Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As I mentioned a little earlier, the committee members held a discussion. As I told my colleague, I don't disagree on the meaning of her motion. However, I think that it's important to take action on things we can actually change. University administration is the responsibility of the governments of Quebec and the other provinces. Where the federal government can really change the act is in the contracts it awards to universities. That's perhaps what we should study to determine whether there are pay equity disparities.
The amendment I would like to add to my colleague's motion would make it more specific by focusing on federal government jurisdictions, which mainly affect the administration of contracts awarded to universities, because overall administrative authority for universities rests with the provinces and the Quebec government.
So I certainly want to study that. I believe it's an important subject. In fact, there are already pay equity statutes in Quebec. A great deal of progress has been made in terms of pay equity and I believe much more can be accomplished. However, we really have to focus on what the federal government can change, because that's our role as legislators.