Question Period Note: EMPLOYMENT EQUITY PROGRAM – GENERAL

What is the government doing to ensure fair, inclusive and equitable workplaces?

• The Government of Canada believes that Canada’s strength lies in its diversity. One of the ways the Government promotes equity and diversity is through the Employment Equity Act. The Act seeks to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities in federally regulated workplaces.

• By removing employment barriers and correcting underrepresentation, employers help ensure that all Canadians have equal access to employment opportunities so they can reach their full potential and contribute meaningfully to Canada’s economic growth.

General
The purpose of the Employment Equity Act (the Act) is to achieve equality in the workplace so that no one is denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability and to correct conditions of disadvantage experienced by members of four designated groups: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

Employer requirements under the Act

All employers subject to the Act have four core obligations:
• survey their workforce to collect data on the representation of designated group members in each occupational group in their workforce;
• identify any underrepresentation of the designated groups in each occupational group in their workforce;
• review their employment systems, including written and unwritten policies and practices, in order to identify employment barriers; and
• prepare and implement a plan to remove employment barriers and achieve equitable representation.

Employers covered under the Act
The Act applies to:
• federally regulated private-sector employers with 100 or more employees (e.g. Bell Canada), including federal Crown corporations (e.g. Canada Post) and other federal organizations (e.g. port authorities), covered under the Legislated Employment Equity Program (LEEP);
• all core public administration organizations identified in Schedules I or IV of the Financial Administration Act (federal government departments and agencies);
• separate agencies in the federal public sector listed in Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act with 100 or more employees (e.g. Canada Revenue Agency); and
• the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Division of responsibilities under the Act

Under the Act:
• the Minister of Jobs and Families is responsible for the Act and the programs and initiatives described below, which includes monitoring compliance of federally regulated private sector reporting and tabling a report in Parliament each year;
• Treasury Board and the Public Service Commission carry out employer obligations for the core federal public administration and the President of the Treasury Board tables the public sector annual reports to Parliament;
• the Canadian Human Rights Commission is responsible for conducting compliance audits of all employers (i.e. from both the private and the public sector); and
• an Employment Equity Review Tribunal can be established to hear cases where the Canadian Human Rights Commission has found non-compliance.

The Employee Equity Act Modernization
• In 2021, the arms-length Employment Equity Act Review (EEAR) Task Force was launched with a mandate to advise on how to strengthen and modernize the federal employment equity framework. This was with the aim of informing the first major update of the Act and framework since it was established in 1986.
• On December 11, 2023, the EEAR Task Force released its report, which included a wide range of recommendations. At the same time, the Government of Canada announced initial commitments based on the recommendations, including adding two new designated groups to the Act for Black people and 2SLGBTQI+ people, and updating the terminology and definitions for all designated groups.
• To understand how best to implement the EEAR Task Force’s recommendation, the Labour Program held consultations from May 3 to August 30, 2024.

Employment equity programs and initiatives carried out by the Labour Program
The Minister of Jobs and Families is responsible for the following employment equity programs and initiatives that are delivered by the Labour Program of Employment and Social Development Canada.

• Legislated Employment Equity Program
Each year, the federally regulated private-sector employers, including federal Crown corporations and other federal organizations, are required to file an employment equity report with the Minister of Jobs and Families by June 1.
The Labour Program receives and validates the employer reports, then consolidates and analyzes the information to produce the Minister’s “Employment Equity Act: Annual Report” that must be tabled in Parliament.
The Labour Program also provides guidance and tools to the LEEP employers relating to the implementation of employment equity in the workplace.
According to the “Employment Equity Act: Annual Report 2023”, for 2022, the LEEP covered 566 employers with a total of 809,836 employees, representing approximately 3.8% of the Canadian workforce.
• Pay gap reporting
In January 2021, new pay transparency measures came into effect for LEEP employers following amendments to the Act and the Employment Equity Regulations:
o Employers need to include salary data in their annual employment equity reports about pay gaps that affect the four designated groups;
o Employers reported their first pay gap information for the 2021 reports.

On February 2, 2024, the Labour Program launched Equi’Vision – a data visualization website. Equi’Vision provides user-friendly, easily comparable data on representation and pay gaps for each LEEP employer.
Publishing pay gaps raises awareness about this issue for women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. Pay gap reporting can help to shift business culture and expectations towards greater equality. Canada is the first country to make this level of information publicly available.
• Federal Contractors Program
The Federal Contractors Program (FCP) ensures that employers who do business with the Government of Canada implement employment equity in their workplace.
The FCP applies to provincially regulated employers with 100 or more employees receiving goods and services contracts of $1 million or more from the Government of Canada.
Once an employer receives an eligible contract from the Government of Canada, the contractor must fulfill the following requirements:
o collect and maintain workforce information;
o conduct a workforce analysis and complete an achievement report;
o establish short term and long-term numerical goals;
o make reasonable efforts towards having a workforce that is representative of the four designated groups; and
o report the above information to the Labour Program.
The Labour Program conducts regular compliance assessments. If a contractor is found to be in non-compliance, they face contractual sanctions limiting their ability to conduct business with the federal government.

As of June 2023, the FCP applied to 415 employers covering over 600,000 employees.
• Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity
Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) is a grants and contributions program designed to support private-sector employers subject to the Act in their efforts to improve the representation of designated group members in areas with low representation, through partnerships and industry-tailored strategies. The projects funded seek to raise awareness, identify barriers and best practices, or test innovative approaches in employment equity.

Funding of $3 million per fiscal year is available to eligible recipients, including federally regulated private-sector employers, employer associations or councils, sector associations or councils, non-governmental organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and academic institutions. Each project can receive a maximum of $500,000 per fiscal year and $1.5 million in total contributions funding. Projects must conclude within 60 months.

• Employment Equity Employer’s Forum
Launched in 2025, the Employment Equity Employer’s Forum is a semi-annual (every two years) event designed to recognize the efforts of employers in implementing employment equity for the four designated groups. The Forum brings federally regulated private-sector employers and federal contractors together to share best practices, explore innovative ideas, and discuss the latest strategies for advancing employment equity. It also features innovative thought leaders on a range of key equity-related issues.

In the United States, the federal government and some states are pulling back on programs that support fairness and inclusion. In contrast, the Canadian government is continuing to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in a meaningful way.

Canada uses laws (e.g. the Employment Equity Act, Canadian Human Rights Act), data, guidance, and tools to make sure people are treated fairly at work, especially in federally regulated workplaces. One new tool, called Equi’Vision, helps show how different groups – like women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities – are compensated for their work. This helps companies see where they need to improve. Launched in early 2024, the tool is something unprecedented in Canada, and internationally significant.

In Canada, we believe diversity makes us stronger. Fairness and inclusion are important for building trust and success. We are working to make sure everyone feels safe, welcome, and respected – no matter who they are.