Bias-Free Workplace Initiative: Co-Champions Findings and Recommendations

Baljinder K. Girn and Rawan El-Komos
May 14, 2021

"Diversity means uniqueness of the people" – PPSC Employee

"Inclusion means how am I welcomed in the workplace. It means I can bring my whole self to the workplace." – PPSC Employee

"We need to celebrate employees with different backgrounds." – PPSC Employee

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." – Edward Everett Hale

Introduction

The Public Prosecution Services of Canada (PPSC) has evolved over the years and continues to do so as does society and the global context. We have the responsibility to consistently re-evaluate our priorities, values and commitments to ensure currency and relevance to the communities we serve and our employees.

The mission of the PPSC is to serve the public by:

• prosecuting cases with diligence, in a manner that is fair, impartial, and objective;
• seeking to protect the rights of individuals and to uphold the rule of law; and
• working within the criminal justice system to help make Canada a safe and just society.

Our mission and mandate place our employees in a very important position of trust requiring high standards of ethical behaviour and emphasize our collective responsibility in developing and maintaining an organizational culture where people are treated with respect, dignity and fairness as reflected in our departmental Code of Conduct.

Each PPSC employee is unique. We are people of different races and ethnicities; people who are gender and sexually diverse; people with different visible or invisible disabilities; and people of all ages with varying family obligations, religious beliefs, backgrounds and experiences. These individual differences are valued and are a source of strength in the delivery of our mandate.

As the PPSC Bias-Free Workplace Co-Champions, we are committed to continuing to work with the Designated Senior Official of Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and with all employees and managers to ensure we move beyond conversations and take real action regarding systemic bias and discrimination.

Methodology – Round Table Discussions

Our first priority as Co-Champions was to actively engage all employees and managers and this was done through regional Round Table Discussions. The objective was to provide all employees with an opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences and offer ideas and solutions to help inform the departmental action plan to address equity, diversity and inclusion currently under development.

Round Table Discussions were held in every region and territory at least once. The sessions were conducted in English, French or in a bilingual format and simultaneous translation was provided for the French and Bilingual sessions. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, sessions could only take place virtually, so they were held via WebEx. However, it was very important during this process to provide participants with a safe space where they could contribute in the way that made them most comfortable, so they were provided access to the Slido platform where they could raise questions and share ideas and comments anonymously.

To ensure a comprehensive and integrated approach to our discussions and consultations, round table discussions were also held with the Supervisor's Network, Senior Advisory Board and Executive Council members, Bargaining Agents and specific employee groups^{Footnote 1}. As well, a national session allowed participation from those that were not able to participate in the sessions held for their respective regions.

Employees and managers who could not participate in one of the sessions or who were not comfortable participating in a group session had the opportunity to meet with the Co-Champions separately. Many such discussions occurred with employees and managers across the country. Written responses from a number of employees and managers also complemented the round tables and individuals' sessions.

Findings^{Footnote 2}

This report identifies common and significant themes and trends that emerged from the feedback received from employees, bargaining agents and managers.

We have organized our findings from the feedback we received under three overarching pillars:

Pillar 1: Culture, Governance and Awareness

Pillar 2: Outreach and Recruitment

Pillar 3: Development, Advancement and Retention

Pillar 1: Culture, Governance and Awareness

Culture

An overwhelming number of employees at all levels stated that the departmental culture needs to change and emphasized the importance of trust, empathy and inclusion. There continues to be a fear of reprisal, a perception of a white patriarchal environment and that true allyship does not currently exist at management levels.

Due to this lack of trust, many participants feared the work currently underway (e.g., D&I Committee initiatives, HR initiatives, etc.) is simply a corporate exercise. When asked what would turn that lack of trust into cautious optimism, there was an overwhelming response that there needs to be timely action and consistency between what is said and what is done.

Persons with disabilities consistently stated in all regions and territories that accommodation is still seen as an obligation and cumbersome rather than an opportunity to provide employees with the tools needed to bring their best selves to work and be set up for success. They often feel unheard and invisible.

The following comments reflect the desire for cultural change in the PPSC:

• Systemic discrimination is real and ever-present.
• PPSC needs to hire managers and supervisors that truly believe in anti-discrimination and diversity.
• The office lacks mentorship. There is simply no desire to promote it.
• Need to have real changes relating to bias. Sometimes it's so subtle and insidious; it becomes part of the culture and a lot harder to champion when it's not backed up by evidence and proof – death by a thousand cuts.
• Very difficult to get white males to become engaged in diversity and inclusion; if they don't care enough to be engaged, there is no ally ship.
• There is also a fear of reprisal. It is apparent when certain non-male white employees speak up, their input is not valued in the same way.
• Accessibility passport is a good thing. But managers are not buying in or don't know anything about it.

Governance

We consistently heard that a National Diversity and Inclusion Committee does not and cannot have a deep and meaningful impact in regions and territories. In the North, employees proposed one Northern committee rather than one per Territory.

Participants also mentioned that if these committees are not respected or leveraged by management then they will not be effective in terms of use of time, people and money. We also heard that in some regions there are no formal regional committees and in other regions initiatives are undertaken without a clear focus or mandate. Employees feel strongly that regional committees can work with local management on regional Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) plans, provide advice on strategies for the recruitment and retention of historically marginalized groups as well as provide feedback on proposed policy or program changes from an EDI perspective.

Another element that was identified across the country was the lack of understanding of our departmental governance structure (Executive Council, Senior Advisory Board, etc.) as well as what decisions "Ottawa" makes versus local management.

From a structural perspective, some regions expressed concerns that the current structure, span of control and complexity of Team Leader and Management roles while carrying operational workloads poses a risk. We received feedback that people management should be prioritized in these roles. The employee perspective is that team leaders and supervisors have such a heavy operational workload that they are unable to properly assign and evaluate work, provide constructive feedback in a timely manner and have little to no time to mentor and coach as required. Their primary focus should be to simply manage people.

From a prosecutorial perspective, many prosecutors raised the issue that public perception and partnership with the police are not and cannot be the key driver for decision-making. Further, they expressed that clarity around what employees can do at a societal level on issues related to systemic bias and discrimination without them being placed in a conflict of interest is needed. There was also unanimous agreement that the PPSC Deskbook needs to be reviewed to ensure a modern and current EDI lens is applied where appropriate. This includes areas such as Justice System Participant Misconduct, Decision to Prosecute, etc.

In this regard, we received the following comments:

• Create a Northern Diversity and Inclusion Committee rather one for each office.
• Having a committee in the office for people to go to would assist.
  • It would help those who feel isolated.
  • People don't feel comfortable advocating for themselves.
  • A culture change in this area is needed.
• Ottawa is saying good things, but our regional leaders say "no", then Ottawa says "you didn't ask." It's a circular process which creates distrust.
• What initiatives do we have to assess our cultural competency and how our actions impact different communities? (e.g. measuring over-representation in custody)
• Struggling with wanting to engage with and make changes in my community on systemic discrimination and racism and our roles, prosecutors who work with the police that are part of the problem.
  • What's appropriate and what is not.
  • Need a clear policy from the PPSC on this.
• Our roles and the justice system is under scrutiny so we need to have complete institutional change.

Awareness – Learning and Understanding

During the roundtable discussions, employees discussed the importance of prioritizing learning and stated that access to learning and training that was not mandatory for their jobs was not supported or encouraged.

From an EDI perspective employees felt that, although unconscious bias training is important as a foundational piece, on its own it does not effect real and lasting change. There was consistent and unanimous feedback that training should include a cultural competence and humility aspect and should start from the top down if we want to really change the culture. Many felt strongly that management needed to be trained and that change had to start at those levels if we want to see improvements.

Persons with disabilities raised the fact that there is either a lack of awareness or lack of buy-in for the Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport initiative. Managers were not always aware of their responsibilities on this initiative.

Another element that was raised consistently across regions and territories is the lack of knowledge and understanding of staffing and hiring processes. Employees feel ill-equipped to apply for and successfully participate in processes and do not fully understand how hiring decisions are made, which leads to lack of trust and a perception of lack of transparency in the selection process. Employees are also unclear on the roles and responsibilities of managers versus Human Resources (HR) in these staffing processes. There was also a lack of awareness around targeted recruitment tools available to managers.

Finally, employees are unaware or unsure of tools and resources available to them if they have questions or concerns. Many were unaware of the Ombuds role the Healthy Workplace Services provides and that it is administered by an outside agency rather than the PPSC. Many employees agreed that the regional committee could be an option available for them to voice their concerns.

In this regard, we received the following comments:

• Managers need a lot more training. We are uncomfortable going to our managers with these concerns.
• Unconscious bias training should be for everyone but there should be more intense training for CFPs/DCFPs/GCLO – the people in power.
• We need better training all around but management needs to show they are learning and following policies. That isn't always the case.
• Invite non-management staff from the regions to help develop these new plans (in particular targeted hiring practices).
• I think we need an HR Q&A session to bust some myths and misconceptions. There is a disconnect.
• There is no transparency; you get one answer from one person and then a different from another, which contributes to lack of trust.
• I'm familiar with Healthy Workplace Services and ICMS. But there's a stigma associated with it. We know what happens to the "complainers" in this office.

Pillar 2: Outreach and Recruitment

Outreach

There was consistent feedback that the PPSC is not systematic in its outreach efforts. Participants stated that if we want to be seen as an employer of choice, we should build strategic and long-lasting partnerships with high schools, colleges, universities and community groups such as National Indigenous Organizations, law societies, law students and lawyers associations such as the Black Lawyers Associations and the South Asian Bar Associations.

Employees also shared their personal experiences of being at career fairs where the outreach team was not representative and moving forward outreach teams should be reflective of the groups from which we are seeking to recruit and the communities we are serving.

In this regard, we received the following comments:

• Engage with communities across Canada for the purpose of increasing awareness and benefits of career opportunities with the Federal Government.
• If we engage with marginalized communities at the student level, we will get more diverse student.
• Need to start targeting earlier at law schools and career fairs to show that we are interested in them.

Recruitment – Appointments from outside the PPSC and within the PPSC

Although there were mixed feelings about targeted recruitment, most participants felt strongly that if targeted recruitment is not imposed, it will not happen. They also felt that running targeted processes and giving regions specific targets would send a strong message that this is an ongoing commitment and not a passing government priority.

We also received a lot of feedback about the importance of recruitment panels being reflective. Similar to outreach panels many have reported being part of processes where there was no representation on the assessment and selection boards. Further, employees expressed that having a woman on the recruitment panel that does not form part of one or more of the other groups does not equate to diverse representation.

Employees felt that the tools and processes used for appointments or promotions should be reviewed to ensure there are no systemic barriers in the staffing process. For example, we heard that "experience" criteria requiring Canadian or recent experience may create barriers for immigrants – some knowledge or experience factors can be learned on the job. Knowledge of specific Canadian laws and statutes may not be required when hiring a seasoned prosecutor from another country. One can safely assume that given the experience and competencies the prosecutor has, one can learn the laws and statutes in a timely manner. Further, there were concerns about what criteria such as prior knowledge of the PPSC, really assesses other than the candidate's ability to read, memorize and repeat information in an interview. This is knowledge that can be acquired over time once appointed.

Finally, many regions raised the need for the PPSC to develop its own Articling Program similar to the Ontario Regional Office (ORO) and Quebec Regional Office (QRO). The feedback we received is that the Department of Justice Articling Program partnership in many regions may not adequately promote the PPSC or our departmental Equity, Diversity and Inclusion commitments. Regions and territories can learn from and build on the successes from the QRO and ORO programs.

In this regard, we received the following comments:

• A consideration for inclusiveness in the hiring process - the criteria could focus more on skills vs. years of experience.
• When people are chosen for a position and they are a visible minority, there is always the perception they got it because of that; this perception needs to be fixed and management can do that.
• Targeted recruitment :
  • It is necessary because if managers are left to deal with it on their own, they won't do it.
  • Need more targeted recruitment for persons from equity seeking groups.
  • What is deemed to be qualified?
  • Why do we automatically assume people from equity seeking groups are not qualified?
  • If we focus too much on grades, then we ignore those that have had systemic disadvantages; they may not succeed by being at the top but are excelling because of their disadvantages.
• HR promotes the use of diversity on hiring boards. It is recommended that boards have representation of at least 2 members from equity seeking groups.
• Need to have more people who do the hiring look like me.
• When recruiting articling students, maybe we need to look beyond marks. It takes additional time to do intensive interviews but it will help.
• Articling program separate from the DOJ would be a good idea.
• We could attract more indigenous students if we had our own articling program, especially those who may not want to work in Aboriginal Legal Services in the DOJ.

Pillar 3: Development, Advancement and Retention

Development

The PPSC is an organization with one business line (Prosecution) and internal services groups and functions supporting the departmental business line. As such, the department does not have many occupational groups and due to its smaller size room for growth and career progression is limited.

Due to this reality employees feel that development of internal talent should be prioritized to allow for movement from one occupational group to another where possible (e.g., CR to EC; CR to AS PM, etc.) and allow for assignment opportunities with corporate groups to develop new skills and competencies.

Employees also raised the feeling and perception of favouritism regarding allocation of work and therefore identified the need for clarity and transparency in how work is assigned and how decisions are made. This is particularly true for specialized work such as organized crime, national security files, and appeals. Furthermore, employees expressed concerns on the longer-term implications of not being assigned meaningful or developmental work and assignments. The lack of access to a variety of files and opportunities can lead to an inability to apply for promotional opportunities as they do not possess the required experience.

In this regard, we received the following comments:

• There needs to be fundamental changes to merit-based competitions.
• Transparency on how someone was hired. If there is no transparency, then people think it must be favoritism.
• For CRs, promotion is not possible; Experience is not taken into account.
• PPSC needs a culture shift away from years of call to bar/seniority and towards who is best for the position and it increases our diversity/representativeness.
• In our region, it is not enough to ask for experiences. If you are not part of the inner circle, you are often denied such opportunities.
• We know "sexy files" are often assigned informally. If I'm not buddies with the right people, I'm not going to have those same opportunities.

Advancement

As mentioned career progression opportunities are limited within the PPSC. As such, although generally speaking employees are not opposed to non-advertised appointment, they view the use of them for management positions as limiting opportunity for growth. Further, some concerns of overlap between LP and EC and EC and CR work were raised.

Another element that was consistently raised across the regions and territories is the fact that due to low attrition in management positions this further limits opportunity for growth and advancement. Many employees raised a suggestion of time limited acting appointments into managerial roles.

Further, employees raised concerns regarding leadership not being diverse and that we need to address any systemic barriers that prevent equity seeking groups from advancing in the PPSC. Employees feel strongly that diversity and inclusion and creating a sense of belonging starts from the top and that requires a leadership team that reflects their teams and the diversity of our society.

In this regard, we received the following comments:

• Barriers to promotions are so prevalent in our organization.
• Same group of gatekeepers who decide who gets promoted and who doesn't.
• Harder for visible minorities to get into upper management.
• Having a diverse background is important for those that lead; the appearance of diversity in the PPSC is important.
• Need to make fundamental changes to the promotional process.

Retention

Lack of mentorship and sponsorship was raised as one of the key reasons historically marginalized employees are potentially leaving the organization. The real or perceived lack of inclusion leads to disengagement and no sense of belonging. Employees from equity seeking groups participating in the roundtable sessions often reported the feeling of being "unseen" and "unheard."

In this regard, we received the following comments:

• Sponsorships are important especially those that want to move into management.
• It is very stressful for young lawyers when they are on short-term contracts; a lot of bureaucracy; need to know earlier if they are going to be retained or not; need clear policy for students and young lawyers.
• Retention is important but it should not stop there; provide support to keep them long term.
• Consider peer groups for new hires.
• More acting opportunities combined with mentorship might help to get that experience, but also be more lenient on the minimum experience requirements.

Employee Suggestions and Ideas

The following are recommendations and suggestions we heard during the roundtables as well as one on one discussions and are organized in the same three pillars of Culture, Governance and Awareness; Outreach and Recruitment; and Development, Advancement and Retention.

Pillar 1: Culture, Governance and Awareness

Pillar 2: Outreach and Recruitment

Pillar 3: Development, Advancement and Retention

Workforce Analysis

PPSC is committed to building and maintaining a high-performing, diverse and inclusive organization where every employee feels a sense of belonging.

Taking stock of our departmental context and reality by analyzing our representation statistics is an important step and provides us with a baseline. Coupled with feedback and input provided by employees and managers, it enables us to develop and implement targeted activities and initiatives.

We looked at data from April 1, 2018 to November 30, 2020, with the objective to identify key trends and to understand the life cycle of employment equity groups from point of hire, to movement within the organization to departures from the PPSC.

Over the course of the collection period, there were a total of 574 appointments/deployments of which 238 were hires from outside of the PPSC and 336 movements within the PPSC. During the same collection period, there were 291 departures from the PPSC including but not limited to retirements, resignations, transfers out and end of terms.

It is important to note that the data we have is based on self-identification and as such may be under-reported as some employees choose not to self-identify. Furthermore, for those that have self-identified, they may have identified as belonging to more than one group. Therefore, to better understand that data and how each group compares to the total, each group should be looked at separately. The total in each section will not equal the sum of all groups.

HIRES

This data refers to employees who joined the PPSC from outside the organization. These employees were either hired from the general public or from another government department.

There were 238 hires from April 1, 2018 until November 30, 2020. The table below shows a breakdown of the number of hires made in each of the four EE designated groups and as a percentage of the total hires.

INTERNAL MOVEMENT

This data refers to employees internal to the PPSC who have changed positions within the organization. By analyzing this data, we can see how employees who self-identify as a member of one of the designated groups have the opportunity for movement within the organization.

From April 1, 2018 until November 30, 2020, the PPSC had 336 movements.

The following is a breakdown of the number of movements made in each of the designated groups.

DEPARTURES FROM THE PPSC

This data refers to employees who have left the PPSC on a permanent basis. Departures include things such as retirement, transfers to another department, end of term, rejection on probation, death, etc.

By analyzing this data, we can see employees who self-identify as a member of one of the designated groups and who have left the organization in comparison to the other groups examined.

From April 1, 2018 until October 31, 2020, the PPSC had 291 separations.

The following is a breakdown of the number of departures in each of the designated groups.

HIRES VS. DEPARTURES

In order to see if progress can be made in respect to increasing representation at the PPSC within the four designated groups, comparing the percentage year-over-year will tell us if we are experiencing a higher rate of departure in comparison to our rate of hire. In the table below the colour gold indicates the higher of the two rates.

The data clearly demonstrates a need to prioritize outreach, recruitment and retention strategies for persons with disabilities and Indigenous People and to continue to improve progress of recruitment and retention strategies for racialized groups.

It is important to note that we currently do not capture LGBTQ2+ data through our Human Resources Information Systems, Peoplesoft. However, based on the respondents through our COVID-19 survey we were able to establish a baseline of approximately 5%. We will continue to gather, monitor and track these numbers to enable the development and implementation of strategies to reflect the needs and realities of the LGBTQ2+ communities.

Co-Champions Recommendations

As can be seen in the section above employees at all levels have provided us with a great number of concrete ideas and suggestions for consideration and potential implementation. We recognize that change will take time and cannot happen overnight and that our departmental plan and approach will be a multi-year plan. The following are our top recommendations on action items that should be prioritized for consideration and/or implementation as we recognize that some things may already be underway. They are not identified in order with recognition that many things can occur simultaneously and some things may take longer to develop and implement.

• 1) Promote Healthy Workplace Services and explore an in-house Ombuds service.

We heard across the country the fear of raising issues internally and the fear of reprisal. As mentioned above employees were unaware of the role, the Healthy Workplace Services played and the confidentiality of the process. Without a safe environment based on trust and where employees feel they can raise issues, we cannot move forward. Therefore, we recommend that mandatory information sessions be delivered on the services provided by Health Canada with a clear description of the Ombuds role. In parallel we recommend exploring the option of an in-house Ombuds service to determine which approach would be most beneficial for PPSC and its employees. In conducting this analysis, consideration should be given to seeking the views of employees through a national survey on which approach would best serve the needs of the PPSC.

• 2) Identify and mandate key learning for employees and managers at all levels.

We heard consistently that recruiting diverse talent into a workplace culture that is not culturally aware or sensitive or one that is not inclusive will lead to retention challenges. Further, employees stated that unconscious bias training on its own does not create a sufficient level of awareness or in-depth learning. Based on the discussions and feedback we recommend that the PPSC explore and deliver cultural competence and cultural humility training and develop an EDI Learning Roadmap for employees and managers at all levels. This is particularly important for prosecutors, crown witness coordinators and program areas that interact regularly with other parts of the justice system and the Canadian public.

• 3) Review Diversity and Inclusion Governance.

We heard from employees that a national approach does not address local and regional needs. As such we recommend that the National Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and its Steering Committee be reduced in number and realign members to support the establishment of local and regional committees as well as National Employee Councils. Given feedback from employees in the Northern offices we also recommend consideration be given to one committee for the Territories. Although each territory has its own reality, the size of the offices makes it difficult for them to create and sustain a local committee.

• 4) Review the PPSC Deskbook.

We recommend that the PPSC Deskbook be reviewed with a focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Further, we recommend that the team reviewing the Deskbook must include employees from equity seeking groups. Where possible we recommend that members from regional or national EDI committees be included.

• 5) Educate managers on HR accountabilities including targeted recruitment, available tools and their obligations to recruit and retain persons with disabilities.

We heard consistently that it was unclear what role managers play, what role HR plays and what role "Ottawa" plays. Further, even in sessions with supervisors and managers it was evident that not all managers are well versed on the tools and resources available to them. Therefore, we recommend focus be given to educate managers at all levels on their HR accountabilities particularly in staffing including information around employment equity, targeted recruitment and their obligations to recruit and retain Persons with Disabilities (e.g. Accessibility Passport).

• 6) Implement Regions and Branches Key EDI Targets.

As mentioned in the report, there were mixed reactions to the use of targeted recruitment. However, we consistently heard that almost all employees felt that without targets being identified, targeted recruitment would not be actively considered. As co-champions we strongly believe that making uncomfortable decisions and having uncomfortable discussions are part of the EDI journey. We also recognize based on the feedback we received and the data we have analyzed that there is a need for targeted recruitment to advance racialized and marginalized groups within the PPSC and enhance our outreach efforts. We, therefore, recommend that targets be given to each Branch and Region based on their representation data and regional reality (e.g. communities they serve) and link it back to managers' performance agreements.

• 7) Develop and Implement a Departmental Articling Program.

The feedback we received was that although there are advantages to partnering with the Department of Justice it does not provide us the opportunity to fully promote our department nor our commitment to EDI. Further, regions mentioned the successes they have heard about or observed with the departmental articling program at ORO and QRO. As a result, we recommend that consideration be given to departmental articling programs nationally.

• 8) Launch targeted recruitment processes.

We heard from employees the importance of prioritizing internal movement and advancement for equity seeking groups given the limited opportunity for growth and development. We also heard that with the pandemic many silos have been broken and employees may be mobile and therefore a regional EDI lens for recruitment may be too narrow. Therefore, in support of advancement and retention, we recommend internal targeted processes be launched for current or anticipated opportunities nationally.

We also recommend targeted recruitment when running processes open to employees in other government departments or when it is opened externally to the Canadian public. This is particularly important for occupational groups where we have under-representation and for leadership positions.

• 9) Diverse outreach, assessment and selection boards

If we prioritize outreach and recruitment efforts of equity seeking groups and employees, we need to ensure we have the right people around the table attracting our talent and making selection decisions. The PPSC should always strive for a minimum of two representative board members. This will ensure an objective and bias-free approach to assessment and selection. It is important to note that the feedback we received is that a woman on the board who does not form part of one or more of the other equity seeking groups does not meet the expectation of representation on a board. We also recommend that all managers and employees who form part of an assessment or selection board be required to take cultural competency training.

• 10) Review regional structures to ensure people management is prioritized.

One of the things we heard consistently is that managers and supervisors are so busy with day-to-day operations that there is no time to manage or coach and, in some instances, depending on the structure, the manager may not be fully aware of or versed on the work performed by the employee(s). Based on this we recommend that regional structures be reviewed to ensure appropriate span of control and focus on people management accountability for those in leadership positions at all levels (i.e., supervisors, managers, team leaders, etc.). We recommend consideration be given for creation of LC-01 positions in the regions temporarily or permanently, to allow room for development and potential advancement internally into DCFP and CFP positions.

• 11) Review File assignment and work allocation processes and practices.

In addition to feedback mentioned above about lack of time to properly manage and allocate work, there is also a feeling of favouritism and bias when assigning work that can be seen as developmental and growth opportunities. We recommend a review of how work is assigned and allocated for all occupational groups and emphasize the importance for clear and transparent communication from management once decisions are made. We recommend that, if possible, a national plan be developed to assist managers in assigning fair and equitable work and assignments.

Next Steps

These recommendations will be presented to Senior Management as well as the Senior Designated Official of Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ("SDO EEDI") and will be used to inform the departmental EDI action plan. It is important to note that the plan does not need to be finalized for actions to be implemented.

Based on the employees' feedback we believe that implementing key and impactful activities and initiatives in a timely and consistent manner will continue to rebuild employee trust in management and continue to change the departmental culture. We strongly recommend that steps related to learning, targeted recruitment and development of our internal talent as well as external targeted recruitment should be prioritized.

We are committed to EDI and will continue to collaborate with key partners including the SDO EEDI, D&I committees, and management in the development and implementation of the plans and strategies. This will include consultation with equity seeking group employees on various parts of the plan.

Conclusion

The PPSC is committed to recruiting, developing and retaining high-performing, engaged, diverse and inclusive employees. We strongly believe that these recommendations can support the DPP and her leadership team in fulfilling this commitment and in creating a work environment that is truly inclusive and based on trust, respect and integrity.