Addressing Systemic Racial Discrimination in Employment: The Health Canada Case and Implications of Legislative Change

Abstract

The 1997 Human Rights Tribunal decision on racial discrimination at Health Canada, specifically addressing glass-ceiling barriers to the promotion of visible minorities to senior management, provides an effective illustration of the subtle and elusive nature of this form of discrimination, the complex evidence required for legal proof, and the rationale for employment-equity remedies. Public participation was critical to the case. It helped identify and interpret critical testimony and documents, mobilize resources for an employee survey and expert testimony, and develop a detailed remedial proposal. Under the 1996 amendments to the Employment Equity Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act responsibility for systemic discrimination has changed, replacing the demonstrated potential of the human-rights complaints process with the broader coverage of a new audit-based employment equity process. The Health Canada experience suggests that a key to this trade-off is whether limited opportunities for public input can be enhanced. Implications for legal strategies and broader policy to address systemic racial discrimination are discussed.