Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to speak to you today about Employment and Social Development Canada's portion of the 2018-19 main estimate and to outline how important programs will be delivered by the department.
Before we begin, I, too, would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional territory of the Algonquin people.
As Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, I am firmly focused on making sure that every Canadian has a fair chance to succeed. Since November 2015, Canadians have created over 600,000 jobs, most of which are full-time. The unemployment rate is now near historic lows, and Canada is leading the G7 countries in economic growth.
We know, however, that there's still more work to do. We need equality of opportunity for all Canadians to reach their full potential. This is a lens that we apply to everything we do as a government.
The fact is, for women and girls, there are still many barriers to overcome. Our government is intent on breaking down those barriers.
Budget 2018 focused on actions to ensure that the benefits of a growing economy are shared by more and more people.
Part of this action includes measures to promote gender equality through pay equity. On average, women earn just 69¢ for every dollar earned by men on an annual basis, even though about three-quarters of young women have post-secondary certificates or a degree. That's not right. It's also not very smart. It's why we're moving forward with proactive pay equity legislation.
We also have to address this wage gap for women and other vulnerable populations through pay transparency measures, which will provide Canadians with information on the pay practices of federally regulated employers. These measures will help to highlight those employers who model equitable pay practices, while holding employers accountable for wage gaps.
We have also taken action to promote and advance women in occupations in which they're currently under-represented. Indeed, we've put forward measures to further support the participation and success of women in the trades. We announced three initiatives as part of budget 2018. These are $46 million over five years for a new pre-apprenticeship program; $19.9 million over five years to pilot an apprenticeship incentive grant for women; and $10 million over three years for the new women in construction fund.
We are confident that the steps we are taking to promote gender equality will go a long way to ensure everyone has an equal chance of success.
It's very important that women and other vulnerable workers have the same opportunities when it comes to getting a job and succeeding in that job. We have to ensure that every person can work in an environment free of harassment and violence. Bill C-65 will do just that by helping to put an end to these unacceptable behaviours in federally regulated workplaces and on Parliament Hill. It will require employers to prevent incidents of harassment and violence, to respond effectively if these incidents happen and when they occur, and to support victims.
Through budget 2018 we announced $34.9 million over five years starting in 2018-19, and $7.4 million per year ongoing, to build awareness on harassment and violence, create education and training tools for employees and employers, and establish a toll-free helpline to help employers and employees navigate the process and put in place effective workplace policies.
I want to thank again the members of this committee, who I know worked incredibly hard to propose amendments that will strengthen Bill C-65, for working so collaboratively to get the job done.
In addition to Bill C-65, we are also taking steps to modernize our labour standards. Innovation is changing the way that we work and live, bringing with it new realities for Canadian workers and employers. In this rapidly changing environment, we need to continue to protect the rights and well-being of workers while ensuring that employers have the flexibility they need to succeed.
You will recall that in budget 2017 we proposed to give federally regulated private sector employees the right to request flexible work arrangements from their employer, such as flexible start and finish times and the ability to work from home.
Budget 2017 also made bereavement leave more flexible and introduced new leave for family responsibilities, to participate in traditional indigenous practices, and for employees who are victims of family violence, or the parent of a child who is the victim of family violence. These measures will help employees in the federally regulated private sector to better balance their work, family, and other personal responsibilities.
We are continuing our work on that front. In budget 2018 we announced that we intend to make five days of the new 10-day leave for family violence paid. How can we make sure that all of this actually happens, once these and other new measures are in place? Well, of course we need stronger compliance and enforcement measures. For example, amendments made to the Canada Labour Code, such as the introduction of monetary penalties and administrative fees and the authority to publicly name violators, will update enforcement tools, bringing the code in line with regimes that exist in other jurisdictions.
I think the chair is giving me notice that my time is done.
I want very much to talk about all of the other exciting things we're doing, but we'll have to save that for a later date.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.