HRDC Meeting Minutes - December 18, 2023

Present:

Regret:

Jennie Esnard - NUREG - Chair

Stacy McLaren - Board Liaison

Mary Lycett - AFS - Member

Binana Madikama - SR - Member

Madeeha Choudhry - IT - Member

Farzana Merani - AFS - Member

Imam Din Kamaldon - AFS - Member Jacquie Dixon - AFS - Friend of the Committee

Malcolm Lewis-Richmond - PIPSC Staff Resource

Coralie Leduc - Administrative Assistant

Mitesh Popat - ENG - Member

Guests:

Jennifer Carr—PIPSC President

Leila El-Khatib—MFEN

Abdel Munem Amin—MFEN

Patricia Chong—PIPSC Staff

Jennie Esnard, Chair of the HRDC provides welcoming remarks and expresses pride about the committee’s accomplishments throughout 2023 and the positive feedback received during the latest AGM following phenomenal workshops. 

Amendment brought to agenda due to unexpected delays following technical issues with Zoom link: 

• Jennifer Carr and MFEN will join the meeting around 10 a.m., duration of items and order to be adapted accordingly.

Due to the timing of the HRDC November 3rd meeting and the start of Marielle’s parental leave, minutes were not produced in time for this meeting. 

Coralie to produce meeting minutes based on video recording and get them approved at the next HRDC meeting in January 2024 along with Dec 18 minutes.

Malcolm provides an overview of the feedback received for the various workshops organized by the HRDC at the AGM. Overall feedback is very positive and shows that PIPSC members of all communities are keen on hearing more about human rights and diversity issues directly from equity groups. The Women’s equity group was especially well received.

Things to consider for the next AGM:

• Have more swag prepared.
• Make sure rooms are large enough to accommodate various accessibility needs.
• Have stricter speaker moderation to allow more participants to engage in discussion. 
• Expect more attendees than the number of registrants.
• Look into turning workshops into webinars.
• Workshops could have lasted longer if necessary.
• Have clearer steps on how people can get involved. 
• Advertise workshops more.
• Reduce overlapping schedules of workshops so more people can attend and learn on all various matters of human rights and diversity issues. 
• Channel HRDC interest into steward interest, and strive for more signups.

PIPSC President Jennifer Carr addresses the HRDC. Jennifer points out that the latest AGM has been the most diverse since she joined the Institute about 22 years ago, and that she felt the excitement of members and their willingness to engage in PIPSC human rights and diversity matters. Encourages the continued work and progress of HRDC and its goals, stating that the overall reception of issues is progressing in the right direction. Emphasizes the importance of marginalized communities and allies supporting each other and creating/reserving a space at the table for diverse lived experiences. 

Clearance needed from the board to release the report on Know History. 

Jennifer suggests the following: 

• Create a concrete list of actions following the release of the Know History report;
• Provide even more help to the indigenous caucus (member recruitment).

When discussing the latest AGM, Jennie shares with Jennifer the positive feedback received as indicated by Malcolm’s previous report. Jennie states that the HRDC workshops had exciting topics, and she wishes that the HRDC meetings had fewer overlaps in their scheduling so that it would be possible to attend more of them. As for workshop registration at the next AGM, it could be beneficial to keep registration lenient as many more people attended than were registered. 

HRDC members thanked President Carr for rebutting back to a member who made offensive remarks regarding the Black Caucus. 

Two representatives of the MFEN provide an overview of their network and its relevance within the public function within Canada. Concerns over the well-being of Muslims and racialized employees perceived as Muslim during the current Israel-Hamas conflict are expressed, seeking to better understand how PIPSC could support its Muslim members. 

Post-presentation discussion:

• What PIPSC can do about the issues brought forward is limited; however, we can facilitate contact with the consultation team, action team, and the commissioner. 
• We could ask to advertise the MFEN since it is a non-partisan issue. 
• Reflection on the possible creation of a Black federal employee network.
• Recommendation given to MFEN to push for a class action lawsuit to achieve desired results?
• Discussion about how to best enact change, whether that is reaching out to communities most likely to infract human rights and diversity guidelines, or simply focusing on the well-being of vulnerable communities. 
• Encouraging solidarity between Muslim and SLGBTQ2+ groups.
• Create more opportunities for representation. 
• Achieving HRDC goals by getting through barriers and working within the bylaws. More specifically, work with the existing rules to see how the committee could increase caucus membership. 

Patricia Chong, PIPSC Education Officer, offers a workshop on Anti-Asian Hate with the support of materials from the Asian Canadian Labour Alliance. 

The workshop highlights the lack of dissemination of knowledge regarding Asian Canadians’ contributions to the development of Canada. 

HRDC members suggest having greater incorporation of non-East Asian materials to be more representative of the history and experiences of the Asian diaspora in Canada.  

During the meeting, concern was raised regarding the insufficient resources available to our stewards for preserving their mental and emotional well-being when dealing with distressed members seeking assistance. The current shortage of stewards was highlighted as a significant challenge, emphasizing the immediate need for improvement. Members expressed the urgency to address this challenge promptly to retain existing stewards and attract recruits. 

Find who stewards turn to when they are having mental health challenges as a consequence of their role. Need to develop mental health care for stewards specifically. 

It should also be kept in mind that the role of stewards is meant to be of service to others, not a bargaining chip for a political career or immunity to accountability. As such, the focus should be on ensuring the quality of our stewards and their service.

A general revamping of the steward onboarding process, as well as advocating for longer steward mandate periods is considered.  

The learning curve for stewards, especially if young or from a vulnerable group can be quite steep and PIPSC should ensure that stewards feel confident and safe to express themselves. Suggested remedial actions include offering workshops on the matter and making sure certain voices are not neglected even when trying to present a united front. 

The HRDC members express concern over the lack of willingness of PIPSC members and professionals overall to strike or work-to-rule due to the close relation of the professionals to their projects, and how we need to lead that change in ways of thinking to emphasize solidarity and mobilize members more effectively. To address this challenge, the following is recommended:

• Look into what PSAC is doing and see what we can emulate.
• The Bargaining 101 presentation should center more on the importance of strikes and solidarity, as well as what members should expect if they do go on strike. As such, we should aim to better prepare members and make them more willing to strike by revamping the presentation.

More orientation sessions on when members can ask for help from their stewards and for what, not just at the initial onboarding stage. A yearly refresher is suggested, or at least a refresher for those who have not interacted meaningfully with the materials in 10 years of employment. 

A system similar to the EAP could be useful, but should be internal. Ideally, the board of directors can approve and trigger the start of a program tailored to stewards. 

The feeling of inaccessibility of union members to their representatives is said to increase disengagement and puts them in a precarious position with their employers. PIPSC’s preference in the past to hire mediators rather than to oust the individual(s) causing tension makes people skeptical of the union’s goals and existence, as members might not feel adequately supported and consequently become increasingly dismissive of the union. The creation of a collective conscience is critical for success, and to do so members must know who to contact, when, and receive aid in reasonable delays. Unfortunately, minority communities are often even more vulnerable due to a lack of support. This creates the need to build reliable mechanisms where members feel confident in the union’s ability to help. 

PIPSC should consolidate its presence and make its services more obvious and accessible if we want to have our members develop and maintain a sense of confidence and solidarity. Reaching out to the political action and education team could prove fruitful, and looking into evaluating feelings of confidence and skepticism through a survey might be worth it. The goal is to develop more accurate and effective education tools about PIPSC’s services.   

Before the pandemic, PIPSC representatives would get to sit in with union members during their onboarding, but that was somewhat lost. However, it seems to be slowly coming back. We should use the opportunity to reconnect members with their rights and with their representatives and help them gain confidence in what the union does for them. Emphasis should be on our representatives being and feeling accessible to our members. 

It is suggested that a steward be invited at the next HRDC meeting to better represent what stewards might need and how the committee can help develop a framework to better support them in their responsibilities and mental well-being. MOTION PASSED.

Ideally, find something that works for all or most groups, although some like CRA might already have their systems. 

Tentative meeting date for the next HRDC meeting is set to January 26th-27th. 

Members highlight their desire to make 2024 another great year for the HRDC, for example by increasing the frequency of webinars and promoting the committee’s successes. To maximize momentum and keep efforts cohesive, try to organize activities in all the regions simultaneously or intuitively (for example Pride is celebrated in August vs. June in Ontario, and resources like swag are limited. Weather conditions at the time of year should also be considered when planning). The timing of mandate changes and early-year events like Black History Month and International Women’s Day should be considered in the previous years’ fall meetings so they are not forgotten. The 2024 HRDC members should look into setting a legacy for the following year. 

The committee recommends identifying regional leaders as soon as possible to facilitate the coordination of HRDC-related events, as well as recruiting caucus members within new PIPSC members especially if these have not heard about the HRDC. This can be done using mailing lists and posting on the webpage. 

2024’s main focus should be to increase member education on human rights and diversity issues, especially bridging the knowledge gap about indigenous rights. Looking at possible partnerships is encouraged. 

Jennie Esnard expresses pride at seeing the impact of the committee on PIPSC members and is grateful for her positive experience as committee chair.

Malcolm Lewis-Richmond thanks members and encourages them to maximize the momentum the HRDC has gained after the AGM to sustain the most interested volunteers. 

Stacy McLaren who was appointed as the next HRDC chair promises to continue the committee’s efforts throughout 2024. 

Mary Lycett seconds committee members’ comments about hoping for a good year for the HRDC in 2024.

Binana Madikama wants to continue helping people feel even more confident in the HRDC’s work.

Madeeha Choudhry recommends that we send out another invitation to recruit new members, and asks for clarifications regarding which initiatives have to wait until the next AGM to be reviewed and which can be tackled sooner. Jennie states that anything that concerns the bylaws, must wait until the next AGM. 

Farzana Merani hopes the committee and PIPSC will organize something to celebrate International Women’s Day, which can be discussed at the next HRDC meeting in January 2024.

Din Kamaldin is glad to attend this meeting in person and to see communities supporting each other. 

Jacquie Dixon comments on the success of the latest webinar hosted by the Black Caucus on Black health and wellness at work, highlighting the high attendance rate. Jacquie also states that many new Black employees shared having a great experience being part of a union and being stewards. Using the AGM as recruiting grounds seems a good strategy, and Jacquie looks forward to continuing work for the Black Caucus.