For the sake of my sanity I’ve been trying my best to stay disconnected from most political discussions lately, especially those that occur south of the border. As amusing as it can be to watch the … well, whatever it is you want to call it that’s going on with our closest neighbours, it can also easily become infurating because while the whims of the U.S. President can — and have — had an affect on us to the north, there’s very little we can actually do about any of it.
It’s also pretty ugly politics, with lots of finger-pointing, and willingness to toss certain minorities under whatever bus is convenient. Which is why it saddens me whenever I see that kind of politicking rearing its ugly head here in Canada.
That’s what happened recently when the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada decided to take a swipe at DEI recently.
DEI, if you’re not familiar, refers to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, particularly when connected to policies that aim to broaden those three things in the workforce. Conservatives in the U.S. have been using it as a talking a point for awhile now, and it’s starting to creep into Canadian politics now as well.
Pierre Poilievre took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thanksgiving urging readers to sign a Conservative petition to, “End DEI,” and to “Restore the merit principle.”
Say what you will about DEI (and I’ll share my own thoughts shortly), but it seems to me if Mr. Poilievre cared that much about restoring the merit principle, he would have accepted his loss in Carleton in April and not jumped over to Alberta to run yet again, for a seat that he was essentially guaranteed to win.
But that seems to be something else he’s picked up from the south-of-the-border politics — one rule for me, and another for thee.
The point of DEI is actually to expand the number of qualified applicants being considered for positions by ensuring qualified people, who may fall into certain minority categories based on skin colour or gender, are properly actually on the table as prospective hires.
Some people think this means that people are being hired solely based on their skin colour or gender, and while I certainly can’t say that’s never happened anywhere, that’s certainly not the way it’s supposed to work, and I haven’t seen anyone provide any evidence that it’s happening on an ongoing or regular basis.
Though if you have the receipts, as the kids say, I’m always happy to look at them.
As white, CIS-gendered dude, I am more than willing to concede that I’ve certainly had more opportunities than others with different backgrounds. And I have no issue at all with levelling that playing field via DEI.
Diversity really is a strength. The more people from diverse backgrounds, with diverse experiences and diverse perspectives, the stronger we are as a whole — whether that’s a business, a non-profit organization, a community, or even a country.
So here’s to diversity, equity, and inclusion, three words we should try to stop freaking out about and just embrace.