FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         APRIL 13, 2000

 The public service must mirror the Canadian society and make room for racially visible persons

    OTTAWA — "This is a long-awaited opportunity to remedy the effects of historic systemic discrimination in the Federal Public Service," says Daryl Bean, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, in commenting on yesterday's release of Embracing Change: a Task Force Report on the Participation of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service.

"By accepting that one out of five new hires in the Federal Public Service will be racially visible persons, the government will send a strong message that it wants to ensure that the public service is representative of Canadian society."

"The PSAC supports equality and equity in the workplace," adds Bean, "and we are convinced that all groups will benefit from the successful implementation of many of the recommendations found in the Task Force Report."

"We have called for numerical objectives to correct gaps in the representation of racially visible persons, and we have also called for clear accountability mechanisms," emphasizes Bean. "This report provides concrete measures that can make a real difference in ensuring that racially visible people obtain their fair share of hires and opportunities for advancement."

According to the Task Force, the federal government should put in place measures over the next five years that will provide for a 20% objective with respect to hires and acting appointments for racially visible persons.

According to Bean, it's high time to implement such changes in the staffing process.

"Last November, Treasury Board's own survey revealed that Federal Public Service workers did not feel the staffing process was fair. In fact, if numerical measures are needed to ensure fairness of the staffing process for racially visible groups, there is an urgent need to reassess how staffing is done."

Bean added that on Tuesday the Auditor General said in his annual report that because of the aging of public service workers, increased hirings will have to take place, particularly at the middle-management level.

"Treasury Board has a golden opportunity to put in place a staffing process that is barrier free, equitable and that truly assesses merit of all applicants, including those who are racially visible," underscores Bean.

The PSAC is looking forward to working with the government to implement the recommendations of the Task Force.

"We will soon be meeting with officials from Treasury Board to discuss how these recommendations can be put in place. We will play an active role in these discussions, because we know this is the right thing to do," concludes Bean.

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