TORONTO, Nov. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A groundbreaking new report uncovers an alarming pattern of systemic anti-Black discrimination within Canada’s federal public service. It reveals that Black leaders have faced a deeply hostile environment marked by threats, abuse, cruelty, subjugation, insubordination, intimidation, baseless complaints, and relentless harassment. The report highlights disturbing accounts of psychological trauma stemming from these toxic workplace conditions. Black women, in particular, reported severe and sustained harassment, resulting in chronic depression, reliance on antidepressant medications, and, in some cases, attempts to take their own lives.
The report was commissioned by the Black Executive Network — an employee group within the federal government housed at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Authored by Dr. Rachel Zellars, and delivered to officials this week, the peer-reviewed study was conducted over two years, and funded by the Government of Canada. It is the first comprehensive examination of the systemic barriers and discriminatory practices faced by Black leaders in the federal public service.
Dr. Zellars’ study recounts a number of shocking incidents, including one executive having police called on her for a “stolen governmental laptop”, when she had merely taken it with her after moving to another division. Another recalled an incident where a white colleague raised a chair at him and threatened to “beat the ni**er out of him” in front of others, without recourse. Both men and women reported being called the N-word at some point in their career with the public service.
“These accounts are disturbing but not surprising because they echo what we have been hearing from Black public service workers for years,” says Nicholas Marcus Thompson, CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat. “Even when Black workers make it into executive positions, they are met with unbearably hostile working environments, insubordination from direct reports, and career stagnation.”
The report found that 62% of Black leaders experienced workplace harassment, intimidation, or the threat of reputational harm from supervisors or senior leaders. 51% spoke at length about ways they were explicitly denied career-advancing opportunities. Nearly a third described being severely punished for mistakes, in stark contrast to their white counterparts. They also described the complaints process being used as a tool for intimidation and harassment, with lengthy and intrusive investigations largely deemed to be unsubstantiated.
“We know that this is only the tip of the Iceberg, because this study is just the latest in a long list of federal reports commissioned by the government, confirming systemic discrimination in the public service,” says Alisha Kang, National President for the Union of National Employees. “We heard it in the Senate Report on discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and we heard it in the internal audit on discrimination in the Privy Council Office.”
The Government of Canada is facing a $2.5 billion lawsuit, launched by Black public sector workers claiming damages for decades of discrimination amounting to lost salaries and pensions. The lawyers for the Plaintiffs put forward an emergency motion this week to have the “The Study on The Black Executive Community in the Federal Public Service” introduced as evidence. The 12-day certification hearing, which will determine if the case can move forward as a class-action lawsuit, is set to wrap up Wednesday Nov 13th.
“We need to have the government come to the table and give us more than performative words,” says Jennifer Carr, President of the Professional Institute for the Public Service of Canada. “The grievance system has failed our Black members; it’s not a place where people can find justice.”
The Black Class Action Secretariat is calling on the Government of Canada to implement Dr. Zellars’ 15 recommendations, including our long standing call for a Black Equity Commissioner, and to redress decades of harm inflicted on Black workers through the resolution of the landmark class action.
READ THE REPORT HERE
WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE HERE
PHOTO AVAILABLE HERE
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