–2024). This is documented in IRCC’s Annual Report to Parliament, Departmental Results Report, and Departmental Plan. The Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0 Action Plan identifies 24 key action items, and an Anti-Racism Accountability and Transparency Framework to track and evaluate progress.

To build on this framework, the department has taken steps to establish an Equity Branch, which will include a new Ombuds Office. The branch is expected to serve as an equity-focused centre of expertise providing oversight and employee support services to ensure greater consistency and fairness in policy development and service delivery. The vision for the branch is to help the department increase fairness in all aspects of its work, and to reinforce the link between how employees are treated and how IRCC conducts its business.

In addition, IRCC is currently working on developing a multi-year departmental ARDEI People Management Plan that will identify all ARDEI departmental priorities and actions that IRCCis planning on undertaking. This will ensure alignment across all sectors of the department and increase the department’s effectiveness in addressing employment barriers and increasing the representation of equity-seeking groups in IRCC’s workforce.

Furthermore, IRCC published its first departmental Accessibility Plan at the end of 2022, in compliance with the Accessible Canada Act. Efforts are being made across the department to implement actions identified in the plan, to address barriers for persons with disabilities.

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.
• Work has not yet started to develop this calendar for my organization.

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

Although IRCC does not currently have a calendar as a tool to inform and remind managers to avoid holding major meetings and events during significant religious, spiritual, and cultural periods, resources such as the Manager’s Guide to Supporting Muslim Employees, the Jewish Employee Guide Placemat, etc., are shared with managers and employees to increase awareness and understanding of these significant events.

Based on various sources of information (e.g., ESR), IRCC has identified this as a gap and an area of concern for employees and therefore will be identifying concrete actions to address those concerns.

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.

Funding constraints limit the department’s ability to advance DEI initiatives, to hire external experts (which are difficult to find), or to invest in necessary resources. Due to competing priorities, the need for the alignment of efforts at all levels across the organization and maintaining a focus on foundational elements to address systemic barriers in a strategic manner has been challenging. Foundational elements include preparing a comprehensive departmental engagement strategy for the implementation of the modernized self-id questionnaire, conducting a workforce analysis, completing the ESR and the consequent development of an ARDEI people management plan, and ensuring consistency and effective governance of ARDEI initiatives across all sectors. Although we strive to dedicate time to action shorter term initiatives and projects to support the various calls to action, with limited resources and funding, the Department seeks ways to prioritize key foundational elements to drive intermediate and long-term outcomes in order to truly progress in this area.

Implementing these changes with the necessary urgency and timeliness, they deserve has emerged as an additional challenge, further emphasizing the need for IRCC ARDEI strategies and plans to remain agile. The need for enhanced consistency and alignment with ongoing modernization efforts in multiple program areas and a lack of representation at senior management levels may also be contributing factors/challenges that need to be addressed to ensure decision-making reflects the diverse perspectives and needs of our workforce.

The impact of the department’s organizational realignment has highlighted the need to rethink the staging of ARDEI initiatives to ensure employees are meaningfully and sustainably engaged in ongoing consultations to advance ARDEI initiatives. As part of complementing the objectives of departmental realignment to enhance the efficiency and impact of people management, policy and program design and service delivery, IRCC has started to put in place structural changes to help the organization take a more intersectional approach to equity and ensure greater consistency and fairness in all aspects of IRCC’s work.

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.

IRCC regularly consults and collaborates, through monthly meetings, with the departmental DEI champions and networks to gather input and ideas on initiatives, programs, and policies to ensure that the intersectional nature of the employee’s identity is taken into consideration, to raise awareness and to host events in support of the successful integration of employees.

This has enabled the department to undertake key foundational work that supports the objectives of the calls to action, including launching a departmental ESR with a focus on 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; working to review and update the departmental Gender-based-analysis (GBA) Policy to include the “Plus” and acknowledge the non-binary nature of gender; to better reflect the intersectionality and the non-binary nature of gender; advancing the work to address systemic racism and inequities by identifying strategies to integrate anti-racism and equity-related work and key performance measures into departmental planning, evaluations and results reporting; planning an extensive engagement strategy to launch the TBS modernized self-identification questionnaire and myAccessibleWorkplace application for the onboarding of the Digital Government of Canada Accessibility Passport initiative to streamline accommodation processes and enhance workplace inclusivity. The upcoming modernization of the self-id questionnaire will enable us to better support all equity-seeking groups including the 2SLGBTQIA+ community as we will now be able to fully leverage the EE legislative and policy framework.

The department has also conducted research and consultations to support the following:

• The development, implementation and results reporting of the departmental Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0 (2021-24);
• Development of a multi-year departmental ARDEI People Management Plan that will include the LGBT Purge Fund’s report recommendations;
• Coordinated targeted focus groups with equity-seeking communities to better understand the key issues around the return-to-office mandate, the all-access washrooms and the automatic door openers;
• Piloted various recruitment initiatives;
• Developed an ARDEI Index (performance management assessment of executives with respect to their ARDEI commitments) in support of more effective leadership and accountability;
• Focused on accessible IT systems and tools through a dedicated team within the IT Sector,
• Developed the Employee Support Office to streamline and support employees and managers in the accommodation process of identifying barriers and implementing solutions;
• Published the IRCC Accessible Service Delivery Playbook,
• Implemented Unconscious Bias Mandatory Training for all IRCC employees and provided tools and resources to employees to learn about intersectionality and why this lens helps us with the bigger picture;
• Improved IRCC’s EE Status Report Tool to include measurable targets toward the achievement of the workforce baseline objectives to increase the representation of all EE groups at all career levels by the end of 2024. 
• Continued engagement and collaboration between various equity lens leaders at all levels of the department, including through a comprehensive scanning exercise of the departmental equity ecosystem in order to deepen the application of intersectionality in policy and program analysis, service delivery and people management. 

There have also been improvements to internal systems such as CLF Wizard, that have enhanced options for employees to express their gender identity by adopting a broader range of pronouns in both English and French, as well as establishing awareness initiatives, including the development of a Pronoun Usage 101 Guide that was shared throughout the department.  

Furthermore, IRCC fosters a transformative culture of diversity, equitability and inclusion as demonstrated through the establishment of the Department’s new Equity Branch, which occurred as part of IRCC’s realignment to an integrated business structure. The Equity Branch serves as a centre of equity-focused expertise, providing oversight and support to ensure enhanced consistency, inclusion and fairness in people management, policy development and service delivery. The functions of the Equity Branch cover the monitoring, oversight, and guidance of equity initiatives including accessibility, anti-racism, Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBAPlus) policy, reconciliation among others to improve the wellness of the workplace and achieve equitable outcomes for employees, clients, newcomers, Indigenous Peoples and Canadians. The new Branch, announced to IRCC staff and currently funded until March 2025), is also slated to include an Ombuds Office which will be available to all IRCC employees.

In addition, several ongoing and interlocking ARDEI efforts are indicative of IRCC’s progress and commitment to a holistic approach to equity, inclusion and accessibility including:

• Development of the first IRCC Accessibility Plan, and embedding of the Employee Support Office as part of the Equity Branch mandate to provide effective accommodations under the Duty to Accommodate Directive;
• Establishment of the Accessibility Unit and the creation of an Accessibility Centre of Excellence to provide support and services to equity-seeking/deserving groups throughout the organization;
• Working toward the creation of Ombuds Office which will be an independent channel of recourse for reporting racism, discrimination, and other well-being issues, identifying systemic biases in employment systems and the workplace, and ensuring departmental actions are effective in remedying issues;
• Building ARDEI competencies and capacities through tools and services of the Office of Conflict Resolution to help employees and managers safely raise and resolve issues, such as unconscious bias, racism, and discrimination thus creating a safer workspace for all;
• Creation of the Champion Network Secretariat to provide support to the Champions and the department’s six (6) DEI-related employee networks.

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. 

Over the past three years, IRCC has seen the organizational culture begin to shift to being more safe, respectful, equitable and inclusive through various anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion (ARDEI) initiatives such as the development of a departmental public value statement, Anti-racism Strategy 2.0, leadership and sector commitments, creation of an Equity Branch, and the proliferation of ARDEI subject-matter expert teams located in sectors and branches, and spaces of intersectoral collaboration and communities of practice within the department.

The preliminary analysis of data gathered through the ESR and various surveys/consultations, including the ongoing comprehensive scan of the departmental equity ecosystem, revealed that our department has improved in many areas, such as attracting, recruiting, retaining and developing diverse talent by using inclusive and bias-free recruitment practices, enhancing learning of ARDEI and Reconciliation, and diversifying employee resources/affinity groups (networks, working groups and communities of practice), making progress toward dismantling racism and ableism, addressing barriers in systems, practices and tools and building inclusivity, responsiveness and accountability. However, employees still believe that IRCC needs to continue building momentum and sustained efforts, and improve through consistent and effective investments, reporting and accountability.