Internal report describes a 'cesspool of racism' in the federal public service
CBC
WARNING: This story contains disturbing details of racism and suicidal ideation
An internal report on workplace racism and harassment at the highest levels of the federal public service shows that not even the federal government's top executives are immune to the problem.
The government-funded report on the experiences of Black public servants in the senior ranks of government — obtained by CBC News — includes first-hand accounts of racist remarks, harassment, intimidation and threats that have harmed the mental health of public servants, especially Black women.
"Crucially, Black women detailed workplace conflicts so severe that they led to chronic depression, the use of antidepressant medications, and suicide attempts," the report says.
The report also documents instances of Black public servants being called the N-word at work, sexual harassment and even threats of physical violence. It also raises concerns about internal complaint processes being weaponized against Black executives.
The report was initiated by the Black Executives Network, a support group for Black executives in the federal public service, and funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and other government departments.
CBC obtained a copy of the report and an email from the country's top public servant — Clerk of the Privy Council John Hannaford — addressing the report's findings and providing a preliminary response plan.
"What is relayed in the report is deeply concerning and we are distressed to think that some members of the Black executive community have reported that they have lived or are living through these kinds of experiences," Hannaford said in the email.
Hannaford and several other senior public servants sent the email to all deputy ministers and the Black Executives Network.
Saint Mary's University senior researcher Rachel Zellars authored the peer-reviewed report. Zellars, a lawyer, frequently undertakes research and training for the federal government.
"As a researcher who has conducted over a thousand interviews with public servants since 2019, these interviews are collectively the most distressing that I have witnessed and recorded," Zellars says in the report.
The study interviewed more than 100 current and former Black public servants who occupied senior or executive roles in Canada's public service.
The report lays out allegations made by Black executives — whose names, positions and departments were withheld from the report. Executives spoke about how they were threatened with physical violence during their careers.
"One former executive shared how a white colleague raised a chair at him and threatened to 'beat the N-word out of him' during a meeting with other participants," the report details. "Strikingly, no one in the meeting room intervened on his behalf."
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