Following questions from our members, the CMCFA reached out to our legal counsel for an opinion on the legality of the recent call for candidates for the Vice-Principal Academic (VPA) position, specifically its restriction of the position to members of the four federally designated groups (women; Indigenous persons; persons with disabilities; and members of visible minorities). The CMCFA was advised that this call for VPA candidates is entirely consistent with RMC’s non-discrimination obligations. It forms part of a broader ameliorative or special program intended to improve the condition of disadvantaged individuals or groups, and thus would survive scrutiny under either the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Employment Equity Act, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

It is consistent with what other universities are doing to action the “Inclusive Excellence Principles” adopted by Universities Canada in October 2017 (https://www.univcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/equity-diversity-inclusion-principles-universities-canada-oct-2017.pdf). For those interested, the University of Calgary provides a very useful FAQ page explaining Inclusive Excellence hires: https://www.ucalgary.ca/equity-diversity-inclusion/data-and-reports/inclusive-excellence-cluster-hiring-initiative.

Members should note that the CMCFA was not consulted on this call for VPA candidates. However, members should not hesitate to apply out of concerns about the legality of the call.

Those with questions or concerns, particularly those who may feel aggrieved by the call should contact the CMCFA’s Interim President, Sylvain Leblanc, at leblanc@cmcfa-apcmc.ca.

Sincerely,

Sylvain (Sly) Leblanc

CMCFA Bargaining Committee Chair