Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Report details anti-Black racism in the public service, calls for commissioner

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Nov, 2024 06:03 PM
  • Report details anti-Black racism in the public service, calls for commissioner

A government-funded report says Black executives within the public service are subjected to harassment and intimidation, career stagnation, unjust workloads and, as one executive wrote, a "cesspool of racism."

Lawyer Rachel Zellars, who authored the report for the Black Executives Network, wrote that the interviews she conducted with 73 participants were the "most distressing" she has witnessed and recorded. Of the 73 people she interviewed, 63 are current employees.

"It is my great hope that the patterns and data revealed through these career narratives provide affirmation and recognition for career Black public servants whose narratives about racist career experiences have been long dismissed as anecdotal or hysterical when they have reported anti-Black abuse," Zellars wrote.

A majority of executives interviewed said they experienced harassment, intimidation or the threat of reputational harm from supervisors or senior leaders, with 78 per cent of Black women reporting harassment and intimidation.

"Executives encountered outright threats; were denied or stripped of their power and responsibilities; were referred to with stereotypical or racist remarks; and were challenged regarding their merit and right to a position," the report says.

The results were workplace conflicts "so severe that they led to chronic depression, the use of antidepressant medications and suicide attempts," Zellars wrote.

Among the incidents described in the report were a colleague throwing a chair at a Black executive, threatening to beat him and using a racist slur. Threats of physical violence and unwanted sexual advances were commonly reported.

In a statement, Treasury Board spokesperson Myah Tomasi said everyone has the right to a safe work environment that is free from all forms of discrimination, saying it's plagued many workplaces for generations.

"We are immensely grateful to the courageous employees who have come forward to share their experiences, as painful as they may be," Tomasi wrote.

"It is my expectation that Treasury Board officials and deputy heads take immediate steps to address the troubling findings and implement the recommendations from the report, in collaboration with the Black Executives Network."

The report's release coincides with a Federal Court hearing to determine whether Black public servants can proceed with a class-action lawsuit alleging discrimination in the federal government.

That certification hearing in Toronto is expected to wrap up Wednesday, though it's unclear whether the judge will release a decision immediately. The plaintiffs are hoping the judge will allow Zellars' report to be included as evidence of discrimination.

The class action is made up of 45,000 people who worked for the government dating back to 1970. They are asking for $2.5 billion in damages for lost salaries and pensions.

The plaintiffs allege widespread discrimination in the public service, citing reports of anti-Black racism at the Canadian Human Rights Commission and an internal report on discrimination at the Privy Council Office.

The federal government has said the plaintiffs could have brought individual concerns to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

But Gerard Etienne, a former executive in the public service, said the Canadian Human Rights Commission can only go so far, and that it operates in a system Black employees are trying to change.

Instead, Etienne wants the government to appoint a Black equity commissioner to report directly to the public — and to government — on how the system can be changed to improve the experiences of Black employees.

"If we recognize that racism is endemic in our society, then by means of definition, it is also endemic within the federal public service. And if it is, why not create a commission of anti-racism?" Etienne said in an interview.

A Senate report on anti-Black racism in the Canadian Human Rights Commission released last December found a "crisis of confidence" in the body and questioned its ability to respond to human-rights complaints in a "fair and equitable manner."

The study was prompted by grievances against the commission over its treatment of Black and racialized employees.

Zellars' report supports the idea of a Black equity commissioner, along with accountability for prevention of anti-Black workplace harassment and violence and mandated cultural competency training. It also recommends implementing targeted appointment and retention initiatives for Black executives at all levels.

Etienne said the experiences he had working within the public service are exactly what Zellars wrote in her report, calling it a pattern of discrimination against Black executives.

"There is a sense in the public service that we do not belong," he said.

"People will use the system — they will use the formal complaint mechanisms, informal complaint mechanisms. And when they do, you are totally isolated."

MORE National ARTICLES

'It feels very bad': Brampton reels after two nights of tense protest outside temple

'It feels very bad': Brampton reels after two nights of tense protest outside temple
Monday night saw hundreds of demonstrators gather outside the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ont., where police allege people in the crowd were carrying weapons and objects were being thrown.  That demonstration came after violent protests on Sunday outside the same temple spilled over to two other locations in Mississauga, Ont. 

'It feels very bad': Brampton reels after two nights of tense protest outside temple

Fatal crash on Vancouver Island

Fatal crash on Vancouver Island
Police say they're investigating a head-on crash that killed one person on Vancouver Island over the weekend. R-C-M-P say witnesses to the crash on Highway 18 west of Duncan told police that a compact pickup truck was heading west when it drifted into the oncoming lane and struck a one-tonne pickup.

Fatal crash on Vancouver Island

B.C. man charged with second-degree murder in death of estranged wife

B.C. man charged with second-degree murder in death of estranged wife
A man has been charged with killing his estranged wife in Montrose. Police in the West Kootenay community say officers were dispatched Monday after a report of a man assaulting a woman on the front lawn of a home.

B.C. man charged with second-degree murder in death of estranged wife

B.C. ports shuttered as lockout takes hold in latest labour dispute

B.C. ports shuttered as lockout takes hold in latest labour dispute
One of Canada's most vital trade arteries is cut off as employers at most of British Columbia's ports lock out their workers in a dispute involving about 700 unionized foremen.  The BC Maritime Employers Association says it defensively locked out members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 after the union began strike activity yesterday.

B.C. ports shuttered as lockout takes hold in latest labour dispute

Inflation is down, wages are up. Why are Canadians still frustrated with the economy?

Inflation is down, wages are up. Why are Canadians still frustrated with the economy?
The federal finance minister has been taking every opportunity to remind frustrated Canadians that after a bumpy pandemic recovery, the nation's economy is actually doing a lot better. Inflation is now at 1.6 per cent, below the Bank of Canada's two per cent target. Interest rates are falling rapidly and more cuts are on the way. The economy, while weak, has avoided a much-feared recession. 

Inflation is down, wages are up. Why are Canadians still frustrated with the economy?

Canada Post, union, still disagree over weekend delivery following weekend talks

Canada Post, union, still disagree over weekend delivery following weekend talks
The Crown corporation says in a news release late Monday that neither side has provided the minimum 72-hour notice of their intent to start a labour disruption, but the Canadian Union of Postal Workers repeated a threat on its website that it "won’t shy away from taking the next step" if there is no real movement at the bargaining table.

Canada Post, union, still disagree over weekend delivery following weekend talks