AJC filed grievance against CHRC on behalf of our Black and racialized members

Earlier this year, employees at the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) raised issues of systemic racism with CHRC management and sought the assistance of their unions. When the CHRC issued a statement in support of Black Lives Matters, Black and racialized employees took the Chief Commissioner up on her invitation in that statement and provided the CHRC with a list of recommended actions to address the complaints process, practices and operations as well as shared Black and racialized employees’ experiences.
 

The Commission responded by conducting a unilateral, non-inclusive investigative processes involving outside parties without consulting employees or their bargaining agents.
 

Together, the AJC and other Bargaining Agents representing Black and racialized members at the CHRC, have been pressing the CHRC to revisit its plans to ensure meaningful collaboration, transparency, fairness, inclusivity, credibility and psychological health and safety in their approaches. While the AJC and other BAs have been engaging with the CHRC over the past few months, it’s apparent that trust in management’s ability to appropriately deal with the challenges before them has been put to the test as management appears to have lost the trust of those Black and racialized employees who have come forward. 

We have formally pressed the Commission to conduct a workplace assessment instead of pursuing the investigative activities underway. It is in our collective view that this is the most appropriate means of engaging all employees when it comes to systemic discrimination issues. We await a decision of the Commission in this regard. 

In the meantime, the AJC will be reactivating the policy grievance it filed with Treasury Board on behalf of our Black and racialized members at the CHRC on October 19th, 2020 . 

The AJC has and continues to be committed to assisting and supporting members who have experienced racism, systemic barriers and other forms of discrimination. We are actively exploring additional measures we can take to address this important and will keep you abreast of all developments.