An official Public Service Commission (PSC) video posted to celebrate Canada’s Public Service Week, has been slammed for showing only white workers.
The video, posted online, was quickly withdrawn amid the criticism.
President of the Treasury Board, Jean-Yves Duclos said the video sent the wrong message and failed to reflect the diversity of the Federal Public Service.
The video showed five cartoon-like characters — four of them appear to be older white men — dancing in front of homes.
Mr Duclos said he had a personal mandate from Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau to bolster diversity in the ranks of the Public Service and make the bureaucracy “a better representation of Canada and what Canadians are”.
He said he was determined to make the Public Service “more inclusive and more effective”.
Under the current Liberal Government, the number of diverse Public Service applicants has more than doubled — from 4.3 per cent to more than eight per cent in the last five years — but a CBC News investigation found that the number of diverse senior bureaucrats remained low.
Meanwhile, a former Clerk of the Privy Council says he expects job cuts in the Federal Public Service as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michael Wernick said the Federal debt would reach $C1 trillion ($A1.07 trillion) due to spending on the pandemic relief program.
“There will probably be some fiscal correction coming in 2021 or 2022 across the country,” Mr Wernick said.
He said even without the debt the Public Service would have become smaller because of technology.
“One of the consequences of all this work-from-home experience is that Ministers will figure out it really doesn’t matter where those Public Servants are, they can be brought together for work teams and projects,” Mr Wernick said.
“The Federal service will be smaller; it will be less concentrated in Ottawa,” he said.
Ottawa, 28 June 2020
