Introduction to the Inclusiveness Tool Kit

Arvin D. Jelliss
Principal Project Leader and Co-Chair, Steering Committee
AAFC Inclusiveness Workshop

This Inclusiveness Tool Kit is based on the first Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Inclusiveness Workshop held in Montréal, Québec, Canada on February 22-23, 2001, with the theme of Inclusiveness: From Planning to Action. This event was planned and organized by members of the four AAFC Employment Equity (EE) Advisory Committees, along with non-EE group representatives, and was funded jointly by AAFC and the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) under the EE Intervention Fund of the Employment Equity Positive Measures Program (EEPMP). It brought together approximately 150 AAFC employees from across Canada, expert speakers and presenters from both Canada and the U.S., and a number of representatives from other Canadian federal government departments. Those attending the event participated interactively in a Workshop on the major themes of inclusiveness and how inclusiveness, in terms of not only accepting, welcoming, accommodating, and respecting but also valuing and utilizing differences and diversity as integral and beneficial components of an organization's workforce, culture, and functioning, could be pursued within AAFC and other organizations.

Organization of the Tool Kit

The Inclusiveness Tool Kit has been developed from written materials, speaker presentations, and interactive discussion sessions that occurred at the Inclusiveness Workshop, and is organized into two main parts. Part 1 is concerned with major Themes of Inclusiveness, those themes that any organization should consider when thinking about and organizing for inclusiveness, regardless of the exact way that inclusiveness may be pursued and implemented. Part 2 is concerned with Inclusiveness at AAFC, and provides case study materials on the way in which inclusiveness is currently being approached and pursued at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Part 1: Inclusiveness Theme Presentations

Following some Introductory Remarks, the first presentation in Part 1 of the Tool Kit is by Dr. Janet Smith, former Chair of the Task Force on an Inclusive Public Service. Dr. Smith discusses the three main factors of motivation, dominant versus non-dominant groups, and corporate culture that need to be considered in Forming a Culture of Inclusiveness, and how the issues associated with those factors need to be addressed if progress is to be made. The second presentation is by Jim Hendry of the Human Rights Law Section at the Department of Justice. He discusses The Legislative Dimension of inclusiveness, referring in particular to various provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Employment Equity Act, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the third presentation Eric Legrand, Acting Director General of the Québec Region at the Public Service Commission, addresses Human Resources Practices for Inclusiveness, and discusses a range of staffing, recruitment, career progression, and retention tools that can be used to improve the representativeness and inclusiveness of an organization's workforce. Samina Ali of the Employment Equity Division at the Treasury Board Secretariat then considers the Measurement and Evaluation of Inclusiveness, focusing in particular on the usefulness of the Diversity Diagnostic Tool (DDT) in carrying out these activities. In the fifth presentation Marilyn Loden, President of Loden Associates Inc. of Tiburon, California uses recent U.S. experience to identify various Barriers to Inclusiveness, and points out the critical role of systems change in the pursuit of an organization's inclusiveness efforts. In the sixth presentation, also by Marilyn Loden, issues associated with setting priorities in implementing inclusiveness are addressed, including ways of Overcoming Barriers to Inclusiveness through particular support mechanisms that can be utilized at each phase of the change adoption process.

Part 2: Inclusiveness at AAFC

The first presentation in Part 2 of the Tool Kit is by Diane Vincent, the Associate Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In the process of delivering the Opening Address of the Inclusiveness Workshop, she indicates strong senior management commitment to the development of a more inclusive organization at AAFC. As part of this commitment, a Task Team on Inclusiveness had been established by the Deputy Minister to report on inclusiveness issues at AAFC in late 2000, and the next presentation, by Susan Norquay and others, provides the Preliminary Report of the AAFC Task Team on Inclusiveness. This identifies a number of issues the Task Team considered it necessary to address if increased inclusiveness at AAFC is to be achieved. A new Task Team has now been established, and commenced its deliberations in September, 2001.

Following the Task Team presentation, the Inclusiveness Workshop Breakout Working Group on Task Team Findings then presents employee feedback on this report, and indicates some procedures that might be followed to more successfully address a number of the inclusiveness issues that the Task Team had identified. This is followed by a more general interactive discussion session, where Workshop Participants engage various speakers and presenters at the Workshop in Questions and Answers on Inclusiveness Themes and Inclusiveness at AAFC.

The next presentation is by Samy Watson, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In his Reception Address on Inclusiveness, he shares his own personal experiences and views on inclusiveness, and explains why he wants to support and encourage the development of an inclusive workplace at AAFC. The next five presentations comprise the Reports of the Inclusiveness Workshop Breakout Working Groups. These provide summaries and employee feedback on the major themes of inclusiveness identified in Part 1 of the Tool Kit, namely, Corporate Culture for Inclusiveness, The Legislative Dimension, Human Resources Practices for Inclusiveness, Measuring and Evaluating Inclusiveness, and Overcoming Barriers to Inclusiveness. Following these, Dr. Janet Smith, former Chair of the Task Force on an Inclusive Public Service, leads an AAFC Inclusiveness Workshop Interactive Plenary Session on Visualizing and Organizing for Inclusiveness, in which Workshop Participants are encouraged to visualize what an inclusive AAFC would look like a few years into the future, and identify what steps would be required for that vision to be realized. Arvin Jelliss, Principal Project Leader and Co-Chair of the Inclusiveness Workshop Steering Committee, then provides Closing Remarks, summarizing a number of inclusiveness issues that had emerged during the course of the Workshop, and noting some implications for the future.

Using the Tool Kit

Three main types of material are included in the Inclusiveness Tool Kit. Written materials such as speaker notes and presentation transcripts have been converted into HTML format. They can therefore be read on-screen, saved on a local drive for future use, or printed directly into hard copy form. PowerPoint presentations have been converted into graphic images, and can be accessed via a similar set of options. The video materials, however, which are in Windows Media Player format, will need to be downloaded and unzipped before use. Details on how to save, unzip, and view the video materials, as well as on how to obtain Windows Media Player if you do not have it, are provided in the Viewing Videos side bar link to this Introduction. Efforts are being made to obtain additional resources so that the overall accessibility of these website materials can be enhanced. In addition, it should be noted that not all transcripts are available at the present time. They will be uploaded on the website in the future as they become available in both official languages.

Acknowledgments

A great many people were involved in planning and organizing the Inclusiveness Workshop upon which this Inclusiveness Tool Kit is based, and in making both of these endeavors a success. Considerable thanks are due to those members of the four AAFC Employment Equity Advisory Committees (the Aboriginal Advisory and Support Council, the Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities, the Visible Minorities Advisory Committee, and the Women in the Workplace Advisory Committee) and the other AAFC employees who participated as members of the various Inclusiveness Workshop Planning Committees. More than 20 people worked on these committees over a number of months in late 2000 and early 2001 to plan, organize, and bring to fruition the Inclusiveness Workshop event. A list of these Planning Committees and their Members is included as a side bar link to this Introduction.

At the Treasury Board Secretariat we were fortunate in being able to work with and benefit from the advice of Claudette Barré, Michelle Guimond, and Luc St-Amour of the EEPMP Group in the Employment Equity Division of the Human Resources Branch throughout this project.

At AAFC the former Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Management Branch (CMB), Andrew Graham, Championed and strongly supported the project from its inception, and spoke on behalf of our EEPMP funding application to the TBS. Bruce Deacon, the current Assistant Deputy Minister, then continued that support, and made additional CMB resources available as the planning stage of the project progressed. Sylvaine Beaudoin and Rachel Oppelt of the CMB Assistant Deputy Minister's Office, along with Bill Morris, facilitated that support, Donna Hickey organized a number of Steering Committee teleconference meetings, and Marie-Josée Goulet and Nadine Cardinale provided translation and text revision services.

AAFC's Deputy Minister, Samy Watson, and Associate Deputy Minister, Diane Vincent, both supported the project at the Department-wide level and made time available from their other responsibilities to personally attend and speak at the Workshop. In addition, the Deputy Minister hosted an evening reception at the Workshop which provided a unique opportunity for all those attending to hear and discuss, in a relatively informal and participative manner, his views on inclusiveness and the way it was being approached at AAFC. Blair Coomber and Linda St-Amour liaised with us to arrange for the participation of the Deputy Minister and Associate Deputy Minister at the Workshop.

Sharon McKay, Director General of Human Resources Branch (HRB), in addition to being supportive of the initiative throughout, Championed the Tool Kit development stage of the project, making incremental HRB resources available as that phase of the project proceeded. Monique Deguire, Sarika Gadia, and Jo-Ann Tourangeau of her office facilitated that support, while Janet Godard, Françoise Limoges, and Sylvie Baron provided the post-Workshop translation and text revision services required.

George Shaw, Director General of Communications Branch (CB), supported the development of the Inclusiveness Tool Kit by making CB resources and expertise available to both review the Inclusiveness Workshop video materials and develop initial transcripts of the Workshop proceedings. The advice and expertise of Fran Fournier, Charles Plante, Denyse Lepage, Janet Fraser, Gerry Rakobowchuk, Janice Vansickle, and Antoinette Forcione was particularly helpful in carrying out these activities.

Nikolas Florakas, Director General of CMB's Information Management Directorate and Chief Information Management Officer, in addition to acting on behalf of the Assistant Deputy Minister at a number of pre-Workshop Steering Committee meetings, provided funding and support for the development of the Inclusiveness Tool Kit Website. Along with Robert Jackson, he also took time to clarify a number of related issues. The advice, skills, and expertise of Marisa Kloss, Charles Sim, Michael Sammon, Pamela Clements, and Charlene Howell of CMB's Internet Solutions Development and Sylvain Geoffroy of Corporate Application Services were critical in bringing the Inclusiveness Tool Kit Website phase of the project to fruition.

The financial framework and accounts for the project were established in consultation with Sam Greenspon and Rose Littlewood, and expertly handled by Doris Ferguson, Stan Crawford, and Helene Lapointe. Helen Tuen provided advice on a number of the service contracts that were required during the course of the project.

Thanks are also due to Mark Corey, the Assistant Deputy Minister of Market and Industry Services Branch (MISB), who along with Gilles Lavoie and Gordon McGregor have provided the time for me to carry out my responsibilities during the various stages of the project's life cycle.

The Inclusiveness Workshop event benefited considerably from the conference planning and event coordination skills and capabilities provided by Anne Clarke of Clarke & Associates. As the event neared, a number of AAFC employees and others contributed their own time outside of normal working hours to assist in the necessary preparations. Doris Hyndford, Elizabeth Drury, Janice Anderson, Pierre Legault, Valerie Small, Marie-Edith St. Ville, Jean Louis Deveau, Eileen Legault, and Pat Scrimbitt were extremely helpful in this regard, while Valérie Dutill, Genevieve Gnahoue, and Claudette Carrière helped with last minute translation requests at very short notice.

The Workshop was facilitated by Dianne Graham of DNG Consulting, who brought her extensive repertoire of skills and experience into play in ensuring that Workshop proceedings progressed on a timely basis, participants had the opportunity to contribute, and the inevitable emergencies and surprises were handled. Andreas Fasel of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal was extremely helpful in working with us to organize the meeting facilities and hospitality services for the Workshop. Silvia Levesque of TELAV/I.S.T.S. was our main contact for the audio-visual equipment used for simultaneous interpretation and recording purposes at the Workshop, while Karl Zechmeister of ADMACO supplied the computer and office equipment required. At Public Works and Government Services Canada, Hélène Dorval of the Translation Bureau provided the advice and assistance necessary for us to arrange the simultaneous interpretation services required at the event. Editing and conversion of the Workshop video materials for inclusion in the Inclusiveness Tool Kit was undertaken at the Carleton Productions facilities in Ottawa, where the advice and expertise of Mark Ross and Ruth Chapple were critical in ensuring that this work was completed within the time frame available.

Finally, both the Inclusiveness Workshop and the Inclusiveness Tool Kit owe much to the quality and commitment of the excellent group of Speakers and enthusiastic set of Participants who interacted so well to make the Workshop a success, and provide the materials necessary to make the preparation of this Tool Kit a reality.