Complaints of racism and discrimination at the City of Montreal will no longer be handled by the human resources division, but will be entrusted to an independent entity, the Montreal Public Service Commission, the administration of Valérie Plante announced on Wednesday. .
As part of the process of creating a one-stop shop for employee complaints, the City called on a committee of experts, chaired by Maryse Alcindor, commissioner at the Office de consultation publique de Montréal, to support in its work. At a press conference on Wednesday, Mr.me Alcindor said his committee’s consultations highlighted employee frustration with the current complaints process, which they say lacks fairness and empathy for victims. “We were challenged by the feeling of loss of confidence that was conveyed,” she said.
Faced with this observation, the Plante administration decided to entrust the processing of complaints as well as investigations to the Montreal Public Service Commission, which reports to the city council and already manages complaints from civil servants about the staffing process for fill jobs in the City.
The budget of this commission will be adjusted so that it has the necessary resources to fulfill its new mandate, promised the president of the executive committee of the City, Dominique Ollivier.
The City had already announced that it intended to set up a one-stop shop to simplify the processing of complaints, but it will not be operational before the fall, because it must be approved by the municipal council, which will resume its work. in August after the summer break.
The City’s Director General, Serge Lamontagne, also pointed out that the City of Montreal’s Respect for Person Policy would be reviewed.
Let us recall that a survey of the Duty published in March related the testimonies of some thirty employees who were victims of racism and discrimination in the workplace at the City of Montreal.
Further details will follow.