November 11^th, 2004

Employment Articles

The Federal Public Service

Opportunities For All Canadians

by Nurjehan Mawani

On December 3, 2002, Commissioner Nurjehan Mawani, CM, of the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Canada was invited by the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres to commemorate the United Nations International Day of Disabled Persons. The PSC is responsible for a competent, non-partisan and representative Public Service, able to serve Canadians in the official language of their choice. This article offers a synopsis of Commissioner Mawani�s remarks.

The theme chosen for the 2002 United Nations International Day for Disabled Persons, �Independent Living and Sustainable Livelihoods,� reflects the efforts of countless activists and volunteers to make independent and sustainable living a reality. Having a job is the key to independence: it promotes self-sufficiency, dignity and participation in society.

The commitment of the PSC to fairness and equity in employment is particularly significant because it is responsible for staffing and hiring in the Federal Public Service. With nearly 150,000 employees, the Federal Public Service is the single largest employer in the country; as a major Canadian institution, it takes very seriously the responsibility to represent and be inclusive of all Canadians.

Representing all Canadians
So how effective is the Federal Public Service in terms of truly representing all Canadians? In the PSC�s 2001-2002 report to Parliament, we commented on the participation of Employment Equity groups as follows:
- Women are 52.1% of the Federal Public Service, vs. 48.7% in the labour market.
- Persons with disabilities are 5.1% of the FPS, vs. 4.8% in the labour market.
- Aboriginal peoples are 3.6% in the FPS, vs. 1.7% in the labour market.
- Members of visible minorities are still under-represented at 6.1%, vs. 8.7% in the labour market.

While it looks like the Federal Public Service is doing well in terms of being representative of persons with disabilities, the PSC is aware of the need to build on past successes, and to work toward sustainable representation across ranks, regions and occupations.

Removing Barriers
We are using new technologies to improve service for prospective candidates. Through our on-line application system, individuals can apply from home � a real advantage for someone with a mobility-related disability. Persons with disabilities are screened on the basis of their competencies � in other words, on what applicants have done and can do.

Realizing that candidates� abilities are more likely to shine during the evaluation process when their disabilities are appropriately accommodated, the PSC recently introduced new Guidelines for Assessing Persons with Disabilities. The guidelines give hiring professionals within the Public Service the tools and information they need to assess candidates fairly, while accommodating a full range of needs.

The guidelines are aligned with the government�s Policy of the Duty to Accommodate Persons with Disabilities.

Access to Opportunity
The PSC partnered with different federal departments and the community to break down misconceptions about persons with disabilities. The resulting Rapid Access Project provided persons with disabilities who already had work experience with an opportunity to demonstrate directly to Public Service managers their knowledge, skills and qualifications.

We discovered that attitudinal barriers crumbled; managers hired candidates with disabilities once they met with them.

Opening doors to the senior ranks for persons with disabilities is also a PSC priority. The PSC has developed the Career Assignment Program (CAP) for public servants with disabilities. The program is designed to identify candidates with potential for advancement to senior levels, and to develop their leadership skills through a series of challenging assignments. In the past, the PSC has successfully offered the program to Aboriginal and visible minority candidates.

Sharing Citizenship
Canadians deserve the opportunity to share in the responsibility and rights of citizenship. By removing barriers, the public service can benefit from the richness, creativity and diversity in our society.

I am speaking here of a kind of cognitive diversity that goes beyond employment equity, and that encompasses the uniqueness that all human beings have within them. It is this broader and deeper wealth of human talent that the public service must tap into. Only then will we find the creative solutions we will increasingly need to serve Canadians in the new economy, and only then will we achieve a truly dynamic and innovative public service.

Finally, let�s agree that on this very special day, and despite the terminology used by the UN, we will reframe the conversation: we will say �persons with a disability� to focus on the person, just as the magazine you are reading focuses on the ability in disability.

Cet article est aussi disponible en fran�ais au: www.enablelink.org/employment.html?showemployment=1