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WARNING: This story contains disturbing details of racism and suicidal ideation
An internal report on workplace racism and harassment at the highest levels of the federal public service shows that even the federal government's top officials are not immune to the problem.
The government-funded report on the experiences of Black civil servants in the senior ranks of government – obtained by CBC News – contains first-hand accounts of racist comments, intimidation, intimidation and threats that have affected the mental health of civil servants, especially Black ones. have harmed. women.
“Crucially, Black women cited workplace conflict as so severe that it led to chronic depression, antidepressant use and suicide attempts,” the report says.
The report also documents examples of Black officials being called the N-word at work, sexual harassment and even threats of physical violence. It also raises concerns about internal grievance processes being used against black executives.
The report was initiated by the Black Executives Network, a support group for Black executives in the federal public service, and funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and other government departments.
CBC obtained a copy of the report and an email from the country's top civil servant – Clerk of the Privy Council John Hannaford – discussing the report's findings and providing a preliminary response plan.
“What is stated in the report is deeply concerning and we are saddened to think that some members of the Black executive community have reported that they have experienced or are continuing to experience these types of experiences,” Hannaford said in the email.
Hannaford and several other senior officials sent the email to all deputy ministers and the Black Executives Network.
Senior researcher Rachel Zellars of Saint Mary's University wrote the peer-reviewed report. Zellars, an attorney, regularly conducts research and training for the federal government.
“As a researcher who has conducted more than a thousand interviews with public officials since 2019, these interviews collectively are the most disturbing I have seen and recorded,” Zellars said in the report.
The study interviewed more than 100 current and former Black civil servants who held senior or managerial positions in the Canadian public service.
Threats of violence
The report includes accusations of black executives – whose names, positions and departments were concealed in the report. Managers told how they were threatened with physical violence during their careers.
“A former director shared how a white colleague raised a chair at him and threatened to 'beat the N-word out of him' during a meeting with other participants,” the report details. “Remarkably, no one in the meeting room intervened on his behalf.”
In another episode cited in the report, an official said a colleague “in anger… threw something at her.”
According to the report, 62 percent of respondents reported instances of harassment or intimidation in the workplace, or threats of reputational damage from supervisors or senior leaders.
“A black male director, with a high level of specialization, described his work environment as a 'cesspool of racism',” the report says, adding that the director often had to explain that he had obtained his position through “merit” and not because of his race.
In their email, Hannaford and the other civil service chiefs vowed to take action.
“We are committed to ensuring we address these issues and will personally review the report and recommendations to ensure we implement actions that create lasting change,” they wrote.
The Treasury Board Secretariat, the federal government agency's human resources department, issued a statement Friday that did not go as far as Hannaford's email in acknowledging what the report revealed.
The statement said a preliminary response plan has been developed and that Hannaford will meet next week with Zellars, executives and the deputy ministers who run key government departments.
The report says many black executives reported stagnation in their careers; they spent years in acting positions or training subordinates who were eventually promoted above them.
“I was called to 911 situations but was only allowed to perform,” the report quotes a female respondent. “I never got the positions I performed in.”
Forty-two percent of English-speaking black civil servants reported difficulty obtaining the language training they need to advance in their careers.
A black female director told the report's author that her “Quebec director” suggested she not learn French at the expense of the department.
“She stated that she 'learned English herself by reading in English and sleeping with English-speaking men,'” one line of the report reads.
Class action alleges decades of discrimination
The report comes as many black officials seek Federal Court permission to sue the federal government.
A proposed class action lawsuit – launched in 2020 – claims Black public servants have endured decades of systemic racism and discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that since the 1970s, approximately 30,000 black workers have lost opportunities and benefits offered to others because of their race.
It seeks $2.5 billion in compensation for economic hardship and a mental health plan for workers' pain and trauma. Plaintiffs also want a plan to diversify the federal labor pool.
The case is currently before a Federal Court judge in Toronto, who is expected to decide whether to approve the class action.
Nicholas Marcus Thompson, CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat, says he “burst into tears when he read the report” on racism and workplace harassment at the highest levels of Canada's public service.
“I was brought to tears reading the report and hearing the stories of so many women, who could be my mother, who could be my grandmother… hearing their pain and suffering for so long while so many watched and did nothing about it,” says Nicholas Marcus Thompson, the lead plaintiff in the proposed class action.
“That is the horrific experience of many black workers.”
The report offers several recommendations, including a zero-tolerance policy on anti-Black racism, mandatory training, coaching for Black civil servants and the creation of a 'Black Equity Commissioner' with a watchdog role within the government.
The report also calls for greater accountability for senior leaders who “have failed to acknowledge and challenge anti-black treatment of managers toward black managers.”
This is not Zellars' first report on workplace racism and harassment in the federal government.
A report she authored, released in July, concluded that Black, Indigenous and racialized workers in the Privy Council Office are regularly subjected to a culture of “racial stereotyping, microaggressions and verbal abuse”.
The Privy Council Office's 1,200 employees form the leading branch of the civil service, providing support to the Prime Minister and Cabinet in implementing policy directives across the federal government.
That July report said Black employees reported managers used the N-word “comfortably in their presence” and later expressed surprise after being told it was a term of contempt for Black people.
