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CRARR'S PROPOSALS NOTED IN SENATE REPORT ON EMPLOYMENT EQUITY IN THE FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE


Montreal, June 19, 2010 --- CRARR's input into the Senate Committee's examination of the state of employment equity in the federal public service was acknowledged in a major report released recently.

In the 87-page report that contains 13 key recommendations, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, chaired by Conservative Senator Janis Johnson, identifies key challenges and achievements in the federal government's record on building a representative public service and on employment equity for women, visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples and people with disabilities.

The report stresses some issues and recommendations put forward by CRARR when it appeared before the Committee in December 2007 in Ottawa, including:

  • executive and managerial accountability,
  • “consequences for managers who consistently fail to live up to their employment equity obligations”;
  • the need for a “welcoming organizational culture, which allows departments and agencies to go beyond a static focus on numbers and legalities to bring more weight to bear on the importance of fostering ”belonging, reciprocity and engagement””;
  • adequate resources for the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and the need for complaints involving systemic barriers and discrimination not to be overshadowed by attempts to resolve such disputes at the individual level;and
  • the need for unions to re-examine their receptiveness and ability to deal with systemic discrimination complaints and to take a more pro-active role with respect to employment equity.
  • The Committee's report can be downloaded at:

    http://www.parl.gc.ca/40/3/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/huma-e/subsiteju...