The Alberta government has tabled legislation that would prohibit the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) criteria in public-sector hiring decisions.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery introduced Bill 33, the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, on Oct. 27, as Alberta’s legislature reconvened for its fall sitting.
The bill would amend the Alberta Human Rights Act to prohibit provincial bodies from giving preference to certain candidates in hiring or promotion decisions based on protected personal categories such as race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs. The government would retain the right to grant exemptions through regulations.
“Hiring decisions should be about who is best qualified for the job, and these changes will help ensure that fairness is at the heart of hiring,” Premier Danielle Smith said in an Oct. 27 media statement.
Alberta’s existing human rights legislation permits programs designed to improve employment opportunities for individuals deemed to belong to disadvantaged groups. Federal law also allows, and in some cases mandates, such programs.
The federal Employment Equity Act requires certain federally regulated employers to address employment barriers and demonstrate pursuit of “equity” in representation of designated protected groups.
Bill 33 states that “no provincial body shall plan, advertise, adopt or implement an ameliorative measure relating to hiring or promotion by the provincial body.” The restrictions would apply to provincial government departments, public agencies, municipalities, police services, school boards, and provincial health agencies.
The restrictions could also extend to certain private and nonprofit organizations receiving provincial funding to provide public services.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) spoke out against Bill 33, saying it’s prejudiced.
Speaking after the government’s legislative priorities were announced on Oct. 23, Nenshi said the emphasis on merit-based hiring represented coded language against diversity initiatives.
“When they use ‘merit,’ that means don’t hire the ethnic people for these jobs [and] don’t hire women for these jobs,” Nenshi said.
AUPE president Sandra Azocar said the bill is a “thinly veiled act of institutionalized racism.”
“The government already ensures that only the best candidates are hired,” she said. “The government is looking for a scapegoat for a problem that does not exist.”
Smith and Amery said that the primary purpose of the bill is to ensure merit, competence, and qualifications are used to make hiring decisions, rather than personal identity characteristics.
Ban on DEI Training
Bill 33 would also prohibit public-sector employers covered under the law from requiring employees to undergo DEI training.
In these cases, it would prohibit any training or workshop that “seeks to dictate, expressly or by implication, the range of acceptable or unacceptable opinions or beliefs on any political, historical, social or cultural issue or on a matter of conscience.”
However, the bill carves out an exception for training on cultural, political, social, or historical matters where such training is “reasonably necessary for the employee to competently perform the duties and functions of the employee’s position.”
The legislation does not specify what types of training could qualify for such an exception.
Tackling Deepfakes
In addition to seeking to scrap DEI hiring and promotion practices in the public sector, Bill 33 proposes stricter rules around non-consensual distribution of intimate content, including “deepfake” images and video generated by artificial intelligence.
Although it’s already a crime to distribute intimate images, including deepfakes, without the consent of the person or people in the images, Bill 33 would boost the ability to sue over such conduct.
The bill would strengthen court powers to order the removal of intimate content and allow lawsuits over threats to distribute it. It would also establish a provincial offence carrying a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine, two years in jail, or both.
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