Canadian Forces employment equity update

Summary#

These are final amendments to the Regulations Amending the Canadian Forces Employment Equity Regulations that took effect when they were registered on August 12, 2021. The changes broaden which reservists are counted for employment‑equity reporting, tighten how self‑identification questionnaires are written and handled, and update military occupation lists and some security wording.

What it does#

• Broadens who counts as a Canadian Forces member for employment‑equity purposes by removing the rule that only reservists paid for 75 days or more in a year were included. Now all reservists are included except those declared non‑effective strength.
• Changes the workforce questionnaire so it:
  • must provide a way to identify the member who returns it (by name or other means), and those identification questions are mandatory;
  • must use the exact definitions from the Employment Equity Act for the designated groups (so local variations in wording are no longer allowed);
  • continues to make other self‑identification questions voluntary.
• Removes the old sample questionnaire (Schedule 2) from the Regulations because of the new requirement to use the Act’s definitions.
• Updates many schedules to replace outdated military occupations with current ones, and adjusts references to ranks in line with the National Defence Act.
• Changes wording about how sensitive information is handled so that the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Employment Equity Review Tribunal and their agents must follow the security rules in regulations, orders and instructions under the National Defence Act.
• Repeals one section (section 11) and fixes a few wording issues (for example, changing “aboriginal” to Aboriginal in the English text).

Who's affected#

• Serving members of the Canadian Forces, especially part‑time reservists who were excluded before.
• The Chief of the Defence Staff, who provides reporting information and will use the updated occupation and rank lists.
• The Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Employment Equity Review Tribunal, which carry out compliance reviews and must follow Defence security rules when handling information.
• The four designated groups tracked under the Act — women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities — because the pool of people counted for representation statistics will change.

Why it matters#

• More reservists will be included in employment‑equity reporting. The government expects this to add roughly 10,000 more members to the coverage used for reporting and analysis.
• That change should give a more accurate picture of diversity in the Forces. Based on past data, inclusion of these reservists could raise the reported share of visible minorities by about 0.7%, leave Aboriginal representation roughly the same, and change women’s representation by less than 0.05%.
• Requiring the Act’s official definitions and clarifying security rules reduces legal and compliance uncertainty when outside bodies review Canadian Forces records.
• The occupation and rank updates make reporting reflect today’s military jobs and pay structures, improving clarity for internal planning and public reports.