The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
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2019 AFS AGM - AFS-CRA EMPLOYMENT EQUITY REPORT

This document is to clarify the CRA’s national approach to the use of Employment Equity (EE) in a staffing process. It includes CRA’s position on using Employment Equity to appoint designated group members within the same Employment Equity Occupational Group (EEOG).

It is important to re-emphasize that the Employment Equity Act does not require employers to hire or promote unqualified persons. Therefore, members of designated groups who are appointed using EE as a staffing requirement must be qualified in the same way as every other candidate.

BACKGROUND

Management Accountability

The Employment Equity Act (EEA) obligates employers to identify and remove barriers and accommodate for differences among persons in the four designated groups. It requires employers to institute positive policies and practices aimed at closing gaps, where underrepresentation is present. It also obliges employers to have an EE plan that specifies the positive measures and practices it will undertake, including numerical goals to address under representation where present.

These are the pertinent EEA clauses:

• Subsection 5(a) states obligations to implement EE by identifying and eliminating barriers in employment systems, policies and practices.

• Subsection 5(b) states obligations to institute positive employment policies and practices, and make accommodations to ensure the representation of designated groups.

• Paragraph 6 (b) states that the employer is not required to hire or promote persons who do not meet the essential qualifications for the work to be performed.

• Section 10 states obligations to prepare an EE plan where workforce analysis has determined underrepresentation exists.

Workforce Planning

It is a recommended practice for organizations to implement EE through integrated workforce planning. Effective planning helps identify skills shortages and gaps in representation that the organization can address through staffing.

CRA’s internal representation:

• What size is the underrepresentation? Is it a small or large number of employees? Will it call for considerable effort to close?

• Historical trends with respect to the under-represented designated group: Is it a designated group with long-standing internal underrepresentation? If so, at what rate is the underrepresentation closing? Does it appear to be closing quickly with little intervention or slowly despite concerted efforts?

• Is the internal representation stable or is there a retention issue related to a particular designated group? What is the anticipated turnover of employees in the designated groups?  What impact does program restructuring have, if any, on the representation of designated groups in the internal workforce?

• Is the workforce growing or reducing in a way that affects EE designated group representation?

• What are promotion rates? Are designated group members clustered at lower levels within an EEOG?

A comprehensive analysis of these internal and external variables must be done before deciding on whether the workforce plan requires active management interventions, and which staffing option is most appropriate to address the underrepresentation.

Respectfully Submitted By:

Al Ravjiani, CPA, CMA

National EE Representative, AFS Group