Nicholas Marcus Thompson

Nicholas Marcus Thompson (born 16 July 1986) is a Trinidadian-Canadian human rights advocate, union leader, and influential figure in the fight against systemic discrimination in Canada. Thompson has been at the forefront of advocating for the rights of Black Canadians, most notably through organizing the landmark $2.5 billion Black Class Action lawsuit against the federal Government of Canada. This lawsuit, filed on behalf of about 45,000 Black federal employees, challenged systemic discrimination in hiring and promotions, leading to profound changes in Canada’s employment legislation.

He is the Executive Director of the Black Class Action Secretariat, a national non-profit organization that works to dismantling systemic discrimination in all sectors of Canadian life. Thompson is also president of the Union of Taxation Employees Toronto North, and the host of the Union Matters show, where he advocates for the elimination of racial discrimination in Canada's public service and labor unions.

Early life
Thompson was born in the tiny, predominantly East Indian village of Piparo in Trinidad. When he was eight, his mother moved to Morvant, and Thompson was raised by his great-grandfather, a World War II veteran and former police inspector. In his own words, Thompson "landed in Toronto as a teenager, ready to take on the world".

He is said to have attended Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institute and later the University of Toronto. (citation needed)

Thompson joined Canada's public service as an employee of the Canada Revenue Agency, where he became a member of Union of Taxation Employees, a component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Thompson was then elected President of Union of Taxation Employees, Toronto North. He received a scholarship from the Union of Taxation Employees and graduated from the Labour College of Canada.

Thompson was soon after elected as Chairperson of Racially Visible Committee (RVC) and Vice-President of the Greater Toronto Area Council of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. In January 2021, Thompson was elected second Alternate Regional Executive Vice President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Ontario Region. Thompson serves in these four elected positions simultaneously.

Politics
On May 23, 2019, Thompson was officially nominated as a candidate for the New Democratic Party in the district of Don Valley East in the 2019 Canadian federal election. He received 4,647 votes placing third in a six-way race.

Activism
Thompson challenged the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the largest federal sector union on anti-Black racism. He led Black Lives Matter protests in Toronto calling out Premier Doug Ford for not accepting that systemic racism exists in Canada. Thompson said he needed to see more than kneeling gestures from such officials as former Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

He is the host of Union Matters, an online show which focuses on anti-racism and discrimination issues in the labour movement. The show caused national controversy in September 2020 when Thompson called out a high-profile union executive for anti-Black discrimination, resulting in their resignation.

In his native country, Trinidad and Tobago, he petitioned the government in 2014 over a major corruption scandal called LifeSport. His petition called on the then Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and President Anthony Carmona to end their silence and to fire the cabinet minister responsible for the program. Seven days into petitioning, the Minister tendered his resignation. Media outlets attributed the resignation in part to Thompson's petition.

International Advocacy
Thompson has been a prominent figure in advocating for the rights of Black Canadians on the international stage, focusing on discrimination issues within Canada’s federal public service.

UN Human Rights Council Complaint
On September 25, 2022, Thompson announced at the Parliament building in Ottawa a significant development alongside figures like New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada Ketty Nivyabandi, PIPSC Vice President Norma Domey, and MP Matthew Green. The Black Class Action Secretariat (BCAS) had lodged a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur for racism, addressing systemic racism in hiring and promotions within Canada's federal public service. This action was a major step in elevating the issue to an international platform.

Addresses at the United Nations
Thompson continued his international advocacy with several key addresses at the United Nations:
 * December 4, 2022: Address at the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent in Geneva, Switzerland, highlighting discrimination in hiring and promotions faced by Canadian federal public sector workers of African descent.
 * May 30, 2023: Speech in New York at the UN, focusing on challenges experienced by Black Canadians in the federal public service, referencing findings about the Canadian Human Rights Commission's discrimination against its Black employees.
 * November 10, 2023: Participation in the United Nations' universal periodic review of Canada in Geneva, Switzerland. Thompson criticized Canada's human rights record, highlighting systemic discrimination against Black workers and calling for accountability and review of the Canadian Human Rights Commission's practices.

Black Class Action
Thompson tried to address anti-Black discrimination at the Canada Revenue Agency, the country's tax authority. He made representation on behalf of Black workers to the Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency, the Minister of National Revenue, the Clerk of the Privy Council and the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to no avail.

He then mobilized Black workers from across the country, including workers from the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Department of National Defense and Public Prosecutions Canada to file a class action lawsuit.

On December 2, 2020, the landmark case Nicholas Marcus Thompson et al V. Her Majesty was filed, naming the entire federal public service as defendants. Thompson said that Canada’s public service must reflect the people that it serves.

The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of Black federal public service employees who faced systemic discrimination related to hiring and promotions since 1970. That was the year that Canada ratified the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Around 30,000 Black civil servants have allegedly been deprived of opportunities and benefits afforded to others based on their race since the 1970s.

The claim states that the Employment Equity Act sought to prevent discrimination but in reality, there has allegedly been a de facto practice of Black employee exclusion throughout the public service because of the permeation of systemic discrimination through Canada’s institutional structure..

Awards
In January 2020, Thompson was awarded the Activist of the Year by the Public Service Alliance of Canada's Greater Toronto Area Council.

On February 6, 2021, John Tory, the Mayor of Toronto, proclaimed Bob Marley Day for the 30th year. Thompson was named a recipient of the Bob Marley Day award for his contribution to the advancement and development of his community.

In June 2023, the Toronto & York Regional Labour Council awarded Thompson with the Bromley Lloyd Armstrong award in recognition of his tireless work in the areas of equity, inclusion, and human rights. Armstrong was a Canadian civil rights leader that helped pave the way for Canada's first Human Rights laws.