Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Letter on Implementation of the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion

Summer 2021 update

Dear Colleague:

I am pleased to provide you with an update on the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s (ACOA) response to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion.

I am happy to report that, in January 2020, ACOA adopted its robust Action Plan on Employment Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (See Annex A.), which has served as a roadmap in tackling systemic change. This two-year plan is based on six key pillars that align very well with the January 2021 call to action. To date, ACOA has completed over 60 percent of the planned deliverables. More importantly, there is a real shift within ACOA toward making concrete progress on having a more representative workforce, and advancing anti-racism, equity and inclusion.

In the accompanying tables, you will find examples of how the Agency is addressing some of the systemic barriers faced by its racialized and marginalized employees, with the goal of achieving lasting progress toward a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

As you will note, ACOA has made some positive strides over the past months, but I realize that much more can be done. The Executive Committee and I remain steadfast in advancing anti-racism, equity and inclusion at ACOA and look forward to reporting on practical actions in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Francis P. McGuire

ACOA’s response to the Call to Action

Actions

Training

• Delivery of the Diversity. Inclusion. Competence. Excellence. (DICE) learning series to employees. DICE series introduces conversations and raises awareness on inclusion, equity and anti-racism. All executives within the Agency completed the DICE learning session by March 31, 2021, and 66 percent of all ACOA employees have participated to date.

Recruitment

• Modern tools and training for hiring managers were developed and updated to include options on how to intentionally diversify the Agency’s workforce.

Capacity-building

• Creation of the Office of Inclusion, Equity and Anti-Racism (IEAR) in October 2020 to provide leadership, strategic direction, policy advice, professional development and expertise on inclusion, equity and anti-racism to support the elimination of systemic barriers.
• Work has been undertaken to develop an Indigenous cultural awareness curriculum, in collaboration with Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada School of Public Service.
• The Agency implemented an employee-driven Accessibility Action Plan. This plan is meant to remove physical, systemic and cultural barriers from the workplace.

Engagement and consultations

• Publication of an internal diversity newsletter on a semi-annual basis to increase awareness regarding issues of diversity, inclusion and equity.
• Consultations on barriers to inclusion and recommendations for improvements within the Agency were undertaken with employees who self-identified as part of the persons with disability group, the Indigenous group, the visible minorities (racialized) group as well as employees who identify as part of the 2SLGBTQ+ (and allies). Most actions stemming from the consultations have been implemented and the rest will be incorporated in the next iteration of the Agency’s Employment Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EEIAR) Action Plan.

Management objectives or performance indicators

• A concrete performance indicator was added to all executive performance management agreements (PMAs) in June 2020, focused on contributing to and promoting EE, diversity and an inclusive workplace, as well as supporting the removal of systemic barriers.

Appointing, sponsoring, supporting, recruiting and committing

• During fiscal year 2020-2021, the Agency appointed three qualified employees within the Executive group who had self-identified with equity-seeking groups (excluding women), increasing representation from 0 percent to 11 percent (See Annex B.).
• The Agency created an EX-1 leadership development position intentionally tailored to Indigenous, Black and other racialized employees as well as persons with disabilities. This position will lead the implementation of the new Career and Leadership Development Framework for the Agency, with a focus on developing inclusive leadership skills and establishing a sense of belonging and trust for all employees.
• ACOA is participating in the Building Black Leaders (BBL) program, championed by Employment and Social Development Canada and sponsored by the Atlantic Federal Council (See Annex C.).
• ACOA hired 53 new employees in 2020-2021, with 17 self-identifying as part of equity-seeking groups (excluding women), increasing representation of equity groups from 3.7 percent of total hires in 2019-2020 to 32 percent in 2020-2021 (See Annex B.).
• The Agency participated in the Federal Internship for Newcomers Program sponsored by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
• The Agency’s EE and Diversity Champion launched the Leaders Leading Leaders initiative in April 2021, supported by the Office of IEAR, to foster virtual fireside chats and to share knowledge with various equity-seeking groups. The Agency’s first Leaders Leading Leaders focussed on 2SLGBTQ+.

Combatting, enabling and including

• Appointment of a 2SLGBTQ+ Champion at the vice-president level.
• Hosting of a virtual pride parade for employees.
• The Agency is leading the Selection Board+ initiative in collaboration with the Atlantic Diversity Community of Practice, the Atlantic Federal Black Employee Caucus, the Atlantic National Managers’ Community, the Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion and the Atlantic Interdepartmental Indigenous Recruitment Initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to gather a list of employees to help address current diversity gaps in federal staffing process selection boards and to support candidate selection for departmental or interdepartmental career development and/or leadership initiatives or programs.
• The Agency invited an Elder to tell the story and the history of their people. A continued practice will be to invite Elders and knowledge keepers.

Measurement and results

• The Agency’s EE and Diversity Committee meets every three months to review progress on the six pillars of the Agency’s EEIAR Action Plan.
• The Agency compiles EE statistics on a semi-annual basis, which are shared with management tables for HR planning and highlight specific opportunities for more diverse and inclusive hiring. Results to date show hiring qualified employees who have self-declared as being part of an equity-seeking group increased from 3.7 percent to 32 percent.
• Public Service Employee Survey 2020 results show significant positive outcomes in topics related to harassment, discrimination, diverse workplace, support for career development and workplace well-being.

Challenges and barriers

• One of ACOA’s key challenges is the fact that it is known to grow its own talent. While promotion from within can be a strength and a retention strategy for the Agency, it can also be a systemic barrier, potentially limiting opportunities for external recruitment. Although the Agency made progress in its representation of executives within the last year, with three new executives who self-identify in three EE groups (other than women), it is clear that more inclusive leadership development skills and intentional hiring is required both for executives and management feeder groups. ACOA’s approach will continue to focus on implementing its robust EEIAR Action Plan and integrate career and leadership development for racialized and marginalized employees as part of its overall talent management approach for all employees.
• From a leadership development perspective, one challenge is a “one size fits all” approach with lack of career development services to support individual needs. It is important to have flexibility within initiatives and programs to provide equitable opportunities for growth and talent management approaches that align with the career aspirations of employees. Removing these systemic barriers to career development will begin with equipping managers to have career conversations to understand individual needs and providing greater access to career development opportunities, including language training, for racialized and marginalized employees. Having a leadership development program led by an executive who self-identifies in one of the three equity groups will assist with this lens.
• Opportunities are also being explored for a more strategic and inclusive approach for access to language training, as part of ACOA’s broader leadership and talent management program.

Employee response

• Employees at all levels across the Agency, and especially those whom the call to action is intended to support, are involved in implementing the key deliverables.
• The Agency has an EE and Diversity Committee that meets every three months, includes a representative from each region/branch, and represents the interests of all equity-seeking groups.
• The Agency also has a group of employees trained as Positive Space ambassadors, which include 2SLGBTQ+ community members and allies.
• In April 2020, the Agency put in place a committee – ACOA Connex – focused on mental health, wellness and engagement, comprised of representatives from every branch and region. The work of this committee was highlighted as a best practice in the Management Accountability Framework report this year.
• The new Office of IEAR plays a key role in listening to communities and networks of racialized and marginalized employees and brings their voice forward, especially when rethinking the impact of diversity and inclusion on the delivery of ACOA’s mandate.

Momentum

• The Agency underwent a significant culture shift in 2020-2021 with the implementation of its robust two-year EEIAR Action Plan. To sustain momentum in the coming years, ACOA will continue to build on its strong foundation of increased awareness and greater cultural competency.
• One key initiative is the launch of an integrated talent management approach that will meet the individual career and leadership needs of all ACOA employees, with the intent of identifying and addressing systemic barriers and of better supporting equity-seeking employees.
• The Agency will continue to pilot its internal leadership development program for employees who demonstrated interest in the BBL initiative.
• The Agency will explore best ways to offer similar opportunities for other equity-seeking groups and integrate these various initiatives into its overall talent management approach to ensure an equitable and sustainable approach to talent management.
• The Agency will continue to prioritize diversity, with an indicator in executive PMAs to promote and contribute to EE, diversity and an inclusive workplace as well as support the removal of systemic barriers. In order to move beyond offering, promoting and encouraging, an indicator linked to Truth and Reconciliation will be added to executive PMAs.
• ACOA is empowering employees to take an active role in shaping their workplace. Grassroots initiatives and conversations are happening at all levels between employees and managers on these topics, with an aim to continually improving the employee experience.
• Employees are engaged, ready to listen to one another, and are mindful of the importance of increasing their cultural competency.

Annex A: ACOA’s Employment Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Action Plan

Vision:

The Agency’s workforce is representative of the community it services and is employed in an accessible and diverse workplace that fosters inclusion in its business practices.

Six key components

• Recruit from equity-seeking* groups to increase representation at the Agency
• Expand the mandate of ACOA’s EE and Diversity Committee to include an advisory role and be representative in membership
• Review the talent management approach to better meet the career development needs of equity-seeking groups
• Add a performance indicator to executives’ PMAs relating to an inclusive workplace
• Develop a valuing-diversity-and-inclusion competency for managers
• Provide learning and professional development opportunities to enhance employee-awareness of diversity and systemic barriers faced by various equity-seeking groups

Goal:

To have a representative workforce and foster a diverse and inclusive workplace without systemic barriers.

*The Public Service Employment Act now refers to equity-seeking groups. It is defined as a group of persons who are disadvantaged on the basis of one or more prohibited grounds of discrimination within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The definition includes the four designated groups under the Employment Equity Act (EEA) women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minority groups as well as groups not currently designated under the EEA, such as subgroups of visible minority groups and 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Annex B: Data

With continual support from the Office of IEAR and Human Resources, the Agency increased the recruitment of new employees who are part of an equity-seeking group from 3.7 percent during fiscal year 2019-2020 to 32 percent during fiscal year 2020-2021.

Table 1: Recruitment in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021

Employee Recruitment
	2020-2021	2019-2020
Indigenous Employees	6	0
Black Employees	4	2
Other Racialized Employees	5	0
Persons with Disabilities	2	0
Other	36	51
Total	53	53

Table 2: Departures in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021

Employee Departures
	2020-2021	2019-2020
Indigenous Employees	0	0
Black Employees	1	1
Other Racialized Employees	0	0
Persons with Disabilities	1	2
Other	22	47
Total	24	50

Table 3: Appointment to Executive Positions

Appointment to Executive Positions
	2020-2021	2019-2020
Indigenous Employees	1	0
Black Employees	0	0
Other Racialized Employees	1	0
Persons with Disabilities	1	0
Other	4	5
Total	7	5

The Agency has made some changes to improving its recruitment approaches as relates to equity-seeking groups:

• Outreach – making extra efforts to reach the communities to ensure individuals of equity-seeking groups are aware of job postings.
• Changing the language to make staffing processes more inviting, using the word "intentional" instead of "targeted".
• Although not yet fully implemented, the Agency is leading with the collaboration of community of practice the Selection Board+ initiative.

Annex C: Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion – Atlantic Federal Council

Building Black Leaders

The Atlantic Federal Council (AFC) is cognizant of the lack of diversity at the senior leadership level in the Atlantic region. To address this issue, the AFC is sponsoring a two-year leadership development program for highly skilled Black federal public servants. The objective of the program, known as Building Black Leaders, is to bridge the gap by offering opportunities for assignments, mentorship, developmental tools, language training and exposure to leadership networks – the building blocks of the federal leadership reality today.

By increasing diversity at the decision-making level, whether it be at a Federal Council meeting, during the establishment of policies or new programming, this program will work toward removing inherent biases and adding the diversity of perspective needed to ensure tools and services truly reflect all Canadians.

An inaugural cohort of seven participants started the program in the spring of 2021.

Atlantic Interdepartmental Indigenous Recruitment Initiative

The goals of the initiative are to increase Indigenous recruitment in the Atlantic region; to coordinate recruitment outreach to Indigenous communities and organizations; and to share best practices on the recruitment and retention of Indigenous peoples in the Public Service of Canada.

In 2020-2021, working group members of the core six participating departments (Public Services and Procurement Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Parks Canada and Revenue Canada as well as the Public Service Commission) welcomed representatives of associate member departments Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, ACOA and Canadian Heritage to the initiative. While the pandemic made in-person outreach impossible, the working group made progress organizing virtual outreach in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and members continued to meet virtually to share lessons learned and best practices. A Manager’s Quick Guide to Indigenous Recruitment was finalized and was shared widely in the spring of 2021 via the AFC and National Managers’ Community. The working group also continues to collaborate on both student outreach and recruitment.