Thank you, Madam Chair.
With the greatest of respect, the motion speaks to the need to produce this proactive pay equity legislation quickly, saying “without delay”, “immediately introduce”. By the minister's own words--this was Minister Cotler at the time in a joint letter--he was very clear, given the complexities associated...and I should say this is in the fourth report to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women from October 5:
the Government cannot, at this time, introduce federal legislation by October 31, 2005, without further study and consultation.
There's an admission here that in order to.... I'd be the first to suggest that all government legislation is in need of review from time to time. It needs to be updated. Sometimes there are things with which you find glitches and you have to update it. The fact of the matter is we have pay equity legislation. The minister has been clear in his commitment to implement proactive measures to make sure that the pay equity legislation we do have is being implemented and that workplaces are required to move forward on these. He's backed that up with 100 or more inspectors right across the country to make sure that the existing legislation is being implemented properly.
We can debate this until the cows come home, but really, when it's all said and done, what the member is asking here, this rather immediate proactive pay equity legislation, defies the very recommendations of the previous government's minister on this topic.