A judge of the Federal Court dismissed on Monday a motion to certify a demand for action proposed class launched by black public servants in 2020 who claimed that there was systemic racism within the public service.
In a “order and reasons” document, Judge Jocelyne Gagné said that the case did not sufficiently meet the class action requirement that claims raise common problems.
Gagné also said that the scope of the claimers “simply does not fit for a class procedure.”
Filed in 2020, class action sought $ 2.5 billion in damages due to lost wages and promotion.
The Class Black Secretariat, a group created as a result of demand, is looking for long -term solutions to address systemic racism and discrimination in public service, including compensation and appointment of a black equity commission.
Gagné said the court recognizes the “continuous history of ongoing discrimination deeply sad by the black Canadians” and that the plaintiffs have faced challenges in the public service.
However, she said that the plaintiffs did not present an adequate litigation plan and that they did not present reasons for the court to affirm the jurisdiction on the case.
The document also said that there are several class actions against individual federal departments and agencies that allege racial discrimination, which “are significantly overlap with the current action.”
The members of the proposed class, the judge said, “therefore, it would be included in the class definition of these other class procedures.”
The plaintiffs call the decision of the “great disappointment”
The Black Class Secretariat said in a press release on Monday that the ruling was a “great disappointment, but it is not the end of our struggle for justice.”
He said that “this has been a battle of David against Goliath, and although today’s result is frustrating, it only strengthens our resolution.”
The press release said that systemic anti-Negro racism has been recognized for a long time by the federal government and that the plaintiffs will meet with their legal team to “explore the next steps.”
In 2023, a decision of complaints from the Secretariat of the Board of the Treasury of Canada found that the Canada Human Rights Commission discriminated against its black and racialized employees. In 2024, an internal report found that the public servants working in the private council office were subject to racial stereotypes, microagrrenions and verbal violence.
“For decades, black public service workers have faced systemic discrimination, and today’s decision does nothing to change that reality,” said Nicholas Marcus Thompson, head of the Secretariat of Action of Cuesta Negra.
A federal court hearing took place last fall to help determine whether the lawsuit could proceed.
At that time, the federal government presented a motion of strike, asking the judge to dismiss the case. The Government argued that black public servants could file complaints or complaints of human rights.
The Government also called to eliminate Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP members, as well as the National Defense Department and the Correctional Service of Canada employees as class members due to similar class actions.
Thompson says that the government used procedure barriers to “avoid addressing the merits of this case, instead of being on the side of equity and responsibility.”
The government has spent around $ 10 million fighting class action.
“Black workers deserve more than the recognition of past damage: they deserve real change,” he said.
