Memo: CBC president and CEO announces whistleblower hotline for staff to report workplace racism
The following message was sent to CBC staff on July 21 from Catherine Tait, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada
A new resource to combat racism
Dear Colleagues,
I’d like to start off with a thank you. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your honesty. Thank you for your service. Many of you have reached out to share your personal experiences with racism, along with recommendations of ways we can change our workplace culture to make it more inclusive. I thank you for being part of this vital conversation. We need you.
I want you to know that I have asked the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group to look at all of these recommendations so that we can focus on the most effective way to further advance and accelerate structural change at CBC/Radio-Canada. You will be updated as soon as there are developments on that front.
One suggestion that came up often was to implement a system whereby employees could report, safely and anonymously, any instance of racism that they experience or witness. We listened to your concerns, and are responding with Be Heard, which we’ll be launching later today. This platform, supported by ClearView Connects™️, will allow employees to share, in strict confidence, their experiences and suggestions on how to improve our workplace. This new resource is not intended to replace our existing reporting processes but to offer employees a complimentary option.
I believe it is vital for our employees to have a safe platform on which to express themselves if they experience or witnessed an instance of racism. While we always encourage you to speak with your manager in the first instance, I know that there are situations in which you would rather ask a question, seek assistance or make a report anonymously. For more information about Be Heard, please take a look at the FAQ that we have prepared about this new resource.
I’d like to ask you for your help in sharing this resource with your colleagues in the members of the Employee Resource Group that you chair. This initiative is just one of the ways we are planning to eliminate the structural obstacles and practices that contribute to race-based discrimination at CBC/Radio-Canada. Rest assured, this conversation will continue, and other measures in addition to those already announced will be added in the months to come.
We have an unprecedented opportunity to take meaningful actions to transform our culture which is something essential to achieving our ambition to be truly reflective of contemporary Canada. And we’re going to seize that opportunity together.
Catherine
