Question Period Note: REVIEW OF THE EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT

The Minister of Labour’s supplementary mandate letter contains a commitment to launch a review of the Employment Equity Act, with the support of the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth.

• The Government of Canada believes that Canada’s strength lies in its diversity. Creating equitable, diverse and inclusive workplaces will help grow our middle class and build a country where every Canadian has a real and fair chance to succeed.

• One of the ways the Government of Canada promotes equality is through the Employment Equity Act, which 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.

• Since the Act’s introduction in 1986, there has been some progress made for the four designated groups. But more needs to be done to advance equity, diversity and inclusion for women, LGBTQ2 Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized Canadians, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.

• I look forward to launching a review of the Act, which will have a mandate to study, consult, and advise on how a renewed Employment Equity Act can help ensure that Canada’s economic recovery is equitable, inclusive, and fair.

• 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.”
• In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the Government committed $6.6 million to support a task force on modernizing the EEA. The task force will have a mandate to study, consult, and advise on how a renewed employment equity regime will operate.
• The Minister of Labour’s supplementary mandate letter of January 15, 2021 includes the following commitment: “With the support of the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, launch a review of the Employment Equity Act, as we advance work on equity, diversity and inclusion for women, LGBTQ2 Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized Canadians, persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups.”

• According to the 2019 Employment Equity Act Annual Report, in federally regulated private sector employers covered under the Employment Equity Act (EEA):

o women accounted for 39.4% 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 3.4% of the workforce, compared with 9.1% labour market availability; and
o members of visible minorities accounted for 23.8% of the workforce, compared with 21.3% labour market availability.