In 2020, 12 federal public service workers, including PSAC members, mobilized and filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of federal employees who identify as Black, Caribbean or of African descent. 

The legal action is in response to decades of employee exclusion and discriminatory hiring and promotional practices by the federal government, which has caused a disproportionate underrepresentation of Black federal employees in executive and management positions in Canada’s federal public service. 

If you identify as Black, Caribbean or of African descent and currently work or have worked for the federal government in the past 50 years, you are eligible to join the class action. 

The lawsuit has now grown to represent 1,300 plaintiffs and has made media headlines across the country. Just over a year since the launch of the Black Class Action, it’s time to take stock of where we are in the fight to end anti-Black racism in Canada’s federal public service once and for all.    

PSAC will be hosting a panel to hear from legal experts and plaintiffs of the Black Class Action lawsuit.  

Register now for the panel, March 21 at 4 p.m. Pacific / 7 p.m. Eastern / 8 p.m. Atlantic 

Join our expert panelists as we discuss this important topic: 

• Courtney Betty – Lead Counsel, Black Class Action Legal Team 
• Patricia Harewood – Acting Director of PSAC Representation and Legal Services 
• Wagna Celidon – Representative plaintiff / former PSAC member 
• Nicholas Marcus Thompson – Representative plaintiff / PSAC member 

PSAC National Vice-President Sharon DeSousa will open the panel and Craig Reynolds, PSAC Regional Executive Vice President for Ontario, will moderate the event. 

We will be revisiting key details of the case and discussing the following questions: 

• How has the case progressed? 
• What has PSAC been doing to support the case? 
• What steps is PSAC taking to advance employment equity? 

All attendees must register in advance for the webinar.