Council asking for report on demographics of municipal work force
Emokhare Paul Anthony
Daily Herald
City Council voted 8-1 on Monday to have administration prepare a report that compares the demographics of the City’s workforce to that of Prince Albert residents.
Coun. Tony Head made the motion, following suggestions from Coun. Dawn Kilmer and Mayor Bill Powalinsky. Coun. Troy Parenteau seconded it. Coun. Daniel Brown was the lone councillor to vote against it.
Head’s original motion called on the City to begin taking steps to create a more representative workforce, instead of asking for a report. However, Head said he was happy with the result.
“What this did do is get everyone talking,” Head told council. “I guess that was my hope, that we would at least get talking and having these conversations.”
Head said the workforce is a powerful catalyst for social change that sends a clear message that everyone belongs, that everyone has a stake in the collective success. He told council that to create a representative workforce, council must take intentional action.
“A representative workforce is not merely a goal, but a necessity for progress,” Head said during the meeting. “Studies consistently shows that diverse teams perform their homogeneous counterparts, they foster creativity, they lead to greater job satisfaction, and they minimize the costs that come with staff churn and sick leave among others.
“We need to show the world that in Prince Albert we can stop anarchy and everyone is valued,” he added. “Everyone’s opportunities are equal because here we value the rich diversity of our population and all this dimensions, no matter what everyone’s race gender, age ability or backgrounds.”
What individuals see themselves, reflected in the leadership and decision-making process of their organization and communities and governments, Head adds
“It means creating pathways for unrepresented groups to ascend to leadership positions, assuring those who make decisions about our future reflect communities they serve,” said Head.
“As we strive for this vision, we must recognize that diversity is not just a checkbox to be ticked. It is a fundamental driver of excellence, but more importantly, is driving force of happiness and success as well as bringing together the best and brightest, no matter what their personal attributes are, to create solutions that are not only effective, but equitable.”
Several councilors said they were sympathetic to the idea, but weren’t sure there was a problem. Coun. Blake Edwards said he might have voted for the original motion if it was worded differently. He also said he was confident in the City’s current hiring practices.
“Can we do better? We can always do better, but I don’t want to cut other people away from applying either, because I think that’s happening right now,” Edwards said. “It’s occurring right now where you’ve got to be a different race other than Caucasian to apply at certain things.”
Coun. Daniel Brown was the lone councillor to vote against the motion. He said he’s worked in industries with similar policies under different names, and it never worked out.
“It leads to hiring below standard people,” Brown said. “Let’s hire the best candidate.”
The City of Prince Albert does not force municipal workers to provide personal details like their ethnicity, however, they are asked to self-declare.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
