Moved by: City Councillor Charmaine Williams
Seconded by: Mayor Patrick Brown
Whereas Brampton is the 2nd fastest growing city in Canada, with the 4th largest labour force in Ontario
Whereas Brampton is truly a mosaic with 73.31 percent of its population being culturally diverse
Whereas Brampton is represented by a young, diverse workforce, representing 234 cultures and speaking 115 languages, making Brampton a unique location in comparison to neighbouring cities for talent acquisition and employment
Whereas the City of Brampton completed an equity audit that was adopted by Council in January of 2020
Whereas the CCDI report in Section 2.2 recommends that the Corporation begins conducting employee surveys and full workplace censuses with a Diversity Equity and Inclusion framework in 2021
Whereas according to the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) the collection and analysis of data that identifies people on the basis of race, ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation and other Ontario Human Rights Code (Code) grounds is allowed and is supported by Canada’s human rights legislative framework
Whereas the *Ontario Human Rights Commission recommends the collection of data to attract new demographic markets and to promote an inclusive and equitable work culture to effectively thrive in an increasingly globalized, competitive business environment; to meet requirements of federal employment equity legislation and to respond to persistent allegations of systemic barriers and public perceptions of discrimination
Whereas the Corporation has not collected data to provide Council with the demographic make-up of its employees nor has the Corporation leveraged our current MeOnline system to measure and assess whether equity goals and recommendations adopted in the January 2020 CCDI report have been met by the senior leaders in the Corporation
Therefore be it resolved that the Corporation reaffirm its commitment to confronting systemic discrimination and racism specifically Anti-Black and Anti-Indigenous and Anti-Asian racism.
That the Corporation of Brampton reaffirm its commitment to reflect, and adhere to equity principles in its recruitment, hiring and promotion of staff.
That the City of Brampton follow the 2021 timeline and conduct an equity audit through the collection, use and analysis of data that includes but is not limited to race, gender-identity, ethnicity, faith, and other data sets that will allow the Corporation to identify gaps and inequities amongst departments, positions and pay grades.
That this equity audit of the corporation be completed by the 4th quarter of 2021, and reported to Council at its completion.
That upon completion of the equity audit, HR in collaboration with the Equity Office, report to Council on the identified gaps and areas of concern in the audit’s findings, and subsequent strategies to address these concerns, including an outline of accountability measures for senior leaders in every operating division of the Corporation where a concern has been identified.
That HR work with its partners to develop the capability for the MeOnline system to capture demographic data (race, gender-identity, ethnicity, family status, disability, according to the OHRC), as well as professional data (professional development opportunities, mobility, qualifications, training, etc.). This data should be readily accessible, with the ability for informational reports to be easily created and analyzed annually.
That HR works with the Communications department to develop an internal communications strategy with incentives to encourage staff at all levels of employment to participate in audits, surveys and censuses, as well as to regularly update their MeOnline profile on a go forward basis as recommended in 2.1.1 of the CCDI report
And further HR to begin, effective immediately, a strategy for new recruits to self identify their race, ethnicity and gender-identity and any other applicable data sets at the time of application for employment with the City of Brampton.
* Count me in! Collecting human rights-based data Report Ontario Human Rights Commission