Prohibit DEI mandates federally
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to ban DEI quotas, offices and mandatory training, remove DEI conditions from federal research funding, favour merit‑based postsecondary recipients, and require annual reporting and audits. The government responds that agencies and employment‑equity laws support DEI while preserving merit.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would reinforce merit‑based hiring and funding by removing explicit identity‑based quotas or requirements, aligning appointments and grants with competence and taxpayer value.
- It could redirect resources from DEI programming to frontline services, innovation and research, addressing concerns about public spending priorities.
- Mandatory reporting and Treasury Board audits would increase transparency and let Parliament and auditors verify that merit‑based standards are followed.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Employment Equity law and existing oversight aim to improve representation; banning DEI quotas or offices may conflict with legal obligations and hamper statutory goals.
- Removing DEI requirements from research funding risks reinstating systemic barriers that limit access for underrepresented researchers and may reduce the diversity of research perspectives.
- The federal government cannot fully control postsecondary hiring; enforcing bans on DEI offices or training could be impractical, legally contested, or harm workplace inclusion.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: Whereas: Canadians expect the federal public service and taxpayer-funded research to be governed by principles of merit, excellence, and responsible spending of public funds; Over the past decade, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) mandates have become embedded across federal departments, agencies, granting councils and federally funded institutions; Figures released by the current government indicate that more than $1.049 billion has been spent on DEI-related initiatives and programming within the federal sphere; These DEI requirements risk undermining trust in public institutions, discouraging excellence, and diverting public funds away from frontline services, innovation and high-quality research; Canadians' trust in public institutions depends on the assurance that public service employment and research funding are awarded on the basis of merit and value to taxpayers, rather than adherence to ideological tests or identity-based criteria. Therefore, we the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Prohibit DEI quotas and "targets" in federal hiring and promotion; 2. Eliminate DEI requirements in federal research funding; 3. Ban DEI compliance offices and mandatory DEI training in the federal public service; 4. Prioritize federal support for post-secondary institutions that uphold merit-based hiring and promotion and do not maintain DEI compliance offices; and 5. Strengthen transparency through annual reporting, and Treasury Board audits to ensure merit-based standards.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions Signed by The Honourable Mélanie Joly In relation to item 2, concerning the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) requirements in federal research funding, the three federal granting agencies (the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)) are committed to excellence in research practice and design. The processes and policies that have been put in place to promote a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise are aligned with their overarching mandate of ensuring research excellence and promoting the innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding. This is because Canada will only reach its full research potential when all excellent research talent are able to access funding without encountering systemic barriers and biases. With these goals in mind, the agencies are committed to: supporting equitable access to funding opportunities for all researchers and trainees; promoting the integration of DEI-related considerations in research design and practices; increasing equitable and inclusive participation in the research system, including on research teams; and collecting the data and conducting the analyses needed to consider DEI in decision-making. Through these practices, the granting agencies reinforce and promote the inclusive research ecosystem needed to maximize Canada’s potential for research excellence and achieve outcomes that are rigorous and accessible to all populations. In relation to item 4, concerning the prioritization of federal support for post-secondary institutions that uphold merit-based hiring and promotion and do not maintain DEI compliance offices, hiring at post-secondary institutions is not under federal jurisdiction, nor is the promotion and organizational structure. As such, beyond policies and processes that promote a systems-level consideration of DEI, the federal government does not have direct control over hiring decisions by postsecondary institutions. To promote accountability in the use of taxpayer dollars to fund research, the federal granting agencies have established the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions (Institutional Agreement), which, among other elements, clearly outlines the importance of DEI and Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) rights in the conduct of research and research training, and in research funding opportunities and policies. All institutions that administer funding from the federal granting agencies must sign the Institutional Agreement, thereby committing to promoting equitable and inclusive practices and eliminating systemic biases to promote a culture where research excellence is assessed without being influenced by systemic barriers and biases. Response by the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, Internal Trade and One Canadian Economy Signed by Tim Louis In response to parts 1 and 5, the response from the Public Service Commission of Canada is as follows: The Public Service Employment Act supports this objective by providing for measures to support representation, while maintaining merit as the cornerstone of all appointments. Deputy heads and their sub-delegated hiring managers may use a variety of staffing approaches to support employment equity, diversity, and inclusion, provided that all individuals appointed meet the established merit criteria for the position. The Public Service Commission of Canada also monitors representation in the public service and oversees merit-based hiring through various studies, reports, surveys, audits and investigations. The Public Service Commission of Canada reports on representation in appointment processes in its annual report, publishes studies, surveys and audits on its website (Publications - Canada.ca), and shares reports through the open government portal (Open Government Portal). Response by the President of the Treasury Board Signed by Tom Osborne The public service operates within a well-established legislative framework that sets out mandatory, fundamental obligations of the employer under federal law. The legislative framework that supports employment equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility includes but is not limited to: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Accessible Canada Act, the Employment Equity Act and the Public Service Employment Act. Beyond meeting these legal requirements, pursuing equitable representation, removing systemic barriers, and ensuring workplaces are free from discrimination, harassment and exclusion helps protect the performance, credibility, and operational stability of the federal public service. Research shows that inequitable workplaces contribute to costly labour market inefficiencies, including disengagement, absenteeism, and reduced productivity, while diverse and inclusive teams make better decisions, anticipate risks more effectively, and generate more innovative solutions. These advantages are essential for delivering high-quality, unbiased results to an increasingly diverse Canadian population. In relation to item 1, calling on the government to prohibit Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) quotas and “targets” in federal hiring and promotion, the Treasury Board shares responsibility with the Public Service Commission (PSC) and deputy heads to implement the Employment Equity Act (EEA) and achieve equality in the workplace for the four designated groups, within the core public administration. The EEA designates the following four employment equity groups: women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. Under the EEA, administered by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), employers are required to identify and eliminate barriers to employment affecting the four designated groups. They must also implement proactive policies and practices to ensure their workforce reflects the representation of these groups in the Canadian population. ESDC remains committed to fulfilling its obligations under the EEA. The EEA specifies the obligations that employers must fulfill, including collecting self-identification information on the four designated employment equity groups to assess whether internal representation meets or exceeds the availability of members of the four groups in the Canadian Labour market. Each organization is responsible for assessing the representation of their workforce as well as developing a workplan that establishes goals based on gaps in their representation. In relation to item 3, calling on the government to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) compliance offices and mandatory DEI training in the federal public service, mandatory training for the core public administration falls within the Treasury Board’s authority, as per the Financial Administration Act (FAA), and is governed by the Policy on People Management. Mandatory training supports key organizational requirements - such as onboarding newly appointed employees, developing leadership skills for first time managers, and establishing competencies or knowledge related to delegated authorities or certain functional specialists – while enabling public servants, particularly those with delegated authorities, in exercising their responsibilities fairly, lawfully, and consistently. Mandatory training is delivered within the broader legislative and policy environment applicable to the federal public service. This includes, among others: The Canadian Human Rights Act The Employment Equity Act The Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector In addition to the core public administration-wide requirements, section 12(1)(a) of the Financial Administration Act provides Deputy Heads with the authority to determine learning, training, and development requirements for employees within their respective organizations. Under this authority, Deputy Heads may establish departmental mandatory training, including training related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), based on departmental responsibilities and operational context. In relation to item 5, calling on the government to strengthen transparency through annual reporting and Treasury Board audits to ensure merit-based standards, the Employment Equity Act requires the Treasury Board Secretariat to table an annual report to parliament on the status of employment equity within the core public administration. As required by the Act, this report provides detailed information on representation for the four employment equity groups, regions of work, occupational groups, salary range, hiring and promotions across the core public administration, and includes updated workforce analysis, trends, and identified gaps in employment equity, ensuring Parliament receives a complete and transparent picture of progress. To further support accountability, the Treasury Board Secretariat publishes disaggregated data through ongoing releases via the Government of Canada’s Diversity and inclusion statistics website. Workforce demographic data, employment equity data and workforce availability data can be accessed and further manipulated to provide greater insight into the workforce through the Interactive data visualization tool. These products help departments and agencies monitor representation against workforce availability benchmarks and identify systemic barriers using consistent, high-quality data.