Thank you, Madam Chair.
I am supporting this motion by Ms. Minna because I think it's very important that we revisit the work of the pay equity task force. If any of the committee members have read this report, they will note that it sets out pay equity step by step; it's very, very clear, and very precise. And the plan they propose is very, very doable.
In terms of this committee, we've had witness after witness come here to talk about women who are in poverty. These women are working at a substandard level in terms of their wages and salaries. Last week we had a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives that, once again, verified that women and families are suffering because we haven't managed to make sure their incomes keep pace with inflation. The reality is that the affordability gap widens and widens.
This recommends proactive pay equity. What we have in this country is a complaints-based system that is litigious and requires individuals who don't have the benefit of unions to basically step out on their own. In a recent report from the labour unions in this country, they're saying, point-blank, there is absolutely nothing new in what the current government is proposing in terms of pay equity, that all the things they're talking about have been tried without any positive results.
We simply have to move ahead; we can't keep pedalling backwards. It's time for proactive pay equity now, and this government needs to move on it. We've been waiting too many years.