Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is working to create a diverse and inclusive public service, free from racism, harassment and discrimination, where everyone has a sense of belonging. Budget 2022 proposed $3.7 million over four years, and Budget 2023 proposed to provide a further $45.9 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to the Treasury Board Secretariat to create a Mental Health Fund for Black public servants and establish dedicated career development programs, including to prepare Black public service leaders for executive positions.
With regard to (a), Budget 2022 committed $3.7 million over four years for a Black-led engagement, design, and implementation of a Mental Health Fund for Black federal public servants. In 2022-23, the Treasury Board Secretariat accessed $1.1 million of the $3.7 million and will access the remaining $2.6 million starting in 2023-24. Of the $1.1 million that was accessed, $787,207 was spent.
With regard to (b), during the first phase of work, the Treasury Board Secretariat focused on developing an action plan for Black employees in the public service, working with Black employee networks. The Treasury Board Secretariat hired several Black employees on temporary assignments from several departments on secondment to develop and design proposals for a mental health fund for Black employees and dedicated career development programs. This included hiring 5.5 full-time equivalents using the $1.1 million from Budget 2022. That work resulted in new Budget 2023 commitments. A total of 5.5 full-time equivalents, or 11 employees, were hired in 2022 to accomplish this work. When the work was done, the secondments were ended, and the employees returned to their organizations.
With regard to (c), the second phase of work is underway to meet the Budget commitments and it will build on the foundational work started in phase one, including taking stock of existing programs, consultations with employee and subject matter experts. A dedicated team will be established to design, develop and implement programs that support the mental health and career development of Black public servants. The Treasury Board Secretariat plans to re-engage with Black employee networks and more broadly, consult Black employees in the public service to ensure that the initiatives developed will respond to their needs. The Treasury Board Secretariat is also working with partners, such as Health Canada, which delivers the Employee Assistance Program, and the Canada School of Public Service, which offers a suite of leadership development programming for leaders at all levels. We will build upon what exists and develop new programming to meet the needs of Black employees. Experts from the Black community will be engaged throughout this process.
With regard to (d), Budget 2022 committed $3.7 million over four years to support the Black-led engagement, design, and implementation phase of the Mental Health Fund. The funding was not intended to provide direct support to public servants. The work completed in 2022-2023 led to the Budget 2023 commitment of $45.9 million over three years, starting in 2023-24. This funding will provide direct support to employees for mental health and career development.
With regard to (e), following Parliament’s approval of Budget 2023, the Treasury Board Secretariat began the work to deliver on the Budget 2023 commitment. More information on the Mental Health Fund initiatives will be made available once they are designed and launched.