OSFI's open letter to the Clerk: Actions to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - On January 22, 2021, the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet released the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service. I am pleased to share with you OSFI's open letter in response, which highlights some of the key actions we have taken to ensure Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) move to the forefront of our workplace culture and practices.

OSFI's work on DEI was well under way even prior to the Clerk's Call to Action. In 2018, the Inclusion Network was launched. The forum brings together staff who are interested in promoting workplace inclusion and nurturing diversity of thought at OSFI. We also created the People and Culture Committee in 2019, and our Employment Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee in 2012, by promoting employment equity for members of designated groups.

Since the Call to Action in January, we have ramped up these efforts further. We created a DEI unit in May, and appointed a new Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with a team of professionals devoted exclusively to advancing the DEI agenda. We have also reviewed our hiring policies and practices, as well as past selection processes, to identify where there is room for improvement, and worked with an outside consultant on a Diversity and Inclusion Diagnostic to ensure OSFI employees' voices are heard and suggestions are acted upon.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Accountability Framework ? developed earlier this year ? is just one of the new management tools helping to guide us toward our DEI goals. Work is underway on the creation of OSFI's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2025, aimed at supporting OSFI in becoming an even more diverse and inclusive organization. Most importantly, we will build DEI awareness and expectations into the performance management of our senior executives. As we continue with the broader cultural transformation of OSFI via our recently published Blueprint and a new Strategic Plan that is currently in development, supporting DEI will remain a central focus for us.

While we are proud of these efforts, we will do more. OSFI is committed to going beyond legislative frameworks in order to embed diversity, equity and inclusion into our workplace culture.

Fulfilling diversity, equity, and inclusion is a strategic imperative for OSFI. We will only meet the opportunities and challenges in our risk environment with an organization that insists upon and delivers a diversity of thought, perspectives, and people. Therefore, OSFI requires a workforce built on the foundation of a permanent and comprehensive realization of the goals and aspirations that form our DEI commitment.

I look forward to sharing more progress updates with you in the future as this important work continues.

Peter Routledge

Superintendent, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions

About

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is an independent agency of the Government of Canada, established in 1987, to protect depositors, policyholders, financial institution creditors and pension plan members, while allowing financial institutions to compete and take reasonable risks. OSFI supervises more than 400 federally regulated financial institutions and 1,200 pension plans to determine whether they are in sound financial condition and meeting their prudential requirements.

SOURCE Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions