Health P.E.I.'s outdated diversity policy is placing vulnerable workers at risk, say critics

A Health P.E.I. worker says the provincial wellness authority's equity and diverseness argumentation is inadequate and fails to support marginalized health-care workers.

The policy, which went into effect successful 2008, is expected to beryllium reviewed each 3 years. The past reappraisal took spot successful 2017.

"It makes it consciousness like, for employees similar myself, that equity, diversity, inclusion is not a priority," said Avery, a health-care nonrecreational who's worked with the bureau for years. "It's lacking rather a spot of information, and it needs to beryllium updated."

Avery is not the worker's existent name. CBC News is protecting their individuality due to the fact that they fearfulness losing their occupation for speaking out.

Issues of accountability

Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly said the two-page argumentation lacks specifics that would fto Health P.E.I. leaders beryllium held accountable for however they woody with complaints of favoritism oregon harassment.

For example, portion the argumentation stipulates that each employees merit to beryllium treated equally, escaped from discrimination, and that violations "will not beryllium tolerated," it doesn't explicitly specify what those violations are oregon what corrective actions tin beryllium taken.

"There is nary accountability successful that argumentation whatsoever," said McNeilly, who is the Liberal Party's wellness professional arsenic good arsenic the P.E.I. Legislature's archetypal known Black MLA.

"You can't conscionable say, 'Oh, we're going to conscionable travel the Human Rights Commission.' You person to marque your ain policy, and you person to beryllium accountable for that."

With the wellness authorization actively recruiting nurses from overseas to code staffing shortages, McNeilly says updating the argumentation should beryllium a priority.

"If Health P.E.I. is recruiting planetary nurses, if they privation to diversify, and they cognize that's the cardinal to maintaining our health-care system, you person to support people," helium said.

Health P.E.I. commits to reappraisal policy

In a connection to CBC News, Health P.E.I. acknowledged that its equity and diverseness argumentation is retired of date, but pointed to the information that it has a respectful-workplace argumentation successful spot to guarantee unit are treated with dignity and respect.

"Health P.E.I. is committed to reviewing the equity and diverseness policy, with important reappraisal and input from each applicable stakeholders," the connection reads.

The wellness authorization said it is providing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging grooming to managers of internationally trained health-care workers. The training, delivered by the Immigrant and Refugee Services Association, is aimed astatine promoting empathy, patience and adaptability successful the workplace, the connection says.

There person been erstwhile allegations of a toxic situation that caused staff to permission Health P.E.I., though they didn't specifically impact number oregon equity-deserving groups. 

'We should consciousness harmless erstwhile we travel to work'

McNeilly said the shortcomings successful the existent argumentation impact a wide scope of equity-seeking groups, including Indigenous people, individuals with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

"Nothing successful this argumentation protects them oregon gives them immoderate comfort," helium said.

He said he's heard from health-care workers who person faced discrimination, immoderate of whom are dealing with PTSD arsenic a result.

"It's unsettling, due to the fact that they privation to assistance people… but they privation to cognize that the leader has their back," helium said.

P.E.I.'s Workers Compensation Board precocious expanded sum to see intelligence injuries caused by workplace harassment and bullying. 

Avery said Health P.E.I.'s overdue argumentation reappraisal should marque wide whether favoritism and racism autumn wrong that class erstwhile it comes to covering workers.

They said the deficiency of wide consequences successful the existent argumentation tin permission employees who acquisition discrimination, bias oregon racism feeling their concerns are not taken seriously.

"It takes a batch of courageousness for idiosyncratic to travel forward… and there's thing successful present to recognize what the behaviour of the enactment is, what the accountability is.

"This is 2025. We should consciousness harmless erstwhile we travel to work," Avery said. "I person been looking to permission Health P.E.I., and I'm not the lone one."

Union supports argumentation review

In a connection to CBC News, Chad McNeill, the president of IUOE Local 942 — the national representing hundreds of health-care workers, including Avery — said updating policies to amended enactment marginalized unit would assistance with recruitment and retention.

It would besides foster a much inclusive health-care situation helping some patients and staff, and that's why the national would enactment a reappraisal and rewriting of Health P.E.I.'s existent argumentation connected equity and diversity, McNeill said.

"A larger, much divers workforce is simply a applicable necessity for delivering high-quality, culturally due wellness attraction to each Islanders," McNeill said.

'Added labour' for marginalized workers

Beyond hindering recruitment and retention, failing to person wide policies successful spot for marginalized and racialized workers tin besides make "added labour" connected those employees, said Aaron Sardinha, enforcement manager of the advocacy radical BIPOC USHR.

"It tin pb to employees feeling burnt retired and feeling similar the onus to supply that labour — to educate... the defenders of immoderate fixed lawsuit of racism — is connected them, and that tin beryllium incredibly tiring and and it tin beryllium incredibly taxing connected their well-being," helium said.

Sardinha said organizations connected the Island, including Health P.E.I., tin scope retired to BIPOC USHR to collaborate connected drafting a broad anti-racism framework so that erstwhile marginalized radical "come guardant with an issue, there's accountability successful place, there's protections successful place, and ultimately, it allows for a safer workplace," helium said.

McNeilly said a argumentation reappraisal is besides important fixed the existent governmental climate, peculiarly southbound of the border. U.S. President Donald Trump precocious signed enforcement orders making sweeping restrictions and changes to EDI initiatives, and galore organizations are pursuing his lead.

"Health P.E.I. should update their argumentation alternatively rapidly and not travel what's happening successful the United States," said the MLA.