Nicholas Thompson has seen plenty of discrimination in his life and it spurred in him a sense of justice and the courage to speak up. Photo: Eduardo Lima
As a child growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, Nicholas Marcus Thompson saw plenty of discrimination. Born to a father of Trinidadian, Spanish and East Indian descent and a mother whose family tree includes African and Indigenous Caribbean sides, his community included people of all skin tones, all textures of hair. A different texture or colour sometimes meant different treatment. This spurred in Thompson a sense of justice and the courage to speak up.
The father of three is a Toronto resident and a former union president with a long list of achievements and certifications focused around one concept: equality. Currently, as executive director of the Black Class Action Secretariat, Thompson is at the forefront of change in the public service. In 2020, the group filed a lawsuit against the federal government that alleges the public service discriminated against Black Canadians by failing to hire and promote them because of their race. Thompson and 11 other lead plaintiffs are seeking $2.5 billion in compensation — damages for nearly 50,000 Black people dating back to the 1970s, when the United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Why 2.5 billion? According to their records, and the input of an outside consulting agency, about 50,000 Black Canadians worked for, or applied to work for, the federal government since Oct. 14, 1970, when Canada ratified the convention. When examining the employment history of those who have come forward so far, the loss of salary, pension, other benefits, as well as pain and suffering, can be calculated at about $50,000 per person. This analysis looked at whether they met the requirements of positions they were not elected to and included inflation and subsequent pay raises. There is a different calculation for those who were never hired in the first place — people who were called in for an interview, but never called back, for example. At this point, Thompson and his team do not have a lot of data on this group, but the certification hearing that was to happen in October (after this magazine went to press) could force the government to provide the names and contact information of every Black person in the public service, as well as those who applied and did not gain entry.
While he is the face of the suit, Thompson is quick to explain that unions are at the heart of the effort. Coming from a family of union supporters in Trinidad and Tobago, he believes workers groups are responsible for the employment benefits — sick days, maternity leave — Canadians now enjoy.
Thompson recalls one of the first times he rallied for change. When he was 13 years old, he found himself at the centre of a protest after a school security guard had struck a student. “I thought, ‘This is egregious!’” He rallied his peers to join him in doing something about it. Thompson wasn’t punished — the principal admitted no rules were broken — but his mother was brought in. “On the way home, she smiled at me in a way that told me she didn’t disapprove.”
After graduating from high school at the age of 16, he came to Canada. “I was so happy and proud. Being from a Caribbean island nation you hear about Canada and all the wonderful things, like the smell of the snow. And when I walked out of the Pearson airport in the frigid temperatures, I smelled it.”
Living in the Malvern area of Scarborough, Ont., exposed Thompson to a lot of gang activity, but he kept it on the straight and narrow, keeping true to his disciplined character. He found employment at CIBC and Bank of Montreal, as well as Bell Canada.
He began studies at the University of Toronto, but circumstances forced him to withdraw after two years.
Thompson calls his education a “casualty” of working full-time while having young children. “I couldn’t stay afloat. I’m a committed family man,” says Thompson. “I am trying to be an exemplary father, and that means fighting the stereotype of non-active fathers in my community.”
So here I was, a young Black male, trying to run for change — not just about discrimination, but job security, precarious hours and accommodation issues. I wanted to bring it into the digital age, and make representation way more accessible. And I won in a landslide. I was so surprised. I couldn’t believe I could incite that much hope and credibility.
In 2015, Thompson landed his first job with the public service, at the Canada Revenue Agency. “What a pleasure it was coming in, with so much ambition and hope and thinking that you can work hard and have access to opportunities,” he says. “What an honour it was, as a naturalized citizen, to be able to serve the people of Canada in a department that actually supported every single Canadian. I thought that was profound.”
But soon Thompson began to see discrimination: specifically, Black people held back from opportunities. Thompson says this was done without breaking any rules through “discretionary hires” — temporary postings that ultimately serve to pad a resumé and steer those employees toward career advancement. In his experience, these opportunities were applied mostly to white people. Since departmental legislation allows for subjectivity in these situations, there is no route for recourse.
And, as was shown to be the case at the Canadian Human Rights Commission last year, complaints about the process are too often brushed aside. “It’s problematic,” he says simply. “The right to effective remedy — that’s international law.”
So in 2017, when election time came for the Union of Taxation Employees, the rookie bureaucrat decided to throw his hat in the ring and run for president of the Toronto North branch.
“I was probably the first Black person to run for their presidency,” he says.
“Usually older white males would run the union until their retirement. So here I was, a young Black male, trying to run for change — not just about discrimination, but job security, precarious hours and accommodation issues. I wanted to bring it into the digital age, and make representation way more accessible. And I won in a landslide. I was so surprised. I couldn’t believe I could incite that much hope and credibility.”
Thompson set up online systems and created new ways to track member issues, processes that proved invaluable when remote working was mandatory. But he faced a lot of opposition in his approach to change. The way he sees it, unions have supported many benefits, but discrimination has not been an issue to champion because it has kept leaders in power for so long.
Thompson served for two years as the president of his branch, and even ran in the 2019 federal election as the NDP representative in Don Valley East.
Larry Rousseau was an early ally in Thompson’s efforts for inclusion. As an executive vice-president with the Canadian Labour Congress, Rousseau handled issues of interest to visible minorities and members of the LGBTQ community at one of the largest public service unions — interests close to his heart, as he identifies with both marginalized groups.
Rousseau describes Thompson as headstrong. “Nicholas will always be seen as someone who gets things done.”
When asked if the lawsuit would exist if not for Thompson, Rousseau is clear: No.
“Some people would say he’s done this single-handedly. He has really put his head down. If someone says ‘Should we wait?’ He always says ‘If not now, when? We’ve been waiting way too long.’ ”
It hasn’t been easy, Thompson says.
“It has taken a toll on my family life because it’s often requiring me to be away,” he says. “This work comes with a lot of sacrifices.”
In addition to the lawsuit, the Black Class Action Secretariat has laid out an action plan that seems to be coming to fruition: Black Canadians are on their way to being recognized as a distinct group in the Employment Equity Act; a Senate committee has recommended the creation of a Black equity commission; and the government has launched a $10-million Mental Health of Black Canadians fund.
But on the topic of compensation, no offer has been made.
Thompson says the people he represents set out to work their way up the ladder of public service and instead found themselves taking on second jobs. “Disproportionally, these are single women left on the poverty line after decades of clerical work. Compensation is a must.”
In October, the long-awaited certification hearing was to take place and could dismiss, modify, or accept the suit. Thompson was cautiously confident that the suit would proceed, despite the fact that the government is challenging it.
“The government has already implemented many of the measures we’ve asked for. I’m calling on the government to settle it. Why are they spending taxpayer dollars to fight it?”
“As the Canadian public service, we have to force these changes. Canada is an amazing country. But without everyone at the table, Canada is being disenfranchised. One day, I am hopeful that Canada’s purported stance of being a beacon of hope for human rights can actually be realized.”