The federal government has spent more than $15 million fighting a proposed class-action lawsuit launched by Black public servants.

The lawsuit claims systemic racism and discrimination within the service dates back to the 1970s. The Black Class Action Secretariat, the group behind the lawsuit, now represents at least 45,000 current and former Black public servants across 99 government agencies.

Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president and CEO of the organization, told CBC News his group was "outraged that the government has spent more money fighting Black workers than trying to fix the problem of systemic discrimination within the public service of Canada."

"It is extremely disconcerting that our government would spend this exorbitant amount of money enriching a private law firm to the tune

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