ENSURING DIVERSITY IN CANADA’S PUBLIC
SERVICE
Today’s society is increasingly diverse and the Public Service of Canada is drawing on this strength. Over 20 years ago, Parliament passed the Employment Equity Act. A key goal of the Act was to increase representation in the workplace for Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, women and members of visible minority groups.
Recently published data for 2008 shows that the representation of aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities as a proportion of the federal workforce has more than doubled in two decades. In fact, women, persons with disabilities and Aboriginal peoples all exceed estimates of their participation in the overall labour force.
As of 2008, women form the majority at more than 54 percent of the core public service. In terms of the executives who are the leaders of the Public Service, more than 4 in 10 are women.
In the same twenty year period, the representation of persons in a visible minority group as a proportion of the federal workforce more than tripled. In the last five years alone, the visible minority population in the core public administration increased by 43 percent. During that same period, the number of visible minority executives increased by 84 percent, a significant improvement in their representation.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recognized early on how vital it is that the Public Service continues to adapt to meet the changing nature of Canadian society. That is why, the Prime Minister established an Advisory Committee of nine eminent Canadians to advise him on the renewal and future development of the Public Service of Canada.
In his latest report on the state of the Public Service, the Clerk of the Privy Council, who is also the head of the public service, identified workforce diversity as central to its renewal. And the government’s recently released report on Employment Equity in the Public Service demonstrates that we are continuing to make progress toward our objective.
Clearly, the federal Public Service has made significant progress in hiring from visible minority communities. Our recruiting is showing marked gains in key regions of the country, especially now that we have made all externally advertised jobs open to individuals from across Canada. In British Columbia last year, more than 16 percent of new hires into the public service were persons in a visible minority group; in Ottawa the figure is over 10 percent. And in Quebec, almost one in ten of new hires are visible minorities.
Public service is key to getting things done for ordinary working Canadians and their families, especially in these difficult economic times.
In a knowledge economy, diverse perspectives, backgrounds and approaches are essential to delivering relevant, high quality services to Canadians. Our objective is to continue to build a public service workforce that is truly representative of the diversity of Canada’s population.
Vic Toews, MP for Provencher
President of Treasury Board
