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ARCHIVED - Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Supplementary Mandate Letter

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January 15, 2021

Office of the Prime Minister

Dear Ms. Chagger:

Thank you for continuing to serve Canadians as Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth.

Since my previous mandate letter to you, our country has been confronted by the most serious public health crisis we have ever faced. The global pandemic has had devastating impacts on lives and livelihoods and exposed fundamental gaps in our society. Challenges that existed before the pandemic remain and others have been exacerbated. In light of these realities, I am issuing this supplementary letter to outline further responsibilities and considerations that I expect you to undertake on behalf of Canadians. Nothing in this letter replaces any previous commitments or expectations. It is necessary for us to continue making progress on the commitments laid out in 2019, while ensuring our actions are centred on fighting the pandemic and building back better.

Even as we continue to distribute vaccines across Canada, bold action continues to be required to fight this pandemic, save lives, support people and businesses throughout the remainder of this crisis and build back better. We need to work together to protect and create jobs, and to rebuild our country in a way that will create long-term competitiveness through clean growth. As articulated in the Speech from the Throne 2020 and Fall Economic Statement 2020, our four main priorities for making tangible progress for Canadians continue to be: protecting public health; ensuring a strong economic recovery; promoting a cleaner environment; and standing up for fairness and equality.

Ongoing struggles around the world – and here at home – remind us of how important it is to keep working toward a brighter future. We are at a crossroads and must keep moving Canada forward to become stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient. It is part of your job to look out for Canadians, with particular attention to our most vulnerable.

We need to continue delivering on our commitments by working together in a positive, open and collaborative way with Parliamentarians, with partners and with all Canadians. Where legislation is required, I expect you to continue working with the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons to make progress for Canadians within this minority Parliament.

To be ready for what lies ahead, our Government must continue to be agile and use the best available science and evidence. Canadians are counting on us to ensure that today’s policies, programs and services are calibrated and targeted to match their needs. Therefore, I expect you to uphold our ongoing commitment to delivering real results and effective government for the people we are elected to serve. 

Many of our most important commitments continue to require a sustained partnership with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, and Indigenous partners, communities and governments. Always remember that our mandate comes from citizens who are served by all orders of government, and that it is in everyone’s interest that we work together to find common ground and make life better for Canadians. The President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs is the Government-wide lead on all relations with the provinces and territories.

There remains no more important relationship to me and to Canada than the one with Indigenous Peoples. With respect and dignity, we remain committed to moving forward along the shared path of reconciliation. You, and indeed all ministers, must continue to play a role in helping to advance self-determination, close socio-economic gaps and eliminate systemic barriers facing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. As Minister, I expect you to work in full partnership with Indigenous Peoples and communities to advance meaningful reconciliation.

The Government has significantly increased spending during the pandemic in order to achieve our most pressing priority: to help protect Canadians’ health and financial security. Going forward, we must preserve Canada’s fiscal advantage and continue to be guided by values of sustainability and prudence. Therefore, our actions must focus on creating new jobs and supporting the middle class to preserve the strength of our economy. 

While fighting the pandemic must be our top priority, climate change still threatens our health, economy, way of life and planet. Clean growth is the best way to create good jobs and power our long-term economic recovery. I expect you and all ministers to pursue complementary partnerships and initiatives that will support our work to exceed our emissions reduction target, seize new market opportunities to create good jobs and prepare our country to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.

We remain committed to evidence-based decision-making that takes into consideration the impacts of policies on all Canadians and fully defends the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. You will apply Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) in the decisions that you make and consider public policies through an intersectional lens in order to address systemic inequities including: systemic racism; unconscious bias; gender-based discrimination; barriers for persons with disabilities; discrimination against LGBTQ2 communities; and inequities faced by all vulnerable populations. Whenever possible, you will work to improve the quality and availability of disaggregated data to ensure that policy decisions benefit all communities.

It is clear that this pandemic has disproportionately affected different communities throughout our country. Therefore, we must ensure our recovery includes all Canadians, with an emphasis on supporting those most affected. To this end, I expect that you will seek the advice and hear the perspectives of a diverse group of Canadians, in both official languages. Moreover, you will continue to rely on and develop meaningful relationships with civil society and stakeholders, including businesses of all sizes, organized labour, the broader public sector and the not-for-profit and charitable sectors across Canada.

Now more than ever, Canadians are relying on journalists and journalism for accurate and timely news, especially in the face of a concerning spread of misinformation. I expect you to foster a professional and respectful relationship with journalists to ensure that Canadians have the information they need to keep themselves and their families safe.

Our ability to implement our Government’s priorities depends on consideration of the professional, non-partisan advice of public servants. Government employees perform their duties in service to Canada, with a goal of improving our country and the lives of all Canadians. I expect you to maintain a collaborative working relationship with your Deputy Minister, whose role, like the role of the public servants under their direction, is to support you in the performance of your responsibilities.

Important ministerial responsibilities have been entrusted to you, notably delivering on the Government’s commitments that were set out in your 2019 mandate letter. I expect that you will keep me updated and proactively communicate with Canadians on the progress you are making toward our priorities. Always know that you can turn to me, and the Deputy Prime Minister, at any time for support.

In addition to the priorities set out in my mandate letter to you in 2019, as Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, you will implement on a priority basis the following commitments, as set out in the Speech from the Throne 2020 and building off the investments in the Fall Economic Statement 2020:

  • With the support of the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, work with the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development on a process of evaluating Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) with the goal of enhancing the framing and parameters of this analytical tool, and with particular attention to the intersectional analysis of race, indigeneity, disability and sexual identity, among other characteristics.
  • Support the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion to support the economic recovery of all Canadians, especially those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, including by:
    • Significantly scaling up youth and student employment and supports to provide more paid work experiences in 2021 for young Canadians; and
    • Enhancing and expanding programs to improve employment opportunities for racialized communities.
  • As COVID-19 has intensified the health inequities and barriers to care for vulnerable populations, support the Minister of Health in their work to ensure that all Canadians have access to critical health services.
  • Continue to strengthen and support the important work of the Anti-Racism Secretariat to ensure a whole-of-government approach in addressing systemic racism.
  • Building on the Black Entrepreneurship Program, support the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade to continue to invest in the economic empowerment of Black business owners and entrepreneurs and to develop additional supports for underrepresented Canadians to become the next generation of Canadian entrepreneurs and business leaders.
  • Support the Minister of Canadian Heritage to take new steps to support the artistic and economic contributions of Black Canadian culture and heritage.
  • Support the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Canadian Heritage to take action on combatting hate groups and online hate and harassment, ideologically motivated violent extremism and terrorist organizations.
  • As part of our commitment to addressing systemic racism, support the President of the Treasury Board in building a whole-of-government approach for the better collection, analysis and availability of disaggregated data.
  • Work with the President of the Treasury Board to support me and the Clerk of the Privy Council to develop and implement an action plan to increase the representation of women, Black and racialized Canadians, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and LGBTQ2 Canadians in hiring, appointments and leadership development within the Public Service.
  • Support the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry to further progress on increasing gender equality, diversity and inclusion in Canadian companies.
  • Accelerate your work to complete an LGBTQ2 action plan that will guide the work of the federal government on the priorities of LGBTQ2 Canadians.
  • Support the Minister of Labour to launch a review of the Employment Equity Act, as we advance work on equity, diversity and inclusion for women, LGBTQ2 Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized Canadians, persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups.
  • Support the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to introduce legislation and make investments that take action to address systemic inequities in the criminal justice system, and to modernize training for police and law enforcement. This includes developing and delivering unconscious bias and cultural competency training to Royal Canadian Mounted Police members and cadets and to national security agencies, in partnership with impacted communities.

Sincerely,

Prime Minister of Canada signature

Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada