Article Provided By : Ottawa Citizen
Source : https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/class-action-lawsuit-alleges-systemic-discrimination-against-black-public-servants
Date: 2020-06-12

A class-action lawsuit alleging that Black civil servants have been the victims of systemic discrimination is seeking $900 million in compensation.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court last week, has not been not been certified.

The statement of claim alleges that, while Canada has committed itself to eradicating and preventing racism and inequality as a matter of social policy, there has been “a de facto practice of Black employee exclusion throughout the public service because of the permeation of systemic discrimination through Canada’s institutional structure.”

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Twelve representative plaintiffs are named in the lawsuit, but it has been filed on behalf of all Black federal public service employees who have been subject to systemic discriminatory barriers in hiring and promotion since 1970.

The lawsuit alleges that legislative action aimed at preventing discrimination has masked the exclusion and marginalization of Black Canadians from equal access to opportunities and benefits.

The Employment Equity Act fails to break down the category of “visible minorities” and ignores the unique invisible and systemic racism faced by Black employees relative to other disadvantaged groups under the act, the lawsuit alleges.

Black Canadians are overwhelmingly underrepresented in the upper echelons of the public service, Toronto lawyer Courtney Betty said in a statement.

“This systemic practice of Black employee exclusion has for decades turned the dreams of many Black employees into a lifetime of pain and suffering.”

Alain Babineau, a 28-year veteran of the RCMP, is one of the representative plaintiffs.

Babineau, who worked for 10 years in narcotics investigations in Toronto and in the security details of three prime ministers, said he first applied to the RCMP in 1981. He was asked by the recruiting officer, “What are you going to do if you are called a (n-word)?”

He was rejected on that occasion and went on to work as a military police officer. When Babineau reapplied to the RCMP in 1984, he said he learned he had been “racially profiled” as a drug dealer in his small Quebec hometown and was rejected again.

“He put that in my file because he could,” Babineau said in an interview on Saturday. “He characterized me as something I was not.”

Babineau obtained character references and filed a complaint with the Canadian Human  Rights Commission. He was hired by the Ontario Provincial Police in 1988 and was later hired by the RCMP, two years after he filed his complaint.

But the barriers did not stop there, he said.

“We get to the academy and it’s automatically assumed that the only reason we’re here is because we’re Black. And it follows you throughout your career,” Babineau said.

“Is it still going on? One hundred per cent it is, but it’s more insidious.”

Babineau retired in 2016 and has since been awarded two law degrees from McGill University.

The RCMP declined to comment as the matter is before the courts.

Among other measures, the lawsuit calls for the federal government to adopt a policy whereby the number of Black employees would reflect, at a minimum, the percentage of Black people in the general population and would include representation at all levels.

The lawsuit also asks for a compensation fund to address the psychological, pain and suffering and financial losses of past and present Black employees.

In a statement, the Treasury Board Secretariat acknowledged that systemic racism and discrimination was a painful lived reality for Black Canadians, racialized Canadians and Indigenous people.

“The government has taken steps to address anti-Black racism, systemic discrimination and injustice across the country. Most recently, the Fall Economic Statement committed $12 million over three years towards a dedicated Centre on Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service. This will accelerate the government’s commitment to achieving a representative and inclusive public service.”

The September Speech from the Throne announced an action plan to increase representation and leadership development within the public service, the statement added.

“Early in its mandate, the government also reflected its commitment in mandate letters, in the establishment of an Anti-Racism Strategy and Secretariat, in the appointment of a Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, and in the creation of the Office for Public Service Accessibility.”

Treasury Board Secretariat declined to comment on the lawsuit because it is before the courts.