Court dismisses $2.5B class action alleging systemic racism in the public service

Catherine Morrison · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 18, 2025 1:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A Federal Court justice connected Monday dismissed a question to certify a projected class-action suit launched by Black nationalist servants successful 2020 who alleged determination was systemic racism wrong the nationalist service.

In an "order and reasons" document, Justice Jocelyne Gagné said the lawsuit did not sufficiently conscionable the class-action request that the claims rise communal issues.

Gagné besides said the scope of the plaintiffs' assertion "simply makes it unfit for a people procedure."

Filed successful 2020, the people enactment sought $2.5 cardinal successful damages due to the fact that of mislaid salaries and promotion.

The Black Class Action Secretariat, a radical created arsenic a effect of the lawsuit, is seeking semipermanent solutions to code systemic racism and favoritism successful the nationalist service, including compensation and the assignment of a Black equity commission.

Gagné said the tribunal acknowledges the "profoundly bittersweet ongoing past of favoritism suffered by Black Canadians" and that plaintiffs person faced challenges successful the nationalist service.

However, she said the plaintiffs didn't contiguous an capable litigation program and that they failed to present grounds for the tribunal to asseverate jurisdiction implicit the case.

The papers besides said determination are respective people actions against idiosyncratic national departments and agencies alleging radical discrimination, which "overlap importantly with the contiguous action."

Proposed people members, the justice said, "would truthful beryllium included successful the people explanation of these different people proceedings."

Plaintiffs telephone determination 'major disappointment'

The Black Class Action Secretariat said successful a quality merchandise Monday that the ruling was a "major disappointment, but it is not the extremity of our combat for justice."

It said "this has been a David vs. Goliath battle, and portion today's result is frustrating, it lone strengthens our resolve."

The quality merchandise said systemic anti-Black racism has agelong been recognized by the national authorities and that the plaintiffs volition conscionable with their ineligible squad to "explore adjacent steps."

In 2023, a grievance ruling by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat recovered that the Canadian Human Rights Commission discriminated against its Black and racialized employees. In 2024, an interior study recovered that nationalist servants moving astatine the Privy Council Office were taxable to radical stereotyping, microaggressions and verbal violence.

"For decades, Black nationalist work workers person faced systemic discrimination, and today's determination does thing to alteration that reality," said Nicholas Marcus Thompson, caput of the Black Class Action Secretariat.

A Federal Court proceeding took spot past autumn to assistance find whether the suit could proceed.

At the time, the national authorities filed a question to strike, asking the justice to disregard the case. The authorities argued that Black nationalist servants could record grievances oregon quality rights complaints.

The authorities besides called to region Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP members, arsenic good arsenic Department of National Defence and Correctional Service Canada employees arsenic people members due to the fact that of ongoing akin people actions.

Thompson says the authorities utilized procedural barriers to "avoid addressing the merits of this case, alternatively than lasting connected the broadside of fairness and accountability."

The authorities has spent astir $10 cardinal warring the people action.

"Black workers merit much than designation of past harms — they merit existent change," helium said.