Celebrate Black History Month - Cal Best

The PSAC BC Racially Visible Caucus and the Union of National Employees BC and Yukon invite you to Celebrate Black History Month with a series of posters, facts, and bookmarks that commemorate our heritage. Here is the last of a series of six informative posters members can print and display at their worksites.

In 1958, Cal Best was elected President of the newly formed Civil Service Association of Canada.

Cal Best remained President of the CSAC until 1966, when it merged with the Civil Service Federation. Between them, they had majority support in most job categories of the federal government, which allowed them for the first time to address many issues for their members.
He is seen as one of the founders of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and played a key role in the merger talks.

He left the union movement for a number of senior jobs in government. His crowning achievement was to be Canada’s first black ambassador.

After his retirement, he served on a number of commissions, notably on participation of visible minorities in the public service.

His career spans a period of almost no black public employees, through having junior and insecure positions, to a more inclusive and representative situation today.

Cal Best was a leader and is a great example for us all to the value of patient, persistent activism to leave the world a better place than we found it.