Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
Letter on Implementation of the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion

Summer 2021 update

Dear Janice Charette:

In response to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service, I am pleased to share with you the concrete measures my office has taken and the results achieved to date.

In fiscal year 2020–2021, my office undertook the following activities:

• Added diversity and inclusion training to the 2020–2021 performance agreements for all senior managers to learn about racism, reconciliation, accessibility, equity and inclusion in order to support a healthy and respectful work environment.
• Appointed a new Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Champion who engages in activities and promotes diversity and inclusion within our organization.
• Scheduled one-on-one human resources planning meetings for all delegated staffing managers to increase their awareness of employment equity needs and of the various recruitment measures available.
• Posted various messages to employees on our intranet site to raise awareness about racism, diversity and inclusion. For example, an Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee was created in the spring of 2021 to discuss issues and possible measures to counter racism and promote diversity and inclusion in the organization. No one can remain indifferent to the events that have unfolded over the past year, and our employees are committed to making a difference.
• Conducted formal discussions with teams to talk about racism and feelings in response to the events that have taken place. These discussions enabled employees to learn more about different cultures.
• Focused on being attentive to the official languages needs of newcomers (within the framework of our mandate) by working with diversity and inclusion experts to better understand these needs.
• Promoted equal rights and treatment of men and women and avoided any form of discrimination in our communications by using inclusive writing for communication products prepared for the public and for staff.

Activities under way or planned for fiscal year 2021–2022 include the following:

• Implement the Directive on Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion over the next year. We look forward to seeing the new self-identification form being developed by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
• Create an inventory of candidates from the designated groups to facilitate recruitment and promote the designated group recruitment mechanisms to delegated managers.
• Continue to raise awareness among managers of the need to take concrete action to increase representation of designated groups in our organization, even though we have a lower rate of recruitment opportunities due to our size. A dashboard was presented to the Executive Committee on our representation rates, and some delegated managers are currently exploring the possibility of recruiting from designated groups.
• Foster teamwork between our Human Resources Directorate and our Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee. We also have a recurring item on diversity and inclusion on our Labour Management Consultation Committee.
• Organize an event on equity, diversity and inclusion through our Managers Network by the end of the fiscal year.
• Encourage collaboration between our Human Resources Directorate and the Public Service Commission’s strategic advisor so that we can stay up to date on the various programs that are available to facilitate recruitment in designated groups.

My office will continue its efforts to combat racism and promote equity and inclusion, working together with its various committees and networks to implement action plans that will address the issues that have been raised. In response to the results of the 2020 Public Service Employee Survey, our Human Resources team will meet with employees to listen to their concerns about diversity and inclusion. My office will then develop an action plan to identify opportunities for improvement.

Although we do have some challenges because of our size—including a shortage of qualified staff, a lack of resources, and a greater challenge in implementing the various programs that need to be put in place for the government as a whole (e.g., the Mentoring Plus program)—discussions are under way to determine how this program can be adapted to smaller organizations.

In terms of statistics, my office hired 31 employees, including one executive, and had 44 departures in fiscal year 2020–2021. Because we are a small organization, the data you have requested could risk revealing individuals who have self-identified. Because this information is confidential and could target individuals directly, we prefer not to share it publicly.

Yours sincerely,

Raymond Théberge