MAY 03, 2004 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN PAGE: A1 / FRONT (NEWS)
Similar article also appeared in Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, Kingston Whig Standard, Montreal Gazette, National Post , Windsor Star
Public service mired in racism, senator charges
Minorities have little hope of being hired, advancing, equal treatment, Conservative argues
Jack Aubry
Canada's public service is racist and the Martin government should appoint a commissioner, similar to the one enforcing the Official Languages Act, to make sure more visible minorities are hired, a black Conservative senator charges.
In a blunt speech in the Senate recently, Senator Donald Oliver said there are major hurdles in the public service preventing the advancement of "Canadians of colour."
"Systemic racism in the public service of Canada has reached an all-time high. Morale among visible minorities is at an all-time low. There is little, if any, hope of advancement or of being treated equally with others."
He said the Martin government is ignoring the problem, despite missing several government targets set in 2000.
"Because of this systemic racism, the progress of visible minorities in making a substantive and valuable contribution to Canada's public service has come to a virtual standstill. There is no upward mobility and, more important, there is no inclination on the part of the government, the governor in council or the prime minister to do anything about it," he said.
A lawyer from Wolfville, N.S., Mr. Oliver was appointed by former prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1990.
Mr. Oliver was a Progressive Conservative and has recently joined the new Conservative party. He says he has discussed the issue and election strategy with his new leader, Stephen Harper.
In past elections, the Liberal party accused the Reform party (in 1993 and 1997) and the Canadian Alliance (in 2000) of having racist elements -- something Mr. Oliver says the governing party will have far greater difficulty doing in the upcoming election.
"When I attend our caucus meetings, I look around the room and I feel quite comfortable. There are several members in our caucus who belong to a visible minority," noted Mr. Oliver in an interview yesterday.
Mr. Oliver pointed out that visible minorities now make up 13.4 per cent of the Canadian population, while only 7.4 per cent of the federal public service workforce. He added the percentage of new hires from visible minority groups actually declined this year.
He said the targets set for visible minorities in 2000 have been clearly missed, while those for women, the disabled and aboriginals have all made significant inroads in meeting their targets.
"Of all these four groups, three of them have made great progress, but visible minorities are still at the very bottom of the heap," said Mr. Oliver.
The government's targets were to ensure that, by 2003, one in five of all new hires, or 20 per cent of those hired from outside the public service, would be members of a visible minority.
As well, by next year, one in five, or 20 per cent, of all new appointments to the senior executive groups were to be members of a visible minority, but Mr. Oliver says it is quite unlikely it will come close to the target.
"It is clear to me that Canada's multicultural garden is a mess -- choked with weeds, parched by a lack of water and ruined through sheer neglect. It is time to shed some sunlight on the issues," said Mr. Oliver.
"My message is that systemic racism in the federal public service continues to impede the progress of visible minorities. Yet, the government simply does not recognize or acknowledge that there is a crisis," he says.
He cites an ethnic diversity study recently released by Statistics Canada that found almost one third of black Canadians said they had experienced discrimination or unfair treatment in the past five years.
Mr. Oliver said the report also showed that Canadian-born and foreign-born blacks aged 25 to 54 years earned about $6,000 less, on average, than other Canadians in 2000. In addition, the jobless rate for blacks was at least 1.9 percentage points higher than for the rest of the population in 2001.
"That is deplorable, and the situation is no better in the federal public service," he said. "We continue to hear stories about immigrant computer scientists flipping burgers or doctors driving taxis. What a waste of talent, knowledge and skills. This waste costs the Canadian economy between $2 billion and $3 billion each and every year."
MAY 03, 2004 EDMONTON JOURNAL PAGE: A5 (CANADA)
Public service racist, senator says
2003 diversity targets missed, getting worse, he says
Jack Aubry
OTTAWA -- Canada's public service is racist and the Martin government should appoint a commissioner, similar to the one enforcing the Official Languages Act, to make sure more visible minorities are hired, a black Conservative senator charges.
In a recent blunt speech in the Senate, Senator Donald Oliver said there are major hurdles in the public service preventing the advancement of "Canadians of colour."
"Systemic racism in the public service of Canada has reached an all-time high. Morale among visible minorities is at an all-time low. There is little, if any, hope of advancement or of being treated equally with others," said Oliver.
He said the Martin government is ignoring the problem despite missing several government targets set in 2000.
"Because of this systemic racism, the progress of visible minorities in making a substantive and valuable contribution to Canada's public service has come to a virtual standstill," said Oliver.
"There is no upward mobility and, more important, there is no inclination on the part of the government, the governor in council or the prime minister to do anything about it."
A lawyer from Wolfville, N.S., Oliver was appointed by former prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1990 as a Progressive Conservative and has recently joined the new Conservative party.
He says he has discussed the issue and election strategy with his new leader, Stephen Harper.
In past elections, the Liberal party has accused the Reform Party in 1993 and 1997 and the Canadian Alliance in 2000, as having racist elements -- something Oliver says the governing party will have far greater difficulty doing in the upcoming election.
"When I attend our caucus meetings, I look around the room and I feel quite comfortable. There are several members in our caucus who belong to a visible minority," said Oliver in an interview Sunday.
Oliver pointed out that visible minorities now make up 13.4 per cent of the Canadian population, while they comprise only 7.4 per cent of the federal public-service workforce. He added the percentage of new hires from visible minority groups actually declined this year.
He said the targets set for visible minorities in 2000 have been clearly missed, while those for women, the disabled and aboriginals have all made significant inroads in meeting their targets.
"Of all these four groups, three of them have made great progress, but visible minorities are still at the very bottom of the heap," said Oliver.
The government's targets were to ensure that, by 2003, one in five of all new hires, or 20 per cent of those hired from outside the public service, would be members of a visible minority.
As well, by next year, one in five, or 20 per cent, of all new appointments to the senior executive groups were to be members of a visible minority. Oliver says it is quite unlikely the government will come close to the target.
"It is clear to me that Canada's multicultural garden is a mess -- choked with weeds, parched by a lack of water and ruined through sheer neglect. It is time to shed some sunlight on the issues," said Oliver.
"My message is that systemic racism in the federal public service continues to impede the progress of visible minorities. Yet, the government simply does not recognize or acknowledge that there is a crisis," he says.
He cites an ethnic diversity study, recently released by Statistics Canada, which found that almost one third of Black Canadians said they had experienced discrimination or unfair treatment in the past five years.
Oliver said the report also showed that Canadian-born and foreign-born blacks aged 25 to 54 years earned about $6,000 less, on average, than other Canadians in the year 2000. In addition, the jobless rate for blacks was at least 1.9 percentage points higher than for the rest of the population in 2001.
"That is deplorable, and the situation is no better in the federal public service," he said. "We continue to hear stories about immigrant computer scientists flipping burgers or doctors driving taxis. What a waste of talent, knowledge and skills. This waste costs the Canadian economy between $2 billion and $3 billion each and every year."
He said despite the "sluggish" pace of progress in the public service, the Employment Equity Division of the Privy Council Office ignores the problem.
"This is simply not good enough."
MAY 03, 2004 THE KINGSTON WHIG-STANDARD PAGE: 11 (WORLD)
Public service racist, senator says
Canada's public service is racist and the Martin government should appoint a commissioner, similar to the one enforcing the Official Languages Act, to make sure more visible minorities are hired, a black Conservative senator charges.
In a recent blunt speech in the Senate, Senator Donald Oliver said there are major hurdles in the public service preventing the advancement of "Canadians of colour."
"Systemic racism in the public service of Canada has reached an all-time high. Morale among visible minorities is at an all-time low. There is little, if any, hope of advancement or of being treated equally with others," said the senator.
Oliver pointed out that visible minorities now make up 13.4 per cent of the Canadian population while only 7.4 per cent of the federal public service workforce. He added the percentage of new hires from visible minority groups actually declined this year.
He says he has discussed the issue and election strategy with his new leader Stephen Harper.
MAY 03, 2004 CALGARY HERALD PAGE: A4 (NEWS)
Senator blasts 'systemic racism'
Canada's public service is racist and the Martin government should appoint a commissioner, similar to the one enforcing the Official Languages Act, to make sure more visible minorities are hired, a black Conservative senator charges.
In a recent blunt speech in the Senate, Senator Donald Oliver said there are major hurdles in the public service preventing the advancement of "Canadians of colour."
"Systemic racism in the public service of Canada has reached an all-time high. Morale among visible minorities is at an all-time low. There is little, if any, hope of advancement or of being treated equally with others," said the senator.
He said the Martin government is ignoring the problem despite missing several government targets set in 2000.
"Because of this systemic racism, the progress of visible minorities in making a substantive and valuable contribution to Canada's public service has come to a virtual standstill. There is no upward mobility," said Oliver.
MAY 03, 2004 MONTREAL GAZETTE PAGE: A13 (NEWS)
Public service racist
black senator: Oliver calls on Ottawa to appoint a commissioner to ensure more visible-minority members are hired
JACK AUBRY
Canada's public service is racist and the Paul Martin government should appoint a commissioner, similar to the one enforcing the Official Languages Act, to make sure more visible minorities are hired, a black Conservative senator charges.
In a recent blunt speech in the Senate, Senator Donald Oliver said there are major hurdles in the public service preventing the advancement of "Canadians of colour."
"Systemic racism in the public service of Canada has reached an all-time high. Morale among visible minorities is at an all-time low. There is little, if any, hope of advancement or of being treated equally with others," the senator said.
He said the Martin government is ignoring the problem, despite missing several government targets set in 2000.
"Because of this systemic racism, the progress of visible minorities in making a substantive and valuable contribution to Canada's public service has come to a virtual standstill. There is no upward mobility and, more important, there is no inclination on the part of the government, the governor in council or the prime minister to do anything about it," Oliver said.
A lawyer from Wolfville, N.S., Oliver was appointed by former prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1990 as a Progressive Conservative and has recently joined the new Conservative Party.
He says he has discussed the issue and election strategy with his new leader, Stephen Harper.
In past elections, the Liberal Party has accused its rivals (the Reform Party in 1993 and 1997 and the Canadian Alliance in 2000) of having racist elements - something Oliver says the governing party will have far greater difficulty doing in the coming election.
"When I attend our caucus meetings, I look around the room and I feel quite comfortable. There are several members in our caucus who belong to a visible minority," Oliver noted in an interview yesterday.
He pointed out that visible minorities now make up 13.4 per cent of the Canadian population - but only 7.4 per cent of the federal public-service workforce. He added the percentage of new hires from visible-minority groups actually declined this year.
He said the targets set for visible minorities in 2000 have been clearly missed while those for women, the disabled and aboriginals have all made significant inroads toward meeting their targets.
"Of all these four groups, three of them have made great progress, but visible minorities are still at the very bottom of the heap," Oliver said.
The government's targets were to ensure that, by 2003, one in five of all new hires, or 20 per cent of those hired from outside the public service, would be members of a visible minority.
As well, by next year, 20 per cent - one in five - of all new appointments to senior executive groups were to be members of a visible minority, but Oliver says it is quite unlikely it will come close to the target.
MAY 03, 2004 NATIONAL POST PAGE: A2 (NEWS)
Civil service racism 'at all-time high,'
senator complains
Donald Oliver: Tory seeks watchdog to ensure more minorities hired
Jack Aubry
OTTAWA - Canada's public service is racist and the Martin government should appoint a commissioner, similar to the one enforcing the Official Languages Act, to make sure more visible minorities are hired, a Conservative senator charges.
In a recent speech in the Senate, Donald Oliver said there are major hurdles in the public service preventing the advancement of "Canadians of colour."
"Systemic racism in the public service of Canada has reached an all-time high. Morale among visible minorities is at an all-time low. There is little, if any, hope of advancement or of being treated equally with others," the Senator said.
He said the Martin government is ignoring the problem despite missing several government targets set in 2000.
"Because of this systemic racism, the progress of visible minorities in making a substantive and valuable contribution to Canada's public service has come to a virtual standstill. There is no upward mobility and, more important, there is no inclination on the part of the government, the governor in council or the prime minister to do anything about it," Mr. Oliver said.
A lawyer from Wolfville, N.S., he was appointed by former prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1990 as a Progressive Conservative and recently joined the new Conservative party.
He said he has discussed the issue and election strategy with his new leader, Stephen Harper.
In past elections, the Liberal party has accused the Reform party and the Canadian Alliance of harbouring racist elements -- a charge Mr. Oliver said will be far harder to make in the upcoming election.
"When I attend our caucus meetings, I look around the room and I feel quite comfortable. There are several members in our caucus who belong to a visible minority," he said in an interview yesterday.
Mr. Oliver pointed out visible minorities make up 13.4% of the Canadian population but only 7.4% of the federal civil service. He added the percentage of new hires from visible minority groups actually declined this year.
The targets set for visible minorities in 2000 have been clearly missed, while those for women, the disabled and aboriginals have all made significant inroads in meeting their targets, he said.
"Of all these four groups, three of them have made great progress, but visible minorities are still at the very bottom of the heap."
The government's targets were to ensure that, by 2003, one in five of new hires would be members of a visible minority. As well, by next year, one in five of all appointments to senior executive groups are to be members of a visible minority, but Mr. Oliver said it is unlikely it will come close to the target.
"It is clear to me that Canada's multicultural garden is a mess -- choked with weeds, parched by a lack of water and ruined through sheer neglect," he said.
MAY 03, 2004 THE WINDSOR STAR PAGE: A8 (NEWS)
Senator slams racism
Civil service minorities in decline, Conservative charges
Jack Aubry
OTTAWA - Canada's public service is racist, a black Conservative senator charges, and the Martin government should appoint a commissioner, similar to the one enforcing the Official Languages Act, to make sure more visible minorities are hired.
In a recent blunt speech in the Senate, Senator Donald Oliver said there are major hurdles in the public service preventing the advancement of "Canadians of colour."
"Systemic racism in the public service of Canada has reached an all-time high. Morale among visible minorities is at an all-time low. There is little, if any, hope of advancement or of being treated equally with others," said the senator.
He said the Martin government is ignoring the problem despite missing several government targets set in 2000.
"Because of this systemic racism, the progress of visible minorities in making a substantive and valuable contribution to Canada's public service has come to a virtual standstill. There is no upward mobility and, more important, there is no inclination on the part of the government, the governor in council or the prime minister to do anything about it," said Oliver.
A lawyer from Wolfville, N.S., Oliver was appointed by former prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1990 as a Progressive Conservative and has recently joined the new Conservative party.
He says he has discussed the issue and election strategy with his new leader Stephen Harper.
In past elections, the Liberal party accused the Reform Party in 1993 and 1997 and the Canadian Alliance in 2000 as having racist elements -- something Oliver says the governing party will have far greater difficulty doing in the upcoming election.
"When I attend our caucus meetings, I look around the room and I feel quite comfortable. There are several members in our caucus who belong to a visible minority," noted Oliver in an interview Sunday.
Oliver pointed out that visible minorities now make up 13.4 per cent of the Canadian population while only 7.4 per cent of the federal public service workforce. He added the percentage of new hires from visible minority groups actually declined this year.
He said the targets set for visible minorities in 2000 have been clearly missed while those for women, the disabled and aboriginals have all made significant inroads in meeting their targets.
"Of all these four groups, three of them have made great progress, but visible minorities are still at the very bottom of the heap," said Oliver.
The government's targets were to ensure that, by 2003, one in five of all new hires, or 20 per cent of those hired from outside the public service, would be members of a visible minority.
As well, by next year, one in five, or 20 per cent, of all new appointments to the senior executive groups were to be members of a visible minority but Oliver says it is quite unlikely it will come close to the target.