Calls for special employment status for Jewish, Muslim public servants denied

A federal task denied requests from Muslim and Jewish public servants for them to be included in a list of groups recognized by the federal government to be facing systemic workplace barriers.

That happened in 2022, months before the Israel-Hamas war erupted, according to a CBC report.

The public servants were seeking special employment equity status under the Employment Equity Act (EEA), which aims to fight employment barriers facing marginalized groups. 

"The inclusion of religious minorities would provide obligations on behalf of the employer toward removing barriers to religious minorities in the public service, so that they may bring their whole selves to work, including Jews," said the Jewish Public Service Network (JPSN) in its request to the government, CBC reported, citing the document.

The group also asked that Jews be identified both as an ethno-cultural group and as a religious group under the law.

"Discrimination and socio-economic barriers continue to exist for Canadian Muslims. These barriers will not disappear without intervention," said the Muslim Federal Employees Network (MFEN) in its submission, according to the CBC report. "We recommend that Muslims are added to the Employment Equity Act as a designated employment equity group."

Task for looks at religious minorities

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) set up the task force in 2021. In rejecting the requests, the task force decided "not to recommend the creation of a separate category for some or all religious minorities at this time," it said, according to the CBC report. However, it encouraged further study.

Created in 1986, the EEA requires that federally regulated employers with more than 100 employees collect data and practice proactive hiring to ensure that four marginalized groups are not under-represented in their workforces. 

These groups are women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities. No designated employment equity groups have been added to the EEA since its creation.

Meanwhile, the task force recommended designating 2SLGBTQI+ and Black workers as employment equity groups. 

It said it had been told by the minister's office to consider adding those two groups, which allowed it to obtain targeted funding for community consultations.

"In contrast, despite our extensive consultations, we did not receive representations from many of the concerned groups in the broad population beyond the federal public service who wanted us to consider adding religious minorities," the task force said in the CBC report.

Increasing number of cases of anti-Jew, anti-Muslin discrimination

The MFEN and JPSN submissions were prepared in spring 2022.

The Israel-Hamas war erupted in October 2023. Since then, across Canada, workers are experiencing “a sharp spike in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism,” said the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL).

In October last year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) encouraged CEOs to sign a pledge that aims to actively prevent antisemitism in workplaces.

But things have been getting worse for these marginalized groups even before that: JPSN cited a B'nai Brith Canada audit in 2021 that reported a "733 per cent increase of violent anti-Semitic incidents,” reported CBC.

Meanwhile, in its submission, the MFEN cited reports of Muslim women being subjected to comments "about their ability to do their federal public jobs because they wear a hijab," and of Muslim men "who are seen to be terrorists and perpetrators of violence."

Government might consider changes to employment equity

In a statement, the office of Seamus O'Regan, labour minister, said it might consider further changes to the EEA.

"These initial commitments are only our first steps in our work to transform Canada's approach to employment equity," it said, according to CBC.

O'Regan "will continue to engage affected communities, including religious minority communities."

The office also looks forward to tabling new government legislation around the subject, but did not offer a timeline.

The labour ministry is also working to arrange meetings between O'Regan and Amira Elghawaby, the federal government's special representative on combating Islamophobia, and Deborah Lyons, special envoy on Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, according to the report.

Last month, the Federal government of Canada said it is reviewing the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) recommendations of the task force to strengthen and modernize its 1986 EEA.