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Symposium 2002 Report DAY 1
Printer FriendlyReport DAY 1 - Monday November 25th
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Purpose:
Provide a review of events occurring during the previous day.
Welcoming Remarks and Keynote Address:
The president of the NCVM, Jacqueline Edwards, stated that the Council has received continued support from Government and has built new partnerships during an extremely busy year.
The President proposed to all participants three days of constructive engagement in order to move NCVM forward. According to her, much had been accomplished and more work was still required to achieve a diversified, representative and truly merit-based federal civil service. She thanked all members of the national and regional boards and other volunteers of the NCVM for their involvement and commitment.
Mr. Alex Himelfarb, Clerk of the Privy Council and long considered a Champion for Embracing Change and greater participation of visible minorities in the public service, stated that the Council had come a long way and that some progress had taken place. For instance, 3000 visible minority individuals were appointed in the last two years. However, Mr. Himelfarb acknowledged that more progress was still needed and pointed to the need for the public service to respond to the changing demographics of Canada. He also underlined the important work of the NCVM, which served as a model for people of disabilities who share the same concerns and aspirations about fair representa-tion in the Federal Public Service.
A panel of regional directors provided an overview of needs, achievements and new initiatives that were developed and implemented in their respective regions, which overall showed that Embracing Change created an unstoppable momentum towards an inclusive civil service that would soon look like the face of Canada of the 21st century, but that would also live up to national ideals of non-partisanship, excellence and competitiveness.
National Report
Much of the presentation was repeated during the Regional Group discussions so please refer below for more details.
Snippets from the WORKSHOPS
Workshop 1
Embracing Change Beyond the Benchmarks
Proposed Initiatives
- Review all current staffing actions to identify those where targeted recruitment could occur - with particular focus on groups where gaps exist
- Develop a pre-qualified inventory of outside applicants to be used for future recruitment
- Corporate recruitment Strategy should be approximately 30 new recruits per year
- Establish central fund
- Establish Sector and group targets
- Partner with Public Service Commission
- Partner with portfolio agencies
- Reinforce accountability for Employment Equity and Diversity in management contracts
- Mandatory awareness workshop for all managers
Workshop 2
The Importance of Self-Identification
Recommendations
- Self-Identification is a positive affirmation of diversity in the Public Service and one's own identity
- Self-Identification should be supported and encouraged through public information and education activities
- Self-Identification allows for better tracking of barriers and progress issues in employment equity. Despite some areas requiring more study such as privacy laws, of multiple origins, etc., self-identification provides more opportunities for employment and should be made better understood among visible minorities and others
Workshop 3
Tools for Career Planning and Progression
Recommendations
- Good relationships with colleagues and bosses
- Mentorship and coaching
- Use the existing plethora of management training
- Use programs such as (MTP, CAP)
- Use program assignments
- Use all support mechanisms that are available
- Use self-leadership (take risks, venture out…)
- Challenge the process
- Understand the recruitment, retention and promotion processes
Workshop 4
Opportunities for Growth in the Federal Public Service
Recommendations
- NCVM should publish statistics on recruitment, retention, and advancement in the Public Service
- The Federal Government should place more emphasis on accreditation and recognition of education from abroad
- NCVM works more closely with bargaining agents in resolving some employee issues
- Human Resources personnel must include Visible Minorities and receive better training for more thorough examination of applications
Workshop 5
Representation at Higher Levels: Breaking Through the Barriers
Recommendations
- Change the corporate culture so that the selection process would be bias free and linked to initiatives such as training
- Accountability framework should include sanctions from senior to middle management levels
Regional Discussion Groups
Atlantic Region
- Desire for representation to be 4 persons rather than 3
- They want the clerk of the Privy Council to issue directives to Departments so that managers support members elected to NCVM office
- They need champions on the regional level - someone who sits at the table and can support our efforts
Quebec Region
- NCVM in Quebec lacks direction. Many Ministries and agencies are not on board when they should be
- A progress report and strategic plan of action for 2003, 2004 and 2005 must be developed ASAP
- There should be more information sharing on the NVCM and other Embracing Change projects for visible minorities inside and outside the public service
- NCVM should make more representation and put pressure on decision makers
- There should be more focus on retention, advancement and changing the status of determined positions to indetermination positions of 2 years of more (since many are in a precarious position)
Ontario Region
- NCVM should be more financially independent
- Election information should be readily available before elections
- Leadership Training Program perceived as Toronto-centric
Western Region
- Leadership and career mobility initiative (LCMI) should be reinforced
- Support Visible Minorities in career development through assignments and training
- Managers who support change towards representation of Visible Minorities at higher levels should be rewarded
- Visible Minority Youths are concerned about a lack of recognition regarding their competency
Central Region
- Building capacity for Visible Minorities in the region
- Embracing Change is an important NCVM initiative for the Central Region
- Community outreach to form partnership
National Capital Region
- Election
- 2/3 of participants wish to question candidates before elections
- More debate before onset of elections
- Why are the members leaving the council?
- More accountability needed for current National Executive's members
*End of Activities
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