Abuse, harassment and suicide: Report finds anti-Black racism exists at highest levels of federal government

WARNING: This story contains references to sensitive matters including violence, racism, self-harm and harassment

A government-funded report released to CTV News highlights ‘systemic racism’ against dozens of Black executives within the federal public service, including allegations of abuse, violence and harassment that, in some instances, led to suicide.

The internal report titled ‘A Study on the Black Executive Community in the Federal Public Service,’ published by Dr. Rachel Zellars for the federal Black Executives Network and released Nov. 4, interviewed 73 current and former Black employees working in the senior ranks of the federal government between October 2023 and February 2024.

It found the interviews “reveal patterns of anti-Black discrimination marked by differential treatment, abuse, cruelty, refusal, and subjugation.”

Several Black executives interviewed in the study spoke of ‘complaints and threats’ used to punish them for their mistakes, including one person “witnessing racial harassment that led to the suicide of a Black colleague.”

“Black employees are simply not forgiven for mistakes. This is huge problem. I had two sponsors who were forgiving in my career, but my supervisors were not. A slight mistake caused a career setback of two or three years, or a mistake could mean you were done for good. There is not enough forgiveness for Black employees, and I have seen this time and time again over my career,” said an anonymous Black federal public servant interviewed as part of the study.

“One former executive shared how a white colleague raised a chair at him and threatened to “beat the [N-word] out of him” during a meeting with other participants,’ reads the report.

Challenges to Black women’s leadership

The report found that Black female executives within the federal public sector were constantly challenged and experienced ‘desperate, dehumanizing conditions.’

In the study, 64 per cent of Black executives reported direct ‘workplace harassment or intimidation’ or the threat of reputational harm from supervisors or senior leaders. From that group, Black women reported the highest rate of harassment and intimidation at 78 per cent.

During the interviews, four Black women said they attempted suicide as a result of workplace harassment with many others saying they began to use antidepressant medication as their work environment led to chronic depression and ongoing mental health challenges.

Black women in these top tier roles within the public sector also recounted violence and sexual harassment they faced.

“One woman who experienced sexual advances from her director shared that she did not report because she was already deflated from years of stagnation and losing opportunities to white colleagues,” said the report.

Report released during push for Black class-action lawsuit

The report is released as an advocacy group representing roughly 45,000 present and former Black public servants — dating back to 1970 — are laying the groundwork for a potential class-action lawsuit against the federal government.

A Federal Court hearing taking place in early November is looking to gain clearance to move ahead with the lawsuit, seeking $2.5-billion dollars in compensation — as well as, a diversity plan to ensure the public ervice is representative of Black Canadians at all government levels and a Black equity commissioner to oversee the implementation of diversity measures.

“It’s been filed against 99 departments across the federal service,” said Nicholas Marcus Thompson, the CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat in an interview with CTV News Saturday.

“[It is] to address loss of pension, loss of salary, pain and suffering,” he added. “People have retired in the same positions that they’ve started in.”

Recommendations highlighted in report

The ‘Federal Black Executive Study’ also highlights multiple recommendation for the federal government to implement — including a zero-tolerance policy for antiBlack harassment.

It suggests senior leaders be subject to ‘consequential accountability through performance assessments,’ when it comes to maintaining an harassment-free workplace for Black public servants.

The report also recommends achieving employment equity by increasing representation of Black executives across all levels.

In response to the report, Treasury Board of Canada says it acknowledges systemic racism exists within the federal public service — but said there are protocols in place within the public service to address workplace complaints instead of resorting to lawsuits.

“The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA) outlines the rules for collective bargaining and grievance handling for the federal public sector,” said Treasure Board of Canada Press Secretary Myah Tomasi. “The Act grievance process cannot be circumvented by separate action because Section 236 of the Act prevents courts from hearing disputes covered by the Act’s grievance process, meaning employees must use the established process instead of taking separate legal action.”