Health P.E.I.'s outdated diversity policy is placing vulnerable workers at risk, say critics
‘This is 2025. We should feel safe when we come to work,’ employee tells CBC News
A Health P.E.I. employee says the provincial health authority's equity and diversity policy is inadequate and fails to protect marginalized health-care workers.
The policy, which went into effect in 2008, is supposed to be reviewed every three years. The last review took place in 2017.
"It makes it feel like, for employees like myself, that equity, diversity, inclusion is not a priority," said Avery, a health-care professional who's worked with the agency for years. "It's lacking quite a bit of information, and it needs to be updated."
Avery is not the worker's real name. CBC News is protecting their identity because they fear losing their job for speaking out.
Issues of accountability
Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly said the two-page policy lacks specifics that would let Health P.E.I. leaders be held accountable for how they deal with complaints of discrimination or harassment.
For example, while the policy stipulates that all employees deserve to be treated equally, free from discrimination, and that violations "will not be tolerated," it doesn't explicitly define what those violations are or what corrective actions can be taken.
"There is no accountability in that policy whatsoever," said McNeilly, who is the Liberal Party's health critic as well as the P.E.I. Legislature's first known Black MLA.
"You can't just say, 'Oh, we're going to just follow the Human Rights Commission.' You have to make your own policy, and you have to be accountable for that."
With the health authority actively recruiting nurses from overseas to address staffing shortages, McNeilly says updating the policy should be a priority.
"If Health P.E.I. is recruiting international nurses, if they want to diversify, and they know that's the key to maintaining our health-care system, you have to protect people," he said.
Health P.E.I. commits to review policy
In a statement to CBC News, Health P.E.I. acknowledged that its equity and diversity policy is out of date, but pointed to the fact that it has a respectful-workplace policy in place to ensure staff are treated with dignity and respect.
Health P.E.I. is committed to reviewing the equity and diversity policy, with important review and input from all relevant stakeholders.— Health P.E.I.
"Health P.E.I. is committed to reviewing the equity and diversity policy, with important review and input from all relevant stakeholders," the statement reads.
The health authority said it is providing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging training to managers of internationally trained health-care workers. The training, delivered by the Immigrant and Refugee Services Association, is aimed at promoting empathy, patience and adaptability in the workplace, the statement says.
There have been previous allegations of a toxic environment that caused staff to leave Health P.E.I., although they didn't specifically involve minority or equity-deserving groups.
'We should feel safe when we come to work'
McNeilly said the shortcomings in the current policy affect a wide range of equity-seeking groups, including Indigenous people, individuals with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
"Nothing in this policy protects them or gives them any comfort," he said.
He said he's heard from health-care workers who have faced discrimination, some of whom are dealing with PTSD as a result.
"It's unsettling, because they want to help people… but they want to know that the employer has their back," he said.
P.E.I.'s Workers Compensation Board recently expanded coverage to include psychological injuries caused by workplace harassment and bullying.
Avery said Health P.E.I.'s overdue policy review should make clear whether discrimination and racism fall within that category when it comes to covering workers.
It's unsettling, because they want to help people… but they want to know that the employer has their back.— Gord McNeilly
They said the lack of clear consequences in the current policy can leave employees who experience discrimination, bias or racism feeling their concerns are not taken seriously.
"It takes a lot of courage for somebody to come forward… and there's nothing in here to understand what the behaviour of the organization is, what the accountability is.
"This is 2025. We should feel safe when we come to work," Avery said. "I have been looking to leave Health P.E.I., and I'm not the only one."
Union supports policy review
In a statement to CBC News, Chad McNeill, the president of IUOE Local 942 — the union representing hundreds of health-care workers, including Avery — said updating policies to better support marginalized staff would help with recruitment and retention.
It would also foster a more inclusive health-care environment helping both patients and staff, and that's why the union would support a review and rewriting of Health P.E.I.'s current policy on equity and diversity, McNeill said.
"A larger, more diverse workforce is a practical necessity for delivering high-quality, culturally appropriate health care to all Islanders," McNeill said.
'Added labour' for marginalized workers
Beyond hindering recruitment and retention, failing to have clear policies in place for marginalized and racialized workers can also create "added labour" on those employees, said Aaron Sardinha, executive director of the advocacy group BIPOC USHR.
"It can lead to employees feeling burnt out and feeling like the onus to provide that labour — to educate... the defenders of any given instance of racism — is on them, and that can be incredibly tiring and and it can be incredibly taxing on their well-being," he said.
Sardinha said organizations on the Island, including Health P.E.I., can reach out to BIPOC USHR to collaborate on drafting a comprehensive anti-racism framework so that when marginalized people "come forward with an issue, there's accountability in place, there's protections in place, and ultimately, it allows for a safer workplace," he said.
McNeilly said a policy review is also crucial given the current political climate, particularly south of the border. U.S. President Donald Trump recently signed executive orders making sweeping restrictions and changes to EDI initiatives, and many organizations are following his lead.
"Health P.E.I. should update their policy rather quickly and not follow what's happening in the United States," said the MLA.
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