8. Getting it Right: New Orientations and Best Practices
The 2002 Speech from the Throne
The 2002 Speech from the Throne outlined an equality agenda for the coming years. It included initiatives designed to improve the lives of Aboriginal peoples and to remove barriers to recognition of foreign credentials, which often prevent visible minorities from making their full contribution to the labour market. The Commission will be observing with interest the implementation of these commitments.
"The Employment Equity Act is testimony to Canada’s commitment to inclusion, fairness and social justice. The current Act seeks to ensure that Canadians are provided with fair employment and promotion opportunities with the employers it covers. Notwithstanding the strong legal foundation deriving from the Act, the Government recognizes that it must continue working towards fairness and social justice for members of the designated groups." Government’s response to the report on the review of the Act by the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, November 2002 |
Improving accountability for employment equity in the public service
In previous annual reports on employment equity, the Commission has pointed to the lack of employment equity performance standards in the accountability contracts of senior executives in the public service. For 2002–2003, the Clerk of the Privy Council has included an objective to that effect in the performance agreements of Deputy Ministers. It is now vital that Deputy Ministers include similar accountability obligations in the performance agreements of their senior executives.
Employment equity and the merit principle
Critics of employment equity continue to claim that the Act requires hiring designated group members regardless of merit. This argument fails to appreciate that there can be no merit when entire groups are systematically excluded from the workforce for reasons unrelated to competence. And in February 2002, the Public Service Commission refuted such criticism in a document entitled Representativeness, an integral part of merit. "There is a perception that employment equity programs do not require the selection of the best qualified person for the position, and therefore, are not merit-based" states this document, but "all appointments made under the authority of employment equity programs (...) are based on individual or relative merit." This timely intervention by the Public Service Commission should establish the groundrules in future debates on employment equity.
Equity initiatives at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)
The Commission’s audit of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) revealed many programs to assist designated group members, particularly Aboriginal peoples, to attain parity in the department. Among them:
The department has developed a program for Aboriginal persons containing numerous positive measures. It has obtained staffing authority from the Public Service Commission and intends to maintain its program until 50% of its employees are Aboriginal.
The Aboriginal University Recruitment Program aims at recruiting students with graduate or undergraduate degrees to fill positions, primarily in the professional and services groups in INAC, as well as in other government departments, agencies and Aboriginal organizations.
A Kumik, or Elders' Lodge, is located in the lobby of INAC’s headquarters. It provides a space for Aboriginal employees that respects and recognizes their culture. Kumik also operates a program of visiting Elders from First Nations who come to the department to meet and counsel employees. This initiative has contributed to INAC attracting and retaining Aboriginal employees at all levels. The Kumik is managed by a joint committee of Aboriginal employees and departmental officials.
The National Aboriginal Career Symposium provides more than 1000 Aboriginal youth from across the country an opportunity to explore career opportunities.
New Horizons, a series of three career planning workshops, targets employees with disabilities and members of visible minority groups.
The audit confirmed that INAC is now in compliance with all the requirements of the Act and that special measures produce results. In 1993, Aboriginal peoples made up 18.7% of the department’s employees; by 2001, that proportion was 29.2%—a 64% increase in nine years (Figure 17).
A report on banking
From 1997 to 2002, the Commission audited or began audits of 16 of the 22 banks covered by the Act; six are now in compliance. The banking industry is one of the major sectors of the Canadian economy. It accounts for 20.7 % of the employees covered by the Act, with 22 employers representing 195,870 employees. The six largest banks employ 91.7% of all employees in this sector.
The Act first applied to banks in 1986, and since then, representation of designated groups in this industry has evolved in the following way:
Women’s overall representation in the banking sector decreased from 76.3% in 1987 to 71.0% in 2001, primarily because of their lower share of clerical jobs, but their representation in senior management increased from 2.9% in 1987 to 25.4% in 2001, higher than the 1996 Census availability of 20.8%. Women’s share of middle management and professional positions was more than 50% in 2001.
Visible minorities increased their representation in the banking sector from 9.5% in 1987 to 17.1% in 2001. Visible minorities hold 20.6% of all professional positions, and have increased their share of senior management positions to 6.1%.
In 1987, Aboriginal peoples held 0.6% of all positions in the banking sector. Their share increased to 1.1% in 2001. Given that availability stands at 2.1%, they are still largely under-represented.
The representation of persons with disabilities was 1.8% in 1987 and increased to 2.0% in 2001. This is a marked under-representation, given that availability stands at 6.5%. Increases that have occurred for persons with disabilities in the past 15 years are largely due to increases in self-identification, as persons with disabilities have received extremely low shares of hires.
In summary, there has been significant progress for women and visible minorities, while Aboriginal peoples are still largely under-represented and persons with disabilities have registered almost no progress. The Commission’s audits focus on banks identifying and removing barriers to the employment of Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities, and setting adequate hiring and promotion goals.
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In 2002, the Commission found the BMO Financial Group and Scotiabank in compliance with the Act.
The BMO Financial Group achieved compliance during the first phase of the audit, without having to sign undertakings. Among its employment equity initiatives:
BMO has established an accountability system. Progress toward goals is monitored on a quarterly basis by the Chairman and all BMO executives through management information reports. In 2000, the Chairman’s Council on the Equitable Workplace established a link between achievement of results and executive compensation. BMO indicated that beginning in 2001, the bonus compensation of all executives would be adjusted by as much as plus or minus 10%, based on progress made toward achieving quantitative and qualitative employment equity goals. The audit confirmed that executives are held accountable for the achievement of their goals through annual performance appraisals.
BMO’s workforce analysis showed a significant under-representation of persons with disabilities, with the greatest gap occurring in clerical personnel. As a result, BMO established coordinators to help recruit persons with disabilities in Ontario and Quebec, its two largest regions, and to form a link with external organizations specializing in the placement of designated groups.
BMO has Diversity Council Résumé Review Committees in its two largest divisions within retail banking. These committees educate recruiters and other BMO employees about the systemic barriers faced by people with disabilities in the workplace and facilitate the inclusion of candidates with disabilities into the mainstream résumé review process.
In 2002, BMO identified the need for an Adaptive Technologies Services Team with the goal of accommodating employees’ technical needs and ensuring BMO’s technical infrastructure is accessible to all its employees. This new department provides research, development, testing and implementation of adaptive technology for both employees and customers.
BMO also has several Employee Affinity Groups, particularly the Blind and Visually Impaired, and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Affinity Groups, which are involved in initiatives relating to the accommodation of employees.
The representation of persons with disabilities at BMO has increased over the years, and it is now one of two large banks with a representation of persons with disabilities of over 3.0% (the other is HSBC Bank Canada).
The Commission’s audit of Scotiabank found that had it also undertaken measures to implement the Act’s requirements:
Scotiabank has an Aboriginal network and recruitment practices targeting Aboriginal peoples. The bank maintains a dedicated recruiter for Aboriginal persons and once they have entered the bank’s workforce, there are outreach activities and support mechanisms, such as an Aboriginal mentoring program. The success of the bank’s efforts is reflected in the almost full representation of Aboriginal peoples in all occupational groups.
In the fall of 2002, Scotiabank hosted its first EmployAbility Forum. The one-day forum provided an opportunity for Scotiabank recruiters to learn about ways to attract and retain persons with disabilities.
Scotiabank also recently received an award from the departments of National Defence and Veterans Affairs for its sponsorship of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). TAP provides employment opportunities to members of the Canadian Forces who have been medically discharged from service. The TAP sponsorship enables Scotiabank to link its career site with the TAP Web site.
Accessibility at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, currently under audit, is located in 2,459 buildings across Canada, worth an estimated $2 billion. A decade ago, it conducted an audit of its sites and found that many of them were not universally accessible. In 2002, the department set up a Universal Access Program. Over the next three years, it intends to survey all its sites again, assess their accessibility, and invest $3 million in making alterations to correct problems found. Sites to be renovated will be rated by priority, taking into account the needs of employees and clients.
The Aboriginal Canada Portal: a gateway to employment
Employers often do not know how to recruit members of designated groups. Launched in 2001, the Aboriginal Canada Portal, at www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca, is designed to provide access for recruiting Aboriginal peoples. This gateway was created through a partnership between six national Aboriginal organizations and eight federal departments and provides Aboriginal on-line resources, contacts and information, as well as access to government programs and services in Canada. In total, the Portal has over 7,500 links and 15,000 pages of information for and about Aboriginal peoples in Canada. A section is devoted to employment, with links to hiring programs, apprenticeships, and learning opportunities provided by employers, many of whom are covered by the Act.
Accommodation of Aboriginal peoples at Natural Resources Canada
Natural Resources Canada has funded the establishment of a Circle of Nations Learning Centre at its Ottawa headquarters. The centre was created to provide a place of learning for Aboriginal employees to reconnect with their culture and heritage. An Aboriginal Elder is present weekly in the centre to provide guidance. The centre is a place for learning and exchange, and its interior reflects peace, serenity, and harmony, which are traditional to Aboriginal cultures.
Diversity training at the Canadian Space Agency
The Canadian Space Agency has provided training to its staff on diversity issues. It set up one-day training courses that dealt with the ethical basis and legal obligations surrounding employment equity. All managers were required to attend and were joined by the President of the Agency and Canada’s first astronaut, Mr. Marc Garneau. Half-day sessions were then given to employees. The Commission provided some of this training.
Provincial Airlines sets up a partnership with the Innu People and encourages women to work in trades and technology
Provincial Airlines, based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, has a workforce of about 230 employees. One of its destinations is Labrador, home of several Innu communities. The company has recently entered into a limited partnership with the Innu Nation to form Airline Innu Mikun. As part of this agreement, Provincial Airlines is committed to employing as many Innu as possible at all levels of the workforce from labour to management. The partnership between Provincial Airlines and the Innu Nation created five permanent positions for Aboriginal persons in 2001.
The company also participates in an orientation program for Women in Trades & Technology. This six-month program is designed to introduce women into non-traditional occupations. In 2001, Provincial Airlines invited three women to work with the aircraft engineers to get hands-on experience in occupations the company offers.
Conclusion
These best practices show how employers can develop measures to fulfill their obligations under the Act and, in many cases, increase the representation of designated groups in their workforce.
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