Question Period Note: REVIEW OF THE EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT

On July 14, 2021, the Employment Equity Act Review Task Force was launched. Why is the Government undertaking this review? What is the Task Force being asked to do?

• The Employment Equity Act is one way the Government promotes equitable, diverse and inclusive workplaces.

• The Act seeks to address barriers in employment faced by women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities in federally regulated workplaces.

• Progress has been made over the years; however, more needs to be done to level the playing field for all Canadians. As we work to identify ways to make work environments more inclusive and representative, we must ensure that the Act reflects the realities of today’s workplaces.

• In July 2021, our Government launched a Task Force to study how an updated Employment Equity Act can help ensure an equitable, inclusive, and fair economic recovery. The Task Force will examine equity group composition, employment equity practices, as well as compliance and enforcement approaches.

• Taken together with other measures, this Review will help ensure that workers have a fair and equal chance to reach their full potential.

• In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the Government committed $3.2 million to support a task force on modernizing the Employment Equity Act (EEA).

• The Employment Equity Act Review Task Force was launched on July 14, 2021, with a mandate to study, consult, and advise on the renewal and modernization of the EEA and its framework. The Task Force consists of 13 members, including the Chairperson, Professor Adelle Blackett, and two Vice-Chairs, Professors Dionne Pohler and Marie-Thérèse Chicha.

• The Task Force met three times in July 2021, before the group’s work was suspended as a result of the election. Work has not yet started on external engagement and consultations.
• The EEA requires covered employers to proactively identify and remove discriminatory barriers in their workplaces and to correct conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by members of four designated groups: women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

• The EEA applies to federally regulated industries, Crown corporations and other federal organizations with 100 employees or more, as well as portions of the federal public administration identified in Schedules I or IV and V of the Financial Administration Act and by order of the Governor in Council, which includes the Canadian Forces and the RCMP.

o The EEA also assigns responsibility for administering the Federal Contractors Program to the Minister of Labour. Under the Federal Contractors Program, certain provincially regulated contractors who do business with the Government of Canada are required to seek to achieve and maintain a workforce that is representative of the Canadian workforce, including members of the four designated groups under the EEA.

• Employers covered under the EEA have four core obligations:

o survey their workforce to collect data on the representation of designated group members in each occupational group in their workforce;
o identify any underrepresentation of the designated groups in each occupational group in their workforce;
o review their employment systems including written and unwritten policies and practices in order to identify employment barriers; and
o prepare and implement a plan to remove employment barriers and achieve equitable representation.

• In addition, federally regulated private-sector employers are required to submit an employment equity report to the Minister of Labour by June 1st of each year.

• On June 16, 2020, the Parliamentary Black Caucus called for “a comprehensive review of the existing employment equity regime to help close the racialized wage and opportunity gaps by all governments.”

o The Parliamentary Black Caucus, established in 2015, is composed of parliamentarians from the Senate and the House of Commons who are either Black Canadians or allies of Black Canadians.

• In September 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended that Canada “Conduct a comprehensive review of the existing employment equity regime and make necessary changes to increase the representation of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples in the workforce.”

• According to the 2020 Employment Equity Act Annual Report, in federally regulated private sector employers covered under the Employment Equity Act (EEA):

o Women accounted for 39.5% of the workforce, compared to 48.2% labour market availability;
o Aboriginal peoples accounted for 2.3% of the workforce, compared with 4.0% labour market availability;
o persons with disabilities accounted for 3.5% of the workforce, compared with 9.1% labour market availability; and
o Members of visible minorities accounted for 24.4% of the workforce, compared with 21.3% labour market availability.

• According to Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada for Fiscal Year 2019 to 2020, within the core public administration:

o The representation rate of women (55.0%) exceeded the labour market availability (48.2%);
o Indigenous peoples accounted for 5.1% of the workforce, compared with 4.0% labour market availability;
o Persons with disabilities accounted for 5.2% of the workforce compared with 9.1% labour market availability; and
o Members of visible minorities accounted for 17.8% of the workforce, compared to 21.3% labour market availability .