Feds Spent Over $800,000 on Guest Speakers on ‘Equity, Diversity, Inclusion,’ More Than Any Other Topic

Tourists take pictures in front of the Parliament building in Ottawa in a file photo. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images)

Federal departments and agencies spent over $800,000 in contracts over a three-year period hiring guest speakers to talk to staff on the topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion, records show.

That amount represents the largest spending category out of the over $2 million total spent on speeches from Jan. 1, 2019, to Nov. 23, 2022, shows an analysis by The Epoch Times based on data from 44 departments and agencies. The next two highest-spending categories are for topics related to leadership, ethics, and communication, at about $468,000, and topics related to mental health and to health and wellness, at about $462,000.

Some $190,00 was spent on topical issues such as digital government, cybersecurity, and innovation, while a variety of miscellaneous topics accounted for the remaining approximately $184,000.

The categories and figures are from an Epoch Times analysis based on data provided in response to an Inquiry of Ministry. Conservative MP Mike Lake, who submitted the inquiry on Nov. 23, 2022, wanted to know the details of all contracts awarded by the federal government to guest speakers since Jan. 1, 2019, including the vendors, the topics of speeches, and the contract amounts, among other information.

The document containing the data, tabled in the House of Commons on Jan. 30, indicated that at least $812,474 was spent on speeches related to topics like “reconciliation,” “racism,” “privilege,” and “bias” during the study period from Jan. 1, 2019, to Nov. 23, 2022.

Infrastructure Canada, whose mission is to “improve the quality of life of Canadians by creating jobs and economic growth, supporting climate resilience, and building a stronger and more inclusive Canada,” is the highest spender for such services in absolute amounts.

The department spent approximately $128,909 during the study period, with the largest portion in 2022 when it contracted speakers to cover several “learning series” in support of Black History Month ($39,550), National Indigenous History Month ($24,979), Pride Season and Public Service Pride Week ($28,000), and National Disability Employment Awareness Month ($33,985).

Correctional Service Canada came in second, at $102,466, by hiring speakers to touch on themes such as “systemic racism,” Black History Month, Diversity Week, and International Women’s Day.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) followed closely at $75,627, with emphasis on “building more equitable workplaces” ($19,121), “unconscious bias” ($6,780), and “diversity and inclusion” ($10,340). In February 2021, it contracted a Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) academic to give a virtual speech on critical race theory, at a cost of $1,500. In May 2021, the department hired two speakers to present online on “gender-neutral writing” for the legal profession, at a cost of $1,149.75 each.

‘Move the Needle on Racial Equity’

Other departments with notable spending on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) topics include the Department of National Defence (DND), which allocated $21,711 to a speech by a social psychologist and lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, in March 2022.

According to the records, the speaker was to “provide attendees with a useful conceptual and practical framework for how to move the needle on racial equity in a profound and sustainable way.”

Attendees at the virtual event were executives from DND, Global Affairs Canada, DOJ, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Health Canada focused more on indigenous matters by contracting the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to speak to employees in several sessions on “truth and reconciliation” ($24,860) last September.

The Privy Council Office, which provides support to the prime minister and cabinet, had a similar focus. It spent $18,000 on a speaker in May 2021 to hold three workshops and one keynote address on contemporary issues and inclusion in the indigenous context.

The spending appears to be in line with the Liberals’ goal of “continuing the fight against systemic racism and discrimination” in Canada. In their 2021 election pledge, the Liberals said they would work toward “improving diversity in the public service” by increasing representation in hiring and appointments and increasing leadership development in the public service, among other promises.

Total Spending Likely Much Higher

It’s reasonable to believe that the feds’ guest speakers spending is likely much higher than the $2,116,865 total based on the document provided in response to the inquiry, since not all departments and agencies responded, and among those that did respond, not all disclosed their speaker engagements.

Of the 208 bodies listed on the federal government’s website, just 79 were included in the document tabled in the House. Among them, only 44 provided their spending details. The remaining 35 either said they didn’t contract any guest speakers during that period or gave reasons as to why they couldn’t provide that information.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Canadian Heritage, and Natural Resources are among those that said the requested information was not systematically tracked in their databases. They said it would require a manual collection “that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.”

Women and Gender Equality Canada “completed a detailed preliminary search to identify the information required” but said “producing and validating a comprehensive response” would need a manual collection “that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.”

The RCMP said it “does not capture the requested information at the level of detail requested” and therefore “the information requested cannot be obtained without an extensive manual review of financial files. This manual review could not be completed within the established timeline.”

Finance Canada said it did not award any contracts for guest speakers during that period.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) listed 46 contract dates during the study period but provided no details on information such as contract amounts, speech topics, and the number of speeches per contract.

“[I]n order to protect the safety and security of Canadians, CSIS does not generally disclose details related to third party contractors or expenditures beyond those publicly reported in the Estimates, Public Accounts, and the Budget,” said the agency in response to the Inquiry of Ministry.

Leadership, Ethics, Mental Health, Stress

Federal departments and agencies spent about $467,902 during the study period on leadership, ethics, motivation, communication, teamwork, and other workplace personal development topics, the category with the second-highest spending after the EDI category.

The Canada Border Services Agency allocated $60,000 to a contract that consisted of six virtual speeches on leadership for its executives, spread between two dates. The topics were “the impact of agility and resilience combined with leadership character” in February 2021 and “character-based leadership and wellness” in March 2022.

DND and the Communications Security Establishment each spent $11,333 in 2021 on a speech on “Ethical Challenges of Senior Leaders.”

The DOJ engaged a speaker to train its staff on “Leading Hybrid Teams” in June 2022, at a cost of $10,170.

Funding also went to topics related to health and mental health, including wellness, stress management, resiliency, self-care, and emotional intelligence, the third-highest spending category, with about $462,132 spent across the departments and agencies that provided data for the study period.

Speeches between 2020 and 2022 had more focus on building resilience and maintaining positive mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics included “Preventing Burnout in the New Future of Work” ($14,125), “How to Handle the Deconfinement...Without Stressing Out!” in both English and French versions ($8,623 each), and “Why Telework Does Not Protect Against Stress” ($9,485).

The Public Service Commission of Canada, an agency “responsible for safeguarding the values of a professional Public Service,” spent $10,000 in April 2022 on “Back to the office: How to help employees return to the workplace without too much stress.”

Team building was a topic that Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Veterans Affairs Canada paid attention to, totalling $48,173 in spending on speeches.

In the next category, related to a variety of topical issues, approximately $190,156 was spent on speeches primarily on digital government, artificial intelligence, emerging trends, cybersecurity, and innovation and creativity.

The remaining $184,200 was spent on speeches on various miscellaneous topics.

No spending information by the Prime Minister’s Office was found in the records.

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.