The Role of the PSC in Employment Equity

The Employment Equity Act (EEA), as the primary statute for employment equity in Canada, aims to achieve equality in the workplace and to correct conditions of disadvantage in employment for four designated groups: Aboriginal peoples, women, members of visible minorities and persons with disabilities. The EEA requires both the PSC and the Treasury Board to share responsibilities for employment equity according to their respective mandates. Treasury Board, or the Public Service Human Resource Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC) acting as the employer's administrative agency, is responsible for the government's overall policy on employment equity. The PSC is responsible for creating an appointment system that is bias and barrier-free and ensuring the accommodation of persons in the appointment process.

The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) establishes in part, the principle of equal opportunity and it prohibits discrimination in employment practices based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability or conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted. It outlines the legal obligations to provide accommodation - to the point of undue hardship and allows for special programs to reduce disadvantages.

The new Public Service Employment Act

The preamble to the new PSEA identifies representativeness and diversity as being integral to the composition of the public service. It refers to Canada benefiting from a public service where appointments are based on merit and a public service that is representative of Canada's diversity whose members reflect a myriad of backgrounds, skills and professions.

Employment Equity and Merit

The new PSEA also defines merit (s.30). An appointment is made on the basis of merit when the person appointed meets the essential qualifications of the position.

In addition, the deputy head may establish and apply any asset qualification, operational requirement or organizational need, currently or in the future in order to find the 'right fit' for the organization. The deputy head may also apply the current and future needs of the public service, identified by the employer and deemed to be relevant by the deputy head.

What does this mean?

Deputy heads will be able to identify employment equity objectives as an organizational need. Of course, when employment equity objectives are established as an organizational need, that being as part of the established merit criteria, there should be a link to the employment equity plan or human resources planning objectives.

For example, a deputy head having established employment equity objectives, could apply this organizational need at any stage of the process, e.g. early in the process after a sufficient pool of designated groups members have been identified, or at the end of the process after all other merit criteria have been assessed. In other cases, a deputy head could have established the employment equity objectives as an organizational need but chose not to apply this merit criterion in the appointment process because other circumstances have changed the situation, such as changes in the representation level of the organization, the requirement to appoint a person with priority entitlement, or the need to apply other criteria.

Employment Equity and Area of Selection

Subsection 34(1) enables the establishment of areas of selections based on geographic, organizational, occupational or belonging to any of the designated groups.

What does this mean?

The last criterion is an important enabling provision of the new PSEA, allowing an area of selection to be limited based on membership in one or more employment equity group. Of note, a deputy head is not required to have an employment equity program in order to limit an area of selection; however, the PSC Policy on Area of Selection requires that this decision be consistent with the organization's employment equity or human resources planning.

Subsection 34(2) enables the expansion of an area of selection to persons who are members of an employment equity group.

What does this mean?

This means that geographic, organizational or occupational criteria may be expanded to provide for greater participation of employment equity group members. It states that belonging to any of the designated groups, as defined by section 3 of the EEA, may be used to determine the area of selection.

See also:

Employment Equity in the Appointment Process

Guide to Implementing the Policy on Employment Equity in the Appointment Process