SUMMARY OF COMPLAINT OF SYSTEMIC RACISM IN EMPLOYMENT FILED BY

STEPHEN PUSKAS AGAINST THE NFB

Mr. Stephen Puskas is a young Inuk filmmaker who is originally from Yellowknife, and who was
hired for a temporary position of Associate Producer Intern by the National Film Board of
Canada between October 2017 and June 2018.

Despite the functions of the position that include:

1. Assist Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary projects, including a short film to be produced

in Nunatsiavut;

2. Equip the intern with tools to better pursue employment option.

From the beginning of his mandate, he was not given adequate training, orientation, or proper
introduction to other staff members, which left him unfamiliar with the working culture and
isolated. He was often told to “ knock on doors” to introduce himself to other producers. Other
barriers and problems began to mount after a few weeks:

• He had to performed tasks similar to that of a Personal Assistant for Ms. Obomsawin, and
rarely tasks related to an Associate Producer position.

• Instead of production work or training, he was sought out to give cultural consulting on
various projects, including a project on First Nations, despite not being of First Nations.

• When he was invited to a meeting in Nain, Labrador with the Deputy Minister of Culture,
Recreation and Tourism of the Nunatsiavut Government, he felt that he was solely brought
in to show the NFB’s commitment to building capacity in the Nunatsiavut community, as he,
nor two other Inuit filmmakers that attended the meeting, were asked to speak.

By January 2018, Mr. Puskas was further marginalized and isolated. For instance, Mr. Puskas
attended a meeting with two superiors, to express dissatisfaction with his training, and to state
his wish to be confident in his abilities as an Associate Producer by the end of the internship.
His superiors laughed and told him it was not possible. During this meeting, his supervisors
agreed to schedule weekly meetings with him to plan the rest of his internship. However, the
meetings never took place, as one supervisor was absent or unavailable at every scheduled
time.

Also, starting in January 2018, he was no longer managing Ms. Obomsawin’s emails and
whereabouts. He was assigned the documentation of chapters on four films, which he was told
by other employees, was unwanted, residual work.

When he added Cree titles in addition to Roman orthography, English and French titles for
chapters in a film, his superiors excluded them from the DVD, deeming it “too much work”.

Following the end of his internship in June 2018, Mr. Puskas signed a new contract for services
as an Associate Producer from July 3, 2018 to October 26, 2018, holding a contractor status
under this new contract. However, he continued to be solicited for cultural consultations despite
 2

the fact that such work did not appear in his contract. During this time, Mr. Puskas shared an
office with a non-Indigenous associate producer who received more guidance than him, such as
book recommendations and regular lunch meetings with their superior.

When he made his superiors at the NFB repeatedly aware that he was uncomfortable and
needed further introductions to the other staff members. He was simply told to go knock on
doors and introduce himself, rather than the NFB taking the initiative to mentor him.

Regarding his daily tasks at work, Mr. Puskas sought relevant work and mentorship within the
NFB, but instead he was solicited to give cultural consulting on various projects, including one
on First Nations people, despite not being of First Nations.

He felt often tokenized.

Due to the lack of training and support during his internship at the NFB, Mr. Puskas experienced
major psychological hardship. His living and working conditions worsened from the stress and
isolation felt at work and the lack of health insurance during his second contract. The lack of
relevant work and training offered during his internship hindered his future job opportunities.

He enlisted CRARR’s help. In August 2019, he filed a complaint of racism in employment with
the Canadian Human Rights Commission, in which he seeks not only material and moral
damages, but also systemic remedies such as:

1) Offer cultural awareness workshops for individuals working on film projects about other
cultures, that are specific to the culture being portrayed (reference to the Call to Action
57 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada);

2) Integrate internships under the supervision and responsibility of HR with a formalized

structure for integration, support, training and performance feedback, especially for
Indigenous employees and employees from other equity designated group; and

3) Set up an independent and representative Task Force to review and improve the
implementation of the three-year Action Plan, and produce a public annual report on
implementation progress for the next four years.

- 30 -

Information: Fo Niemi
Executive Director, CRARR
514-939-3342