Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for the presentations.
I have a couple of high-level questions I'd like each department to respond to.
We had an opportunity to hear from Beth Bilson, the author of the report on pay equity in 2004 and heard the extensive amount of research and time spent looking at the issue of pay equity in...I guess more than 2004 because I believe it went over several years. They recommended a model of pay equity that was stand-alone legislation. For me, that kind of model is comparable to occupational health and safety, where there's legislation and it would apply to all federally regulated employers, including the public service.
I can start with you, Mr. Giles, and your comment on why we wouldn't go back to that report and build on the work that is already done to be able to move forward. What happened to those recommendations?
The other thing would be just what role.... Three different departments are here today talking about pay equity, and I would be very interested to hear from each of you what role you feel your department or your ministry would play in addressing pay equity. What would be your responsibility on this issue? You can relate it to the report itself or to the work you're doing now.