Office of the Secretary to the Governor General
Letter on Implementation of the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion

Summer 2021 update

Dear Ms. Charette,

As requested in your message dated June 28, 2021, and in response to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Public Service put forth by Mr. Shugart last January, this letter aims to describe the actions, progress, challenges, lessons learned and path forward that the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (OSGG) has been working on, and to reiterate our firm commitment to meaningful results.

The past few years have been challenging for OSGG employees and for the institution itself. Consequently, the focus since my arrival in February 2021 has been on workplace restoration and transition to a new governor general. While these two critical endeavours have been priorities, it has been equally important to me, as the new secretary, to convey very early in my tenure my commitment and expectations in the areas of racism, equity, diversity and inclusion, and to take the time to foster engagement.

Within this context, the OSGG has initiated several actions over the past 12 months and specifically since the launch of the Call to Action. Our focus so far has been on raising awareness, training for executives, building engagement with the management team, identifying representation gaps, and initiating the development of a multi-year action plan with concrete deliverables. We expect that our actions will continue to evolve as we more actively engage both employees and managers, and ensure that the “Nothing Without Us” principle is well embedded in what we do. More specifically, the following bullets describe several of the concrete actions we have undertaken:

In terms of challenges, barriers and lessons learned, the OSGG is very aware that it needs to continue to restore the workplace and to once again become an employer of choice to which individuals—including designated group members—will be attracted. This endeavour will take time, but it is a pre-requisite to have a trusting workplace environment, one that is healthy, safe, inclusive, well-functioning, collegial and purposeful.

We also know that career advancement opportunities are not as numerous in a small organization such as ours. Consequently, we want to contribute to employees’ development and growth, and also prepare them for positions that become available across the entire public service.

In addition, we would like to ensure that managers as well supported and provided with the required training, guidance and tools so that they are equipped to foster real change and keep the momentum in the area of diversity and inclusion. While the role of leaders in setting the examples and the tone is critical, we cannot underestimate the role that middle managers and supervisors play in moving this agenda forward and achieving results.

When it comes to engaging employees and designated group members, and to measuring employee workplace experience, we want to be more active and leverage various tools including all-staff meetings, pulse surveys and other consultative processes that will allow employees to have a voice, to contribute and to feel safe.

Moving forward, the OSGG is determined to finalize and implement its action plan, work towards closing representation gaps, engage all employees and to learn from the lived experiences of designated group members. Being a small organization, we also look to larger organizations and central agencies to learn from their best practices and to obtain tools that we can either borrow or adapt. I thank those organizations in advance, including the PSC and the CSPS, for graciously guiding us and providing us with services and tools. We also intend to take advantage of already-created pools to staff vacant positions and to benefit from departments that have established linkages with external organizations to recruit designated group members.

In closing, the recent appointment of the Right Honourable Mary Simon as the 30th governor general of Canada clearly inspires us to do more and better. Her example and leadership will guide us as we move forward. We know that we have everything to gain from building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization and public service.

Sincerely,

Ian McCowan
Secretary to the Governor General

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