October 27 to 29, 2020
Join us for the Government of Canada's Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2020 – A free virtual event open to federal public servants who recognize the need to build the case for an inclusive future.
In three 90-minute sessions, the program will take you from inspiration to action.
- Discover how to adopt a more inclusive mindset from inspiring leaders
- Get the facts from academics and community experts to formulate solutions to the pressing needs of equity-seeking communities
- Engage in a forward-thinking discussion on how to apply a diversity and inclusion lens in government policies and programs
Let's build an inclusive future together.
Registration is closed.
Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada
Gina Wilson
Deputy Minister, Diversity and Inclusion and Youth
Deputy Minister Champion for Indigenous Federal Employees
Program
Session 1 – Diversity and inclusion matters
October 27, 2020, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Diversity and inclusion are both social imperatives and public service priorities. To what extent do we fully grasp what's at stake?
In this session, inspiring leaders will reflect on innovative ways to create a diverse and inclusive workplace. Building on their broad expertise and experience, our guests will foster an open dialogue on the true meaning of inclusion, unpack the many facets of unconscious bias, and share leading methods and practices to build organizations that are truly representative of Canada's diverse landscape.
Masters of ceremonies
Peter Flegel
Director, Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat
Peter Flegel is the Director of the Government of Canada's Anti-Racism Secretariat, a cornerstone of Building a Foundation for Change: Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2019-2022. In addition to coordinating federal action and driving the overall strategy, he and his team are responsible for working with federal departments and agencies to identify and coordinate initiatives, identify gaps, and consider the impacts of new and existing policies, services and programs on communities and Indigenous Peoples. Peter has a distinguished career as a social entrepreneur, fundraiser, columnist, community organizer and musician, with extensive Canadian and international experience working in multilingual and multicultural settings. He has a history of leadership in the government, NGO and philanthropic sectors, in areas including diversity and employment, human rights, Anti-Black racism, Indigenous issues, homophobia and transphobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, youth, culture and multiculturalism.
Lila Turenne
Director, Official Release and Communication Services, Statistics Canada
Lila Turenne is the Director of Official Release and Communication Services at Statistics Canada, as well as the Champion for Visible Minorities at the agency. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in translation and a minor in German from Concordia University in Montréal, then went on to earn a Master's degree in translation from the University of Ottawa. She joined the public service in 1999 and worked in various departments before joining Statistics Canada 12 years ago. As a Director in the Communications Branch, she oversees the agency's official release program, centralized language services, as well as creative communications.
Acknowledgement of Algonguin Territory
Lee Seto-Thomas
Director, Workplace Well-Being and Elders' Circle, Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion
Lee has lived within various traditional/non-traditional Indigenous communities and worked on-and off reserve and in northern urban, rural, remote and isolated communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. She is familiar with environmental and cultural characteristics of First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples. In particular, knowledgeable in the various approaches of cultural protocols, formal and informal of Indigenous communities. On behalf of particular First Nation communities, she undertook successful relationships/negotiations between Indigenous and Federal/provincial governments in past program developments in areas of to Indigenous Health, Education, Justice, Corrections and Social Services.
As a member of the Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion, a couple of her many roles will be to:
- Create relationship and collaborate with National Indigenous Organizations' and National Indigenous non-Government Organizations to seek the guidance of their respective Traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders' Councils to facilitate the well-being support of federal First Nation, Inuit and Metis employees nationally.
- Create a status-blind National Elders' Advisory Council.
- Provide culturally competent guidance and support to various Departments and respective Branches upon request.
Opening remarks
Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada
Anil Arora is an experienced senior public official, having worked at Statistics Canada for over 25 years leading significant programs and transformations. He was appointed Chief Statistician of Canada in September, 2016. He has also served in policy and regulatory roles in the Government of Canada at Natural Resources Canada and Health Canada. Mr. Arora has led substantive international initiatives, working with the United Nations and the OECD, and received numerous prestigious awards for leadership. He serves on a number of Boards and is active in community events and social causes. Mr. Arora received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, with subsequent studies in computer science. He holds a graduate certificate in public sector management and governance from the University of Ottawa and the Government of Canada's Advanced Leadership Development Program.
Gina Wilson
Deputy Minister, Diversity and Inclusion and Youth
Deputy Minister Champion for Indigenous Federal Employees
Gina Wilson is Algonquin and began her career in her First Nation community of Kitigan-Zibi as Executive Director of Health and Social Services and as Director of the Wanaki Treatment Centre. Ms. Wilson was a Senior Manager with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) when she joined the Federal Government in 1996 and for five years served as Director General, Aboriginal Affairs at Correctional Service Canada.
Ms. Wilson was appointed in 2006 as Assistant Deputy Minister with Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada, then Assistant Deputy Minister of Emergency Management and Regional Operations at Public Safety Canada in 2011-2013. In 2014, she became Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.
Ms. Wilson was then appointed as Associate Deputy Minister at Employment and Social Development Canada in March. From 2015 to 2017, she was Associate Deputy Minister of Public Safety Canada where she led files such as cannabis legislation, firearms and criminal justice reform.
Ms. Wilson was appointed as Deputy Minister for Women and Gender Equality on May 23, 2017, where she led the creation of the new department and worked toward ensuring that GBA+ became fully instituted in government.
In 2019, Gina was appointed as Deputy Minister, Public Safety Canada and returned to the Department for the third time.
In January 2020, Gina assumes a leadership role on government-wide initiatives related to youth, LGBTQ2, anti-racism, multiculturalism and indigenous knowledge. She supports Canadian Heritage as a Senior Associate Deputy Minister while also focusing on her role as Deputy Minister, Diversity and Inclusion and Youth.
Gina Wilson has for several years played an important leadership role as Deputy Minister Champion of Federal Indigenous employees. She spearheaded a frequently cited report entitled Many Voices, One Mind and established a Knowledge Circle on Indigenous Inclusion. Both initiatives aimed at ensuring lasting change and progress for Indigenous representation in the federal public service.
Gina is the recipient of the 2020 Indspire Award for life-long leadership and life-long work on Indigenous issues and supporting Indigenous employees.
Gina has three beautiful children, Dylan, Kayla and Royce and treasures her granddaughter Charlotte.
Moderator
The Honourable Donna Dasko
Senator
Donna Dasko was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on June 6, 2018. She is a respected national pollster, media commentator, and private sector business leader with considerable public policy experience. She holds a Ph.D. and MA from the University of Toronto. Senator Dasko was formerly Senior Vice-President of Environics Research Group Ltd, and built the firm from a small consultancy into one of Canada's leading research firms. She served in many leadership roles as a community volunteer and as an advocate for more women in elected politics, as Co-founder and National Chair of Equal Voice. She is a Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and taught in its Master's program before her Senate appointment. She is a member of Statistics Canada's Advisory Committee on Social Conditions.
Panelists
Zabeen Hirji
Executive Advisor, Future of Work, Deloitte
Former Chief Human Resources Officer, RBC
Zabeen is an Advisor to the private, public and higher ed sectors. As Executive Advisor Future of Work at Deloitte, she focuses on leadership and talent, workforce and culture transformation, lifelong learning and upskilling, and diversity and inclusion. Prior to this, she had a distinguished career at RBC, including Chief Human Resources from 2007-2017.
As an active proponent of inclusive growth and prosperity through investment in people, she advises senior levels of government and higher education on diversity and inclusion, talent, culture, and future of work. She sits on the External Advisory Board for diversity and inclusion for the U.K. Research and Innovation Council and is a former advisor to the Clerk of the Privy Council.
Tina Walter
Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, Employment and Social Development Canada
Tina Walter is a recently retired public servant. She has always been passionate about diversity and inclusion. This has been reflected in her subject matter masters thesis, her continuing education at Cornell University, her work with the City of Ottawa to increase the representation of Visible Minorities in the Police Force and among Firefighter, as well as, her work on diversity and inclusion in various federal government departments. Tina has been brought back to ESDC to help with diversity and inclusion from an organizational and a public policy perspective.
Tina will speak about her recent experience in engaging public servants in the process of adapting a vision that moves organizations from Diversity to Inclusion. She will highlight her observations on public service organizational culture. You will hear about invisible norms and practices, systemic discrimination vs. interpersonal discrimination, micro-aggressions, unconscious bias, white privilege (earned and unearned) and fragility, intersectionality, allyship, and the importance of recognizing lived experiences and creating safe space discussions in order to foster a strong sense of organizational belonging by all and not some.
Closing
Lee Seto-Thomas
Director, Workplace Well-Being and Elders' Circle, Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion
Session 2 – The facts to support diversity and inclusion
October 28, 2020, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
As the world tackles an unprecedented public health challenge, our country's drive to provide equal opportunities for all communities has never been greater.
This session will focus on the data needed to address some of the pressing issues faced by vulnerable populations, particularly those most affected by the pandemic. Our guest speakers will reflect on the particular situation in their respective communities, what the data show so far, and the information sought to develop and adopt solutions that are inclusive and respect diversity.
Master of ceremonies
Lila Turenne
Director, Official Release and Communication Services, Statistics Canada
Lila Turenne is the Director of Official Release and Communication Services at Statistics Canada, as well as the Champion for Visible Minorities at the agency. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in translation and a minor in German from Concordia University in Montréal, then went on to earn a Master's degree in translation from the University of Ottawa. She joined the public service in 1999 and worked in various departments before joining Statistics Canada 12 years ago. As a Director in the Communications Branch, she oversees the agency's official release program, centralized language services, as well as creative communications.
Acknowledgement of Algonguin Territory
Lee Seto-Thomas
Director, Workplace Well-Being and Elders' Circle, Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion
Lee has lived within various traditional/non-traditional Indigenous communities and worked on-and off reserve and in northern urban, rural, remote and isolated communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. She is familiar with environmental and cultural characteristics of First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples. In particular, knowledgeable in the various approaches of cultural protocols, formal and informal of Indigenous communities. On behalf of particular First Nation communities, she undertook successful relationships/negotiations between Indigenous and Federal/provincial governments in past program developments in areas of to Indigenous Health, Education, Justice, Corrections and Social Services.
As a member of the Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion, a couple of her many roles will be to:
- Create relationship and collaborate with National Indigenous Organizations' and National Indigenous non-Government Organizations to seek the guidance of their respective Traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders' Councils to facilitate the well-being support of federal First Nation, Inuit and Metis employees nationally.
- Create a status-blind National Elders' Advisory Council.
- Provide culturally competent guidance and support to various Departments and respective Branches upon request.
Moderator
Yazmine Laroche
Deputy Minister, Public Service Accessibility, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Yazmine Laroche is Canada's first Deputy Minister of Public Service Accessibility. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the efforts of the Canadian public service to meet the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act. A career public servant with extensive experience, she has served in a variety of leadership roles in many different federal departments and agencies. She most recently served as the Associate Deputy Minister, Transport and Infrastructure.
Yazmine is proud to be the Deputy Minister Champion for Federal Employees with Disabilities and the Deputy Minister Champion for her alma mater, Carleton University, from whom she received an honorary doctorate in 2019. She is a board member and the past chair of Muscular Dystrophy Canada. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her charitable work and her efforts on behalf of people with disabilities.
Panelists
Dr. Nathan Lachowsky
Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Social Policy, Faculty of Human & Social Development, University of Victoria
President, Canadian Sex Research Forum
Championing interdisciplinary community-based research, Dr. Nathan Lachowsky employs a social justice framework to advance health equity. He is a social and behavioural epidemiologist who has conducted community-based research on sexual health and HIV/AIDS with marginalized communities across Canada and New Zealand. He is an Associate Professor & MSFHR Scholar in the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria and Research Director for the national Community-Based Research Centre.
Jocelyn Formsma
Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres
Jocelyn Formsma is the Executive Director of the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC). Ms. Formsma is a member of the Moose Cree First Nation in Northern Ontario. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Ottawa. Ms. Formsma has over 18 years of work and volunteer experience building strong relationships and advocacy on behalf of Indigenous peoples. She is called to the Bar of Ontario and has worked as a lawyer for a First Nations-owned law firm. Prior to this, she worked for numerous national Aboriginal organizations and First Nations organizations. In addition, Ms. Formsma serves as the Chairperson of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Board Member of the National Indian Child Welfare Association, Treasurer of the Indigenous Bar Association Board, Founder of the Morningstar Fund and is an Advisor to the Ontario Indigenous Youth Partnership Project. As Executive Director, Ms. Formsma brings her legal training and passion for Access to Justice to her work with Indigenous peoples in urban environments and the Friendship Centre Movement towards innovative, positive and effective systemic change for Indigenous peoples.
Céline Bellot
Director, School of Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Director, Observatoire des profilages, University of Montréal
A jurist and criminologist by training, Céline Bellot has studied marginalized and racialized populations (homeless people, Indigenous people, drug users, etc.) through joint research with the people and communities concerned or with their participation. Her research topics include the judicialization of social problems, profiling and systemic discrimination in public institutions, and the life course of marginalized and racialized individuals.
Ms. Bellot also sits on governmental committees, including the federal committee on homelessness data, and she is president of the Centre d'étude sur la pauvreté et l'exclusion (CEPE) and of the provincial committee on a portrait of homelessness. Finally, she testified at the Viens Commission as an expert on relations between Indigenous people and public services in Quebec.
Tony Labillois
Director, Public Sector Statistics, Statistics Canada
Champion for Persons with Disabilities, Statistics Canada
Tony Labillois was born with low vision and is legally blind – but that hasn't slowed him down. He has rafted with his work crew, driven a dogsled with his daughter as a passenger, tried a bobsled in Lake Placid, and practiced water skiing on one ski. Tony has spent his entire career at Statistics Canada rising through the ranks over the past 30 years. In 2002, he added a new line to his job description: champion for people with disabilities. In 2012, he was awarded the Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, recognizing his leadership in promoting diversity at Statistics Canada. Since September 2020, Tony is the Governing Council Vice-Chair and Chair of the Advisory Council of the new Canadian Accessibility network.
Closing
Lee Seto-Thomas
Director, Workplace Well-Being and Elders' Circle, Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion
Session 3 – Applying a diversity and inclusion lens in policies and programs
October 29, 2020, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Policy-making is an art unto itself. In our ongoing efforts to enhance government policies and programs, how do we ensure they remain representative and address the needs of our very diverse population?
In this forward-thinking session, experts will use a case study approach to present how they applied a diversity and inclusion lens in policy and program design, planning, or delivery and discuss their journey.
Masters of ceremonies
Peter Flegel
Director, Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat
Peter Flegel is the Director of the Government of Canada's Anti-Racism Secretariat, a cornerstone of Building a Foundation for Change: Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2019-2022. In addition to coordinating federal action and driving the overall strategy, he and his team are responsible for working with federal departments and agencies to identify and coordinate initiatives, identify gaps, and consider the impacts of new and existing policies, services and programs on communities and Indigenous Peoples. Peter has a distinguished career as a social entrepreneur, fundraiser, columnist, community organizer and musician, with extensive Canadian and international experience working in multilingual and multicultural settings. He has a history of leadership in the government, NGO and philanthropic sectors, in areas including diversity and employment, human rights, Anti-Black racism, Indigenous issues, homophobia and transphobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, youth, culture and multiculturalism.
Lila Turenne
Director, Official Release and Communication Services, Statistics Canada
Lila Turenne is the Director of Official Release and Communication Services at Statistics Canada, as well as the Champion for Visible Minorities at the agency. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in translation and a minor in German from Concordia University in Montréal, then went on to earn a Master's degree in translation from the University of Ottawa. She joined the public service in 1999 and worked in various departments before joining Statistics Canada 12 years ago. As a Director in the Communications Branch, she oversees the agency's official release program, centralized language services, as well as creative communications.
Acknowledgement of Algonguin Territory
Lee Seto-Thomas
Director, Workplace Well-Being and Elders' Circle, Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion
Lee has lived within various traditional/non-traditional Indigenous communities and worked on-and off reserve and in northern urban, rural, remote and isolated communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. She is familiar with environmental and cultural characteristics of First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples. In particular, knowledgeable in the various approaches of cultural protocols, formal and informal of Indigenous communities. On behalf of particular First Nation communities, she undertook successful relationships/negotiations between Indigenous and Federal/provincial governments in past program developments in areas of to Indigenous Health, Education, Justice, Corrections and Social Services.
As a member of the Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion, a couple of her many roles will be to:
- Create relationship and collaborate with National Indigenous Organizations' and National Indigenous non-Government Organizations to seek the guidance of their respective Traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders' Councils to facilitate the well-being support of federal First Nation, Inuit and Metis employees nationally.
- Create a status-blind National Elders' Advisory Council.
- Provide culturally competent guidance and support to various Departments and respective Branches upon request.
Moderator
Rachel Wernick
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development Canada
Rachel Wernick was appointed Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch (SEB) at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) on November 20, 2017. Early in her career, Rachel held a variety of policy and program positions within former versions of the Department (HRDC, HRSDC) including Employment Insurance policy and Literacy and Essential Skills programming.
Before joining ESDC, Rachel was Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Planning and Corporate Affairs at Canadian Heritage. Prior to this, Rachel held executive positions with the Privy Council Office, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and created and led the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat within Public Works and Government Services Canada. Rachel is Co-Champion of the Clerk's Policy Community initiative, which aims to enhance supports for policy professionals across the Government of Canada.
Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with Joint Honours in Political Science and History from McGill University and a Graduate Degree in International Development and Cooperation from the University of Ottawa. Following her graduate studies, Rachel worked with several international development organizations, including two years in a refugee camp in Malaysia. This experience working with people from around the world, was formative in shaping her appreciation for diversity, intercultural understanding and global citizenship.
Panelists
Paule-Anny Pierre
Executive Director, Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, Treasury Board Secretariat
Paule-Anny recently joined the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO) at Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) as the Executive Director for the new Centre for Diversity and Inclusion. Her professional career spans more than 25 years in the areas of education, program evaluation, internal audit, risk management and results-based management. She has held various management positions in both the private and public sectors, including at Health Canada, Statistics Canada and Environment Canada where she was Director General, Chief Audit Executive, Head of Evaluation and Senior Officer for Disclosure of Wrongdoing.
Paule-Anny graduated from Université de Montréal with an Honours Bachelor's degree in actuarial sciences. She also holds a Master of Arts in Education from Université du Québec à Montréal and an Executive MBA from the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa. She is a Credentialed Evaluator (CE) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) with extensive governance experience with non-profit organizations and government agencies.
Importantly, Paule-Anny is an inspired advocate of respect, inclusion and diversity. In her new role reporting directly to the CHRO, she will work closely with the various implicated TBS sectors and external stakeholders to accelerate progress on diversity and inclusion within the federal public service.
Peter Flegel and Natasha Mohammed
Anti-Racism Secretariat
Natasha Mohammed has a background in International Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies, where her focus has been on culture, as well as the skills and processes that support meaningful engagement and change. She has spent the past 25 years working with community-based programs, cultivating stakeholder relationships and teaching Conflict Resolution Skills/Theory in government, university and community contexts. In addition to having served as a counsellor, mediator, group facilitator and Restorative Justice-based Victim Impact Worker, Natasha has two decades of experience leading Anti-Racism, Interfaith and Diversity-focused engagement.
Since starting with the federal public service in 2005, Natasha has had a broad range of responsibilities and experiences. She has served in various roles in the Multiculturalism Program, including as Regional Manager in the Prairies and Northern Region. When the Multiculturalism Program was at IRCC, she also supervised the Citizenship Program, and was involved in strategic planning for the national Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initiative. Recently, Natasha managed the Northern Aboriginal Broadcasting program at PCH, and was a core member of the Anti-Racism Engagement Team that engaged people across the country in order to help inform the development of Building a Foundation for Change: Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2019–2022. Natasha joined the Anti-Racism Secretariat in December 2019.
Jessica Kells
Manager, Trades and Apprenticeship, Employment and Social Development Canada
Jessica Kells is the Manager of the Trades and Apprenticeship Program Development team in Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Jessica has been working in the Public Service for over 15 years. Prior to joining the Trades and Apprenticeship team, Jessica held a number of positions in the Government of Canada including developing her expertise in employment and skills development programs for youth and persons with disabilities, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and the Canada Pension Plan. Jessica holds a Masters of Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University and a B.A. in Environment from McGill. She also is the proud mother of two toddlers.
In her current position, Jessica is responsible for delivering funding to unions, not-for-profit organizations, and employers, among others, to help Canadians develop the skills and apprenticeship training they need to be successful in the labour market. She is also responsible for ensuring that the programming delivered is innovative and targets the needs and challenges of diverse Canadians.
Nadine Lachapelle
Manager, Gender Equity, Inclusion and Innovation, Sport Canada, Canadian Heritage
Nadine Lachapelle (she/her) joined Sport Canada in 2018 as Manager, Gender Equity, Inclusion and Innovation (GEII) Unit, where she oversees the Gender Equity in Sport Strategy and the Innovation Initiative to increase participation and retention in sport for populations facing barriers. Through a diversity and inclusion lens, the GEII Unit develops, promotes and contributes to policies, strategies and initiatives addressing racism and discrimination in sport. In her 25-year career as a public servant, she previously worked at a number of departments, including at Health Canada in the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and has a master's degree in project management.
Closing
Lee Seto-Thomas
Director, Workplace Well-Being and Elders' Circle, Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion
Thank you for your participation!
The Steering Committee of the Government of Canada's Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2020
Gabrielle Beaudoin (chairperson), Marc Lachance, Dominic Bastien, Katy Champagne, Lila Turenne
Statistics Canada
Marie-Josée Dionne
Canadian Heritage
Mausumi Banerjee, Colin S. James
Employment and Social Development Canada
Cassandra Belasco, John Pehar
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
Stéphanie Austin, Nathalie Dakin
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Brad Gash
Women and Gender Equality
Registration is closed.