Dawson Creek city council is taking a closer look at how municipal hiring decisions are made, including how the city works to reduce barriers and limit bias during recruitment.
The discussion came at Monday’s regular council meeting as Councillor Charlie Parslow asked staff to clarify several parts of the city’s updated recruitment and employment policies.
Parslow questioned a section that calls for candidates to be selected based on their ability to meet the requirements of a position, including roles with specific scheduling demands.
“I know some employers… are often charged with reverse discrimination,” Parslow said, adding that he wanted to better understand how the policy applies to different groups of applicants.
Human resources manager Elisa Valentin said assessing a candidate’s capacity involves looking at whether they can meet the overall requirements of a position, rather than focusing solely on formal qualifications.
She said the city also has an obligation to accommodate employees with family responsibilities, where possible, but that accommodations cannot interfere with essential job requirements.
“It boils down to… we have a requirement as an employer, to the point of undue hardship, to accommodate that type of thing,” Valentin said.
She noted that some employees may be able to adjust their start times, while positions requiring weekend coverage or other specific operational needs still require employees to be available when needed.
Parslow also asked about a section of the policy focused on removing systemic barriers for underrepresented groups.
Valentin identified requirements such as driver’s licences and criminal record checks as areas the city regularly reviews with union representatives to determine whether they are necessary for particular positions.
“Are the requirements of this job being set in a way that are preventing people who would do a really good job of doing it just because they got in a bar fight 20 years ago or just because they only have their learner’s license?” Valentin asked.
She said the goal is to ensure requirements are tied to the actual duties of a job, particularly for entry-level positions, rather than creating unnecessary barriers.
Council also discussed the policy’s language around having a municipal workforce that reflects the community.
Valentin said the city is focused on inclusive recruitment practices rather than setting fixed numerical quotas.
The conversation then turned to how hiring managers account for unconscious or personal bias when interviewing candidates.
“Bias is inevitable. Everyone is biased in some way,” Valentin said.
“Number one is being aware of it, number two is being prepared for it.”
She said the city uses standardized interview questions, consistent evaluation rubrics and panels with multiple interviewers to help make hiring decisions more objective.
Valentin said managers are also encouraged to choose “the right choice, not the easy choice” when selecting a candidate.
Council members also asked how the city identifies applications that may have been produced with artificial intelligence.
Staff indicated that AI use in recruitment is an evolving issue as employers continue to adapt their hiring practices to new technology.
