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By William
Doyle-Marshall
The Government of Canada has unveiled a new look of its Racism-Free Workplace Strategy. It is designed to ensure that Canadian workers are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve in a productive and inclusive workplace.
Rona Ambrose, Minister of Labour announced in Brampton last week that federally regulated companies must adhere to the new programme and come up with a strategy that respects anti-racism regulations. This means they have to adopt hiring policies, proactive programming, workshops and seminars on cultural sensitivity under these new regulations.
The onus is on the employer and if an employee sees that there is nothing in place and they are feeling like there is something in their company that is a problem, they can file a complaint with the Labour Board anonymously.
In a Round Table session with members of the media Ambrose said it’s an avenue now for people to be able to speak out and have a voice and not feel threatened because the onus is on the employer not on the employee.
“The employer is supposed to put these programmes in place. It’s their obligation to meet these regulations now,” she advised.
There are actual labour officers to work on the racism-free strategy who deal directly with racism issues and hatred issues. When an employee complains about something, the obvious first step would be to try and deal with it internally with their organization. But if it's not resolved the employee can either file a complaint or contact the labour programme. At that point the racism prevention officers can go into a workplace if it is something that is an infraction or a serious issue.
Employees’ complaints against their own companies are sometimes worse for the perception of their business, the minister said. Companies want their employees to be happy and they want to retain them. Consequently they have to deal not only with the government but with their own employees as well. Ambrose acknowledged that racism is a serious enough issue that these regulations are needed. While it was hoped that regulating the Canadian workforce would never have to take place, the minister admitted there has been enough instances and examples that made regulation necessary.
In a series of community media round tables the minister recognized the Royal Bank of Canada for what the minister described “great success for promoting diversity in the workplace”.
Ambrose said the Royal Bank has shown leadership in this area and is a model for Canadian employers. If a company fails to follow the regulations the minister said that would be a contravention and there could be serious consequences.
“One of the things that work places (employers) don’t want is to have contraventions of regulations under the labour code. It’s not good for their track record and it’s a stigma for them,” Ambrose explained.
With this in mind, Ambrose said very large companies are acting quickly because no one wants to be labelled that way.
“It’s not good for business so we do have the stick and the carrot. The carrot is we want to encourage people to put these programmes in place as quickly as possible but if they don’t then we will act and we can make their name public,” she continued.
The Ministry of Labour is going all out to promote the initiative. It’s a full engagement with the federally regulated business sector on this strategy. Racism prevention officers are conducting Racism-Free Workplace Strategy seminars; material is going to be accessible for all federally regulated companies and websites and regional offices that interact with all the federally regulated companies across the country would provide information on the matter.
The ministry is determined to make sure that people in every community know about the strategy and what the government is doing. This will include a national speaking tour to recognize workplaces that are doing a good job. By doing that, all Canadians including employees and other companies would be informed through the media, what this is about.
The ministry hopes that provinces would take on something like this too because they have areas that they regulate.

April 15, 2009 Issue
Headline News
Feds aim for a racism-free workplace

Minister of Labour Rona Ambrose is welcomed to Brampton by Parm Gill, Conservative Candidate for Brampton-Springdale, during her Round Table session with media members last week to discuss her government’s new anti-racism regulations regarding federally regulated corporations.
By William Doyle-Marshall The Government of Canada has unveiled a new look of its Racism-Free Workplace Strategy. It is designed to ensure that Canadian workers are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve in a productive and inclusive workplace. Rona Ambrose, Minister of Labour announced in Brampton last week that federally regulated companies must adhere to the new programme and come up with a strategy that respects anti-racism regulations. This means they have to adopt hiring policies, proactive programming, workshops and seminars on cultural sensitivity under these new regulations. The onus is on the employer and if an employee sees that there is nothing in place and they are feeling like there is something in their company that is a problem, they can file a complaint with the Labour Board anonymously. In a Round Table session with members of the media Ambrose said it’s an avenue now for people to be able to speak out and have a voice and not feel threatened because the onus is on the employer not on the employee. “The employer is supposed to put these programmes in place. It’s their obligation to meet these regulations now,” she advised. There are actual labour officers to work on the racism-free strategy who deal directly with racism issues and hatred issues. When an employee complains about something, the obvious first step would be to try and deal with it internally with their organization. But if it's not resolved the employee can either file a complaint or contact the labour programme. At that point the racism prevention officers can go into a workplace if it is something that is an infraction or a serious issue. Employees’ complaints against their own companies are sometimes worse for the perception of their business, the minister said. Companies want their employees to be happy and they want to retain them. Consequently they have to deal not only with the government but with their own employees as well. Ambrose acknowledged that racism is a serious enough issue that these regulations are needed. While it was hoped that regulating the Canadian workforce would never have to take place, the minister admitted there has been enough instances and examples that made regulation necessary. In a series of community media round tables the minister recognized the Royal Bank of Canada for what the minister described “great success for promoting diversity in the workplace”. Ambrose said the Royal Bank has shown leadership in this area and is a model for Canadian employers. If a company fails to follow the regulations the minister said that would be a contravention and there could be serious consequences. “One of the things that work places (employers) don’t want is to have contraventions of regulations under the labour code. It’s not good for their track record and it’s a stigma for them,” Ambrose explained. With this in mind, Ambrose said very large companies are acting quickly because no one wants to be labelled that way. “It’s not good for business so we do have the stick and the carrot. The carrot is we want to encourage people to put these programmes in place as quickly as possible but if they don’t then we will act and we can make their name public,” she continued. The Ministry of Labour is going all out to promote the initiative. It’s a full engagement with the federally regulated business sector on this strategy. Racism prevention officers are conducting Racism-Free Workplace Strategy seminars; material is going to be accessible for all federally regulated companies and websites and regional offices that interact with all the federally regulated companies across the country would provide information on the matter. The ministry is determined to make sure that people in every community know about the strategy and what the government is doing. This will include a national speaking tour to recognize workplaces that are doing a good job. By doing that, all Canadians including employees and other companies would be informed through the media, what this is about. The ministry hopes that provinces would take on something like this too because they have areas that they regulate.
5th Summit of the Americas opens this Friday
Port of Spain - The Fifth Summit of the Americas begins on Friday this week in Port of Spain, Trinidad at which the Heads of Government of the 14 independent Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states will participate in addition to other leaders of the Hemisphere. The Summit, held under the theme - Securing Our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability - brings together 34 Hemispheric Heads of State and Governments. They will be exchanging ideas and opinions on the main political, economic, social and security challenges facing the Hemisphere and try to develop strategies and solutions to collectively address these challenges. They have already negotiated a 97-paragraph draft Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain for adoption. For the first time the Summit is being held in a Caricom Member State. Host Prime Minster Patrick Manning and Prime Minister of Belize and current Chairman of CARICOM Dean Barrow, will address Friday's opening ceremony. Rene Preval, President of the Republic of Haiti, will speak on Human Prosperity on Saturday during the Summit’s first plenary session while Prime Minister of Grenada, Tillman Thomas, will deal with Environmental Sustainability on Saturday. Also on Saturday Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will address the third Plenary Session on Democratic Governance, Public Security and Summit Follow up. Dr. Edwin Carrington, Caricom Secretary General, said the Summit is opportune in light of the need for urgent and comprehensive responses to the current global economic crisis. “Our governments must work diligently together to ensure that the economic crisis is resolved as quickly as possible to bring immediate relief to those who are suffering from the negative impact from the crisis and to make the future more secure for everyone” The people of the Americas need to know that their elected leaders are taking steps, in the immediate, short and long term, to address their needs, Dr. Carrington stated. He commented further that the Summit should also serve to enhance and strengthen CARICOM relations with the rest of the hemisphere adding that the Summit would give participating countries an opportunity to strengthen their relationship with the United States. “With all the challenges facing the Hemisphere and indeed the world today, it is vital that the United States be fully engaged with all countries in the Americas including Cuba.” The Community will be actively involved in the three pre-summit engagements – a Private Sector Forum on Wednesday and Thursday, under the theme ‘Promoting Private Sector-led Prosperity in the Emerging Decade: The Quest for Competitiveness Revisited.’ A Civil Society Forum under the theme ‘Social Innovation and Implementation: Citizens in Motion’ will be hosted on Thursday and a Youth Forum of the Americas will begin on Wednesday also. The Youth forum will be focused on reviewing the opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation across various sectors, and particular attention will be placed on technology and new sources of energy. CARICOM leaders will also engage in a number of bi-lateral meetings with other Heads of State and Government and leading political representatives.
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