Establishment of the National Employment Equity Council

Nicholas Marcus Thompson speaking at a press conference in Ottawa. March 23, 2026. Spencer Colby

Nicholas Marcus Thompson led the effort to bring together a multi-sector group of organizations to establish the National Employment Equity Council in his role as Chief Executive Officer of the Black Class Action Secretariat (BCAS). Acting as the convening body, BCAS worked with labour unions, human rights organizations, advocacy groups, and community-based institutions.

These efforts led to the inaugural meeting of the Council’s founding members on March 9, 2026, at which participating organizations ratified the Terms of Reference and a Founding Resolution formally establishing the body. At that meeting, Thompson was elected as Co-Chair alongside Tyler Boyce and Phylomène Zangio.

At a press conference announcing the launch of the Council on March 23, 2026, Thompson stated that Canada is adapting to a changing global context and that all communities must be included in decision-making processes.

Coverage of the launch by the Ottawa Citizen reported that the Council was formed by more than 20 labour and human rights organizations to press the federal government to modernize the Employment Equity Act, and quoted Thompson as stating that “the time for consultation has passed” and that the next federal budget must take concrete steps to implement the Task Force recommendations.

Additional reporting by rabble.ca described the Council as a national body advocating for the implementation of more than 180 recommendations from the 2023 Employment Equity Act Task Force report.

The Council was established as a national coordinating body to advance employment equity in Canada and to support the implementation of the 2023 Employment Equity Act Task Force recommendations, with a focus on accountability for the Government of Canada’s commitments in federally regulated sectors.