|
The Employment Equity Champions' Breakfast
TBS Participants:
Co-chairs:
Cynthia Binnington, Assistant Secretary, EED
Claudette Barré, A/Director P&D, EED
Marcel Nouvet, Chief Human Resources Officer, HRB
(Mr. Nouvet was not available to attend this meeting).
Departments:
Christine Trachy (PARKS)
Lgen Christian Couture (DND)
John Gero (DFAIT)
Francine Desjardins (CIDA)
Richard Gagné (CEAA)
Hank van der Linde (PWGSC)
Amelita Armit (PSC)
Denis Thompson (PCH)
Carole Lacombe (PCH)
Don Bilodeau (INAC)
Deirdre Keane (DOE)
Bruce Deacon (AAFC)
Céline Leblanc (CRTC)
Pierre Gaudet (Federal Court)
Gerry Turcotte (IND)
Diane Venne (RCMP)
Jean Laporte (TSB)
Guest Speakers:
Mel Skinner,
Assistant Deputy Minister,
Human Resources, PWGSC
Louis Chagnon,
Canadian Heritage,
Manitoba/NWT/Nunavut
Opening Remarks
Cynthia Binnington welcomed the following new members to the group:
John Gero (DFAIT), Raymond Lalonde (VAC) and Rod Monette (PWGSC).
Cynthia Binnington also highlighted key directions and themes, which
were presented by Mrs. Robillard, President of the Treasury Board and the
champion of the HR Modernization initiative at the recent Heads of HR
Conference.
Values of integrity, fairness, respect, accountability, competence and
merit must be built into the new human resources framework.
Merit is - and must remain the foundation of all staffing measures in
the federal Public Service. Innovation, flexibility, and support to
managers and employees must be fostered.
Legislation alone will not bring about the changes needed in our human
resources framework. Employment Equity and initiatives like Embracing
Change are an important element in the new Public Service culture.
The Embracing Change plan was endorsed to make diversity a priority for
a representative and inclusive federal work force and the government is
standing firm in its commitment to meet the objectives set out in the
Embracing Change Action Plan. It is everybody's responsibility, and as
Champions, you are in an excellent position to remind managers at all
levels as well as employees of the importance to create and maintain a
workplace that respects and values everyone, of whatever origin,
background, or culture.
IDF-EE
The theme of the September 19th Interdepartmental Forum on
Employment Equity was on "Accountability and Recruitment
Tools". The summary of this meeting and the EE Briefs are available
at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ee.
Embracing Change Status Report
As you know, Embracing Change Status Reports were sent to your
departments on September 14, 2001. A second report to be sent out to
Deputy Ministers, is currently being prepared which will provide a more
accurate picture on where actual progress has been made and where
improvement is required in order to achieve the objectives of the
Embracing Change Action Plan. Please take a look at your Status Report, in
your role as EE Champion of your department.
Report on NCVM symposium
The National Council of Visible Minorities held its third annual
conference in Ottawa from October 29 to 31. The conference theme was
"Embracing a Culture Change - Focus on the Federal Public Service
and the Visible Minority Communities". Over four hundred participants
from across Canada shared and expressed their views on issues related to
the government-wide implementation of the Embracing Change Action plan. A
detailed conference report will be available shortly.
Joint meeting of Recruitment Champions and EE Champions
A joint meeting of EE Champions and Recruitment Champions took place on
October 10th. The objective of this meeting was to look at ways these two
groups could be instrumental in ensuring that the Recruitment Strategy and
the Embracing Change Action Plan are linked and that real progress is made
in increasing the representation of visible minorities. A second meeting
will be held in the coming months.
Presentation on Accountability
Cynthia thanked Mr. Mel Skinner, former EE Champion and Assistant
Deputy Minister of Human Resources at Public Works and Government Services
Canada for his contribution to the EE Champions meetings and welcomed his
successor
Mr. Rod Monette. Mr. Skinner presented on the human resources
management accountability framework for PWGSC. PWGSC's leadership
approach of collective responsibility in the integration of EE into the
Human Resources Management Framework is truly a model for other
departments to follow. Presentation attached
PSC's presentation - Chapters 5 & 6
Merit & Representation
Amelita Armit, Vice-President, Staffing and Recruitment Programs Branch
spoke briefly about the recent launch of Chapters 5 & 6 of the Manager's
Handbook on Staffing and Recruitment, also encouraging managers to access
this publication from the PubliService site. She spoke briefly on the
issue of Merit and Representation.
Merit is- and will remain the foundation of all staffing measures in
the federal Public Service. Participants we re asked to comment on this
draft paper. Draft paper attached
Presentation on Manitoba PE Development Program
Mr. Louis Chagnon, Director of Manitoba, NWT and Nunavut with Canadian
Heritage made a presentation on a PE Development-Manitoba project funded
by the Embracing Change Fund aimed at increasing the representation of
visible minorities of the departments in this region.
Closing Remarks
In closing, Cynthia Binnington mentioned that TBS is working on several
reports which will be available shortly: The President's Annual Report
on EE in the federal Public Service, the Embracing Change Status reports,
the Embracing Change Stocktaking Report. She also noted that the EE Act is
currently under review and the Parliamentary Committee will begin
deliberations before the end of the year.
Next meeting; February 12, 2002
|
