Racial stereotyping, microaggressions ‘normalized’ within PCO: report

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Federal public servants working at the Privy Council Office are subject to racial stereotyping, microaggressions and verbal violence, according to an internal report uncovered through the Access to Information Act.

The document, obtained by a coalition ​​of organizations rallying against workplace discrimination, described “a workplace culture where such (behaviour) is regularly practiced and normalized, including at the executive level.”

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“While it is shocking, it is what we’ve seen across the public service, across all departments and agencies,” said Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president and CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat, which is leading the coalition. The group highlighted recent findings of discrimination at the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

White employees, the report found, worked at PCO for longer periods of time and were in higher-level positions compared to radicalized employees, who had fewer opportunities for advancement within the agency and after leaving the PCO.

It also found that employees had concerns about reporting harassment and racism, fearing retribution.

“When employees did report to their managers, their reports were not taken seriously or talked down, as though insignificant,” the report read.

The PCO did not immediately reply to the Ottawa Citizen for comment.

The internal report, called Safe Space Findings and Recommendations to the Privy Council Office, was written by Rachel Zellars, an associate professor at Saint Mary’s University’s department of social justice and community studies.

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In 2021, Nathalie Drouin, deputy clerk of the Privy Council, said in a letter that the PCO had created a “safe space initiative,” to offer Indigenous, Black and other racialized employees opportunities to share their workplace issues anonymously, with “openness, no judgment and no fear of reprisals” alongside anti-racist consultant experts.

While 1,200 employees work at the agency, Zellars said “small numbers of Black employees work at PCO” and “few racialized employees” had worked at the agency for more than a year.

“The very head of the public service giving directions on addressing racism is a perpetrator themselves,” said Thompson, who noted that the workplace is “toxic” and that workers are “petrified” to make complaints.

The coalition – which was formed in February 2024 and includes organizations like the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) – said at a press conference Monday that while the agency provided an update on the steps it had taken since the report was released internally, they “lack the depth required to fully tackle the systemic issues,” with many key recommendations left unaddressed.

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In light of the findings, the coalition made several calls to the government.

They include the resignation of Drouin, the appointment of a Black Equity Commissioner, the establishment of a department of African Canadian Affairs to “centralize and give priority anti-Black racism work,” the immediate implementation of Employment Equity Act amendments promised in December 2023, and for the government to provide restitution to Black public servants involved in a class-action lawsuit.

The coalition also called for the government to implement Zellars’ recommendations, which included setting department-wide guidelines regarding the evaluation and promotion process as well as increasing transparency and trust with employee networks engaged in diversity, equity and inclusion work within the PCO.

The coalition is holding a rally at 11:45 a.m. on August 1, Emancipation Day, at the Human Rights Monument in downtown Ottawa to “demand action to end racism and discrimination.”

“To the employees of the Privy Council Office and those throughout the federal public service who continue to experience discrimination, the coalition we want to let you know that we hear you, we see you, we love you and we’re going to continue to relentlessly pursue justice on your behalf,” Thompson said.

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