Culture of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
CATSA promotes a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in its security screening operations, screening officers and its own workforce. The organization has been undertaking a variety of initiatives to improve and promote these values. As well, CATSA prioritizes efforts to ensure that screening technologies and procedures respect Canada’s diverse population, to the extent that the regulatory framework will allow. It is integral that all passengers are screened in an inclusive and respectful manner, which includes seeking input on screening processes from a broad array of partners.
Inclusiveness and diversity are the core values that underpin CATSA’s work toward greater employment equity. A critical element of its human resources’ strategy is to foster inclusive and respectful behaviours throughout the workplace by ensuring that policies and practices are in place to meet the needs of employees. One such forum is CATSA’s Diversity and Inclusion Network (DIN). The DIN regularly engages with employees, highlighting various cultural and religious events, supports identification of potential barriers to employment equity, provides employees with career management sessions and toolkits, and provides a variety of diversity and inclusion initiatives and training sessions.
Passenger Testimonial
Calgary International Airport
I just wanted to let you know how nice your employees are at the Calgary airport. I am sure they don’t hear it enough. They were friendly, professional and kind. Great with my family. They were awesome. Thank you.
Contributing to an accessible air travel experience
The Accessible Canada Act came into force in 2019. Subsequently, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) published regulations that uphold higher standards for accessibility in the transportation sector. CATSA has been engaging the CTA to ensure compliance and working with aviation partners to enhance the end-to-end journey for persons with disabilities. CATSA continues to complete the initiatives outlined in its three-year Accessibility Plan, as well as the action plans resulting from the Audit of Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities conducted by the Office of the Auditor General.
In December 2023, CATSA published its annual Accessibility Plan Progress Report, which provided an update to Canadians on action plan items including:
- The introduction of a new bilingual facilitator role at Canada’s largest airports to assist passengers that may require additional assistance; and
- Incorporating feedback from advocacy groups and persons with disabilities into accessibility screening training modules.
As well, the organization initiated a consultation and feedback process for the progress report, providing advocacy organizations, screening officers and CATSA employees an opportunity to provide input into the accessible future of CATSA and its operations. The organization is committed to ensuring that ongoing engagement with the accessibility community remains a priority.
To that end, CATSA has prioritized participating in forums that explore the end-to-end journey for persons with disabilities including providing support to the Université Laval’s research on accessible travel. CATSA maintains a working group to measure progress on accessibility action items and federal regulatory requirements, which complements the organization’s efforts towards identifying, limiting and removing inherent barriers for passengers, non-passengers, screening officers and CATSA personnel with disabilities.
Furthermore, in January 2024, CATSA’s President and Chief Executive Officer and Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Financial Officer met with the Government of Canada’s Chief Accessibility Officer (CAO) to discuss the commitment to improving the accessibility of its security screening services for persons with disabilities and those who may require additional assistance. In addition, CATSA management and the CAO discussed initiatives that would enhance accessibility for passengers and employees alike.
Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
Following several years of engagement with Indigenous Elders and in collaboration with Indigenous contractors, CATSA launched an Indigenous Cultural Awareness learning program that provides context for screening Indigenous peoples and their belongings, and instruction on respectful and sensitive practices. CATSA undertook this initiative within the larger context of reconciliation, responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 57, which calls upon the Government of Canada to educate public servants on the history and experiences of Indigenous peoples. By December 31, 2023, over 95% of screening officers and 98% of screening contractor supervisors completed the e-modules, which represents over 7500 employees of screening contractors. In addition, 94% of CATSA employees, as well as senior management and the Board of Directors, completed the in-person learning. This learning program informed changes to CATSA’s screening procedures for sacred and spiritual items, and resulted in increased Indigenous cultural awareness for screening officers, supervisors and CATSA personnel.
Supporting Diversity and Inclusion through Gender-based Analysis Plus
CATSA incorporates GBA Plus principles into its decision-making processes, employment and recruitment practices, and operational screening procedures. Progress on CATSA’s efforts towards creating a barrier-free, inclusive, and sensitive environment will be measured against its GBA Plus Action Plan. All senior management and directors completed mandatory training to better understand the key concepts of GBA Plus, and this training was made available to all employees. In addition, CATSA formalized a process to ensure all major projects are reviewed from a GBA Plus perspective.
Climate-related Disclosures
In support of the Government of Canada’s objectives outlined in Budget 2021, CATSA has been preparing for the 2024/25 adoption of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) standards. In line with CATSA’s TCFD adoption roadmap, the organization completed a Climate Scenario Analysis that built upon the results of the previous fiscal year’s Climate-risk and Opportunity Assessment. By layering select risks and opportunities onto climate change scenarios and future time horizons, CATSA was well positioned to develop a preliminary climate strategy and targets focussed on emission reductions. CATSA’s inaugural TCFD compliant disclosures will be included within the 2025 Annual Report.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG)
In September 2015, Canada adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the United Nations General Assembly. CATSA has a number of initiatives that align with the UN SDGs, including its Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) Action Plan and Accessibility Plan, and the implementation of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. As well, CATSA has undertaken a mapping exercise of existing initiatives to the UN SDG targets.
Official Languages and Official Languages Act Requirements
Under Part IV of the Official Languages Act, CATSA is required to provide screening services to the travelling public in both official languages at airports with one million or more passengers, and at airports where there is a significant demand for services in the minority language. In an effort towards continuous improvement, CATSA surveys passengers on a quarterly basis to verify if they were served in their preferred language. By March 2024, 94% of respondents indicated they were served in the official language of their choice.
To ensure a collaborative approach, CATSA’s Official Languages Champion chairs the Advisory Committee on Official Languages, comprised of employees representing all branches and regions, with the goal of providing representative advice and support to the organization’s official languages secretariat.
To guide compliance with its official languages obligations and its commitment to development on matters related to official languages, CATSA maintains an Official Languages Action Plan, most recently updated in late 2022/23 to reflect the current landscape. Furthermore, through the new Airport Screening Services Agreements, CATSA will be increasing its monitoring capabilities of the screening contractors’ delivery of security screening operations in both official languages as per the requirements. The new bilingual facilitator positions will provide customer service to those passengers requiring additional facilitation through checkpoints, including providing support in French and English.
Passenger Testimonial
Billy Bishop Toronto City International Airport
Highlight the successes that you encounter. I received impeccable service in French this morning at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.
Openness and Transparency
CATSA aims to incorporate the legislative obligations under the Privacy Act and the ten principles of the Canadian Standards Association Model Code into every program and activity that it develops. CATSA is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and strives to meet both the spirit and the legal requirements of these two Acts. Moreover, CATSA remains committed to a high standard of openness and transparency, further complying with obligations under the Access to Information Act, the Privacy Act, and related Treasury Board of Canada directives. Additionally, CATSA discloses its wait times and traffic volumes, publishes critical bulletins, and posts information materials online.
In 2023/24, CATSA further enhanced its data sharing. In collaboration with CATSA, Statistics Canada launched a monthly issue of the “Screened passenger traffic at Canadian airports” in November 2023; these monthly reports use CATSA data to generate analysis of trends and changes in aviation, providing Canadians with accessible information. Also, CATSA conducts quarterly surveys and hosts a website with mechanisms for enquiries and feedback. CATSA holds annual public meetings and its corporate plan summaries and annual reports are tabled in Parliament and published on its website.