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April '08 - In this Issue

Wait times could end at polling station

‘The problem is racism,’ union exec says

The end to poverty starts with a job

Electing more women matters

25-year pay equity battle rages on

Less work, more happy

FYI: Action for Blind People

ETC: global news briefs

VIP: Associated Engineering Group Ltd.

MVP: diversity champions

Aboriginal chief tells his people, ‘Get a job!’

Ask A Consultant

LGBT @ Work : Building the Business Case for LGBT-Positive Workplaces : Part 1

April 2008

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Wait times could end at polling station

After stick-handling other politically-contentious issues that threatened to bring about an election, the federal Tories say changes in immigration policy are urgently needed to meet Canada’s employment demands. The changes, however, could now be the trigger that sends Canadians to the polls this year.

"Our government has two objectives,” Immigration Minister Diane Finley told the Commons in March. “The first is to bring more newcomers here to fill the jobs and be reunited with their families. The second is to do it faster."... [ read more ]

‘The problem is racism,’ union exec says

Bureaucrats at the highest level of government should visit Canadian communities to get a sense of who makes up the new face of Canadian society, a senior vice president of a national public service union says.

Ed Cashman, regional executive vice-president of the 165,000-member Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), says bluntly that racism is behind the fact that highly-qualified new immigrants aren’t being hired for key jobs in the federal public service... [ read more ]

The end to poverty starts with a job

A kick in the butt is something that’s often needed when it comes to making a making decisions about one’s life, says Chief Clarence Louie, one of Canada’s most outspoken aboriginal leaders.

The blunt-speaking chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band of British Columbia says that applies just as much to members of Canada’s white population as it does to the country’s aboriginal population. But the message he delivered to an economic development conference in Edmonton was mainly targeted to young, working-age, native people who, he says, need to get on with their lives and get a job.... [ read more ]

Electing more women matters

With two more women elected to the House of Commons in recent federal by-elections, Canada can now take some pride in having increased representation of the female populations in Parliament to just over 21 percent.

That puts Canada on a par with Pakistan and Ethiopia in terms of political presence of women in the country’s national governing body. While that increase in women’s presence may be short of dazzling, Raylene Lang-Dion is convinced the momentum is building toward greater involvement of women in key roles on the country’s political stage... [ read more ]

25-year pay equity battle rages on

An agonizingly-prolonged pay-equity dispute involving mostly female workers at Canada Post has been taken by their union to the Federal Court of Appeal in an effort to resolve the issue. The quarter-century-old complaint involves about six thousand current and former clerical workers at the crown corporation...[ read more ]

Less work, more happy

Older Canadians—particularly men—appear to be working less and enjoying it more, according to a new report on Canadian work preferences published by Statistics Canada.

Fewer full-time Canadian workers are putting in long hours on the job, but the decline has occurred mostly among men and older workers, according to the study. The report’s findings don’t necessarily run counter to the trend of older workers staying on the job longer; they just appear to want shorter hours...[ read more ]

FYI: Action for Blind People

Action for Blind People (ABP) has12 regional teams throughout the UK, 3 mobile information units that annually visit over 200 towns and deliver services to over 9000 people, and a national free-phone helpline that handles more than 12,000 calls a year...[ read more ]

ETC: global news briefs

South Asia
The Indian government has launched its first interactive web portal for persons with disabilities. www.punarbhava.in offers a link to a disability register, a chatroom, a blog, an online “court” and screen reader software for the visually impaired. India officially has 21million disabled people but little or no access to buildings or government websites, even though the Persons with Disabilities Act became law in 1996...[ read more ]

VIP: Associated Engineering Group Ltd.

Back in 1990 when Lianna Mah joined Associated Engineering Group Ltd. (AE) as a young civil engineer, there were a couple of things that set her apart in the firm. One was her gender; the other her heritage. And for Mah those were two big pluses.

“It’s just so exciting for me as an Asian woman—and there’s not many women engineers to begin with and there’s not many Asian women engineers,” says Mah, AE’s manager of business development. “So for me personally it’s been really wonderful and rewarding to be part of this company and to see the growth and to see the diversity that’s developed.”
...[ read more ]

MVP diversity champions

The Exploration Place Museum and Science Centre is this year’s recipient of the Employees First Award presented by go2, the BC’s tourism industry’s human resources association. The museum won for its initiatives to recruit and retain staff, as well as address work-life issues, including a program that allowed all employees to have access to free childcare
...[ read more ]

Aboriginal chief tells his people, ‘Get a job!’

The feds dish out $10 billion annually for programs to help Canada's one million aboriginals.

Despite that, natives continue to have shockingly high rates of school dropout, poverty, incarceration and mortality compared to other Canadians. Add in substandard housing and sky-high unemployment and it's a national tragedy.

Enter Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie, 47, a B.C. aboriginal leader first elected chief at the tender age of 24.

Louie has a refreshing view of how to solve the problem... [ read more ]

Ask A Consultant
BY EVELINA SILVERIA

Dear Diversity @ Work:
With all of this emphasis on reaching ethnic markets, it has occurred to me that most of my staff must be unilingual. I can’t exactly fire them and replace them with other people who speak other languages. So, how am I going to reach these emerging markets?
Stumped in Scarborough... [ read more ]

LGBT @ Work : Building the Business Case for LGBT-Positive Workplaces : Part 1

When is Pride happening in your community and who in your office is celebrating it? If you know the answers, chances are you have an LGBT-positive (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) and inclusive workplace, and are reaping the rewards both inside and outside of your organization.

Pride is 37 years old. On June 28, 1969 New York Police Officers raided a gay bar in Greenwich Village and the Stonewall Riot ensued. This event mobilized the gay community in New York and around the world. Since 1970 Pride marches and parades have been held around the world in the summer months. What began as resistance has in many cities become an affirmation and a celebration as gay rights and recognition improve. Communities across Canada from Prince George to Halifax will be celebrating Pride at various times this summer
... [ read more ]

To the top

In Quotes

“I meet every day young, qualified individuals who are racially visible and who do speak both official languages and they still can’t get ahead.”

~ Ed Cashman, regional executive vice-president, Public Service Alliance of Canada

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