Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, I want to thank you and your staff for appearing before us. I commend you for the work you're doing in a difficult portfolio.
I'd like to move to the issue of pay equity, since it has been raised by Ms. Davies. I'm a bit puzzled, and I'll tell you why.
In Canada we already have the Canadian Human Rights Act, which in fact prohibits discrimination in the area of wages where men and women perform work of the same value or similar value. Subsequent to that legislation being passed, there were also some guidelines issued that set out the criteria that would be applied in trying to ensure that we have pay equity in Canada. Yet we hear from the opposition parties that they want more legislation, they want more regulation, they want more action.
As you know, for the last 13 years we had a Liberal government that had the current legislation in place, but it appears that no action has been taken in moving forward the issue of pay equity. In fact, there are a number of areas in which there could have been some action, but the government didn't move forward. As examples, there's the area of educating employers in the area of wage equity; ensuring that we had a more robust dispute resolution process; and ensuring that we have a vigorous compliance program, coupled with enforcement.
I would really appreciate hearing from you some comments as to what you're moving forward with to ensure that we move toward true wage parity and wage equity in Canada.