The Canadian Space Agency says it will now make employees declare their sexual and gender preferences, claiming the policy is “key to driving organizational success.”Blacklock's Reporter says an internal report confirmed the change is not legally required but said workers will be encouraged to self-identify as part of the sexual minority community or as black “for human resources-related opportunities.” The agency promised to prioritize those groups under its new 2025-2028 diversity action plan.The Space Agency has 988 staff, about half of them women. “Diversity is a central element of the value of respect for people,” the plan said, insisting new rules were necessary to collect more sex and gender data..Critics note census figures show the number of transgender and non-binary Canadians is a fraction of the population—just 0.3% or 100,815 people. Broader StatsCan data put the total sexual minority population at 4%.Despite the small numbers, the agency says diversity quotas are “critical to effective talent management.” The next census in 2026 will expand questions on conjugal relationships outside marriage or common law to “capture increasingly diverse situations.”
