Progress of Designated Groups

People with Disabilities

In the private sector. Of all the designated groups, people with disabilities in the private sector have least benefited from the Act. People with disabilities make up only 2.3% of the private sector workforce, only a slight increase over the 1.6% share reported in 1987 and far below the 6.5% labour market availability for this group. In 2001, the share of hires received by persons with disabilities increased only slightly to 1.2% from 1.0% the previous year. In sharp contrast to the other three designated groups, the number of persons with disabilities hired was substantially lower than the number who left the workforce.

In its response to the 2002 report on the Act from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, the government committed to work with the provinces and territories on a strategy for increasing the number of persons with disabilities in the workforces of all employers covered by the Act. The Commission awaits with interest the outcome of the government’s discussions and initiatives for this designated group, and will continue to call for more vigorous action until people with disabilities are no longer systematically excluded from their fair share of employment.

Back to Top

In the public sector. The representation of persons with disabilities in the federal public sector increased to 5.3% as of March 31, 2002, up from 2.6% in 1987. Although higher than the 4.8% benchmark used by Treasury Board, this share still falls short of this group’s 6.5% labour market availability (based on the 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey).

The increase in the number of persons with disabilities in the federal public service is mainly attributable to increased self-identification, not hires. In fact, in 2001-2002, more persons with disabilities left the public service than were hired. People with disabilities made up only 2.8% of hires during that year, down from 3.1% the previous year. In the same year. only one person with a disability was appointed to the Executive group and the share of hires received by people with disabilities in all other occupational categories was substantially lower than both the Treasury Board benchmark of 4.8% and a labour market availability of 6.5%. During the course of its audits, the Commission is carefully evaluating hiring goals for this designated group. As with other employment equity goals, the Commission will monitor the implementation of goals for hiring people with disabilities.

Back to Top

Our New Demographics

Results from the 2001 Census affirm Canada’s growing diversity.

• Aboriginal persons now constitute 3.3% of the nation’s population, up from 2.8% five years ago. Aboriginal children, who represent 5.6% of all Canadian children aged 14 and under, will have a significant impact on the Canadian labour market in the future.

These changes will likely be reflected in higher availability data for employers subject to the Employment Equity Act. As a result, employers will need to revise their workforce analyses and hiring goals to take these increases into account.

Economic globalization puts a premium on using all key resources in the most effective and efficient manner, and human resources is increasingly the most important of these resources. These demographic changes also point to employment equity as a critical element in supporting the Canadian environment as it adjusts to the new realities of a value based economy.

Back to Top

Biographies of Commissioners

Mary M. Gusella

Mary Gusella was appointed Chief Commissioner on August 7, 2002. A member of the Bar of Ontario, she obtained her LLB from the University of Ottawa. She also holds a certificate from the Canadian Securities Institute and has completed courses in negotiation and mediation in the Professional Instruction for Lawyers Program at Harvard Law School. In her three decades in the Public Service of Canada, Ms. Gusella served in many senior level positions including that of Deputy Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship, President of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Chairman and President of Enterprise Cape Breton, Commissioner of the Public Service Commission, Head of The Leadership Network, and as the Canadian Chair of the International Joint Commission. Ms. Gusella’s major areas of expertise and professional interest are organizational change, people management and innovation. She has served on the Board of Trustees of the National Film Board of Canada, on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and as President of that institute in 1999–2000.

Anne Adams

Anne Adams of Montreal joined the Commission in 1999. She holds a BA from the University of Montreal and a Masters in industrial relations from Queen’s University. She is a bilingual and bicultural Canadian who, during her career in the public service of Canada, worked to advance the cause of women’s rights and human rights at home and abroad. She developed the women’s employment policy for Canada and managed the implementation of the Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program in the Quebec Region. As Executive Director of the Canadian Human Rights Foundation, she went on to develop a very successful international human rights training program. In 1992, Ms. Adams received the Commemorative Medal for the 125^th Anniversary of Confederation in recognition of these efforts. She has served on a number of boards of trade and boards of directors of community organizations, including la Fédération des femmes du Québec. Since 1998, she has served as president of FRAPPE (Femmes regroupées pour l’accessibilité au pouvoir politique et économique). In 1996, she launched AEA Strategies and Development Inc., specializing in employment equity and international development.

Robinson Koilpillai

Robinson Koilpillai, C.M., has been a member of the Commission since 1995. An educator, school principal, and community volunteer, Mr. Koilpillai has served as Chairman of the Alberta Cultural Heritage Council, President of the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation, Executive Member of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, and President of the Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation. In 1980, Mr. Koilpillai received the federal Minister of Multiculturalism’s Man of the Year Award and, in 1988, the Canada Council’s National Award for Outstanding Educator. In 1998, Mr. Koilpillai was inducted into Edmonton’s Hall of Fame and won the Alberta Achievement Award and the Lewis Perinbam Award in International Development. A 1992 Governor General’s Commemorative Medal winner, he joined the Order of Canada in 1996.

Mary Mac Lennan

Mary Mac Lennan of Halifax became a member of the Commission in November 1995. She was called to the Bar of Nova Scotia in 1979 and pursued a career as a sole practitioner until 1990. From 1981 to 1982, Ms. Mac Lennan was the Provincial Coordinator for the Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities. She served as the Multicultural and Race Relations Coordinator for the City of Halifax from 1990 to 1992. A recipient of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Award in 1993, Ms. Mac Lennan was appointed Chair of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission in 1996, after serving two terms as a member. In 1999, Ms. Mac Lennan accepted the post of Equity Coordinator with St. Francis Xavier University, and is continuing her work on the human rights aspects of new reproductive and genetic technologies. She has also served on the editorial board of Just Cause, a law journal for people with disabilities and for legal professionals interested in disability rights issues.

Kelly Russ

Kelly Harvey Russ, a member of the Haida First Nation, was appointed a Commissioner in April 1998. He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History in 1990, and the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1993, both from the University of Victoria, where he was also president of the Native Law Student Society. In 1994, he became a member of both the Law Society of British Columbia and the Canadian Bar Association. Now a sole practitioner, Mr. Russ’s legal work centres on Aboriginal rights and issues arising from the Indian Act, and other federal, provincial, and territorial legislation affecting Aboriginal peoples. In addition, Mr. Russ represents Aboriginal people in the fields of child protection and family law.

Back to Top