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Jun 20, 2022 at 2:26 pm
City Councillor Mayor
Kamloops and District Labour Council asks:
What steps would you take to ensure your local government hiring practices reflect the community’s population diversity? Are you aware of any existing Employment Equity policies in your community or other communities?
Candidate Answers
Unfortunately, it is my understanding that City Council does not make decisions about hiring practices as this is an operational function and that the only employee of City Council is the Chief Administrative Officer.
Having said that, I do believe in setting the 'tone at the top' and believe that City Council should have an Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness policy to ensure people within the community understands how critical these practices are in decision-making.
Council recently approved hiring an equity and diversity staffer to work on this imperative and determine necessary steps thst must be taken.
It's my understanding from reading council minutes that the city is working toward equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. Council recently approved a new position toward this end (I believe temporary) who will be conducting staff-wide training and the business case is publicly available.
The City has recently hired a Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion coordinator who will help us improve even more the diversity of all city activities, programs, and hiring. The city is working to recruit more broadly. Obviously, the labour shortage has brought this on but also I think we have a renewed commitment to building a workforce that does reflect the wonderful diversity in Kamloops. City HR staff currently anonymize the early stages of the hiring process to mitigate unconscious bias. I am not aware of any specific employment equity policies. I do know the city does not have preferential hiring policy that seeks to correct historic diversity imbalances in the workforce. Instead, the city tries to ensure diversity by recruiting widely and offering easy access to job application opportunities.
Step one is to have a council that in itself represents and speaks for the population. More diversity is better, as more perspectives are used to come to solutions. I would encourage education in diverse hiring practices, and to make sure job opportunities are offered in accessible ways (in person and online, with translations, different ways to apply etc) and I would want the hiring process to reflect the diversity of the applicants (allowing for recognition and acknowledgement of cultural bias etc.
Yes I would hope that we follow some form of Equity Hiring practises.
As an elected council should reflect its community, so should the make up of it’s workforce. This should be in every HR’s toolkit.
The City just hired an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Coordinator, Tymmarah Mackie. I would want to see how this role evolves and what it covers so I would watch to see if there are ways to improve or expand on this as it is in its infancy as of right now.
For those unfamiliar with the role, it is "In partnership with Thompson Rivers University, Indigenous groups, and community organizations, including Kamloops Immigrant Services and Kamloops Pride, Mackie will also aid in the development of an EDI training program for City leaders, managers, and staff. Other areas of focus will include:
- introducing ongoing processes, practices, and materials that expand EDI awareness, understanding, and capacity throughout the organization
- integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion as guiding principals for recruitment
- making employment accessible with and for employees that reflect the diversity of our community and region
- continuing to ensure our engagement platforms remain as inclusive and accessible as possible"
I believe the city has begun to take the right steps forward but we will have to monitor and evaluate our progress before dedicating ourselves to further change.
One of my main campaign focal points in 2018 was increasing accessibility and inclusion in our city. This recently culminated in a cross departmental initiative to identify where accessibility, diversity, and inclusion initiatives are needed and how to implement them. This ultimately led to the hiring of the city's first-ever Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion coordinator. Part of this role includes developing and implementing employment equity practices and the city's Accessibility and Inclusion plan along with other departmental initiatives. I'm very proud of my role in this work!
The hiring of an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion coordinator was a recent great step because I think the workplace and civic culture we have influences our ability to attract and retain diverse staff. Any bullying and harassment needs to be addressed. I personally feel the treatment of bylaws staff during that department's reorganization did not give the impression that we have a caring organization that lifts up its staff, nor was our treatment of the volunteer group that was managing St. Andrews on the Square abruptly notifying them that they were no longer needed. I've also heard from too many staff with health issues/injuries that were not adequately supported, which leads me to think that we are not offering a workplace for people with diverse abilities in the first place. I would once again like to see us fly the pride flag at City Hall during pride week and act as event sponsors (either monetarily or by waiving permit fees/providing venues), this is absolutely done in other communities. Reconciliation with indigenous peoples is another area we can advance, besides the working relationship with TteS, which is great, but it means real progress on addressing the 200+ people without housing on the streets of Kamloops, 47% of which are indigenous.
While we may not be in charge of any hiring as a Council, besides the CAO, we can set a tone that sends a message about the City of Kamloops being a welcoming, inclusive, and encouraging work environment for all people.
The city recently hired for an equity and diversity position. But when we say we need to ensure hiring practices reflect the community's population diversity, what does that mean? Is our city turning down minority candidates who are qualified with education and experience for certain positions? I am an immigrant from India and I personally want the most qualified person for the job regardless of their color, race, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. If there is any proof that minorities aren't being hired for positions in spite of having proper education and qualifications then yes we need to change that.
I believe in hiring the best candidate for a job not just because of a need for diversity. If more diversity is needed then train and empower those who might not be represented or even aware of the opportunity but I don't support hiring just to fill the diversity need.
Our City needs to recruit more diversity in our City Departments, The City needs to reach out to our diverse population by engaging directly with different Groups and make it comfortable for them to come forward to apply for a Job with the City of Kamloops. As Mayor i would reach out to these diverse groups and meet with them personally, to make them feel comfortable and welcomed, the rest is up to them.