Evidence of meeting #33 for Status of Women in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was trades.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
Chief, Analysis and Special Projects, Labour Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
The female firefighters were 3% in 2006. That is a substantial increase from the 1% in 1996.
Female correctional services officers are 32%, compared to 24%. It's the same for bylaw enforcement and other regulatory officers, 32%. Female police officers are 20%, compared to 13%. So they have made progress in the protective services. With the firefighters, it's still very low.
4:50 p.m.
Chief, Analysis and Special Projects, Labour Statistics Division, Statistics Canada
Sure.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Alice Wong Conservative Richmond, BC
Thank you very much for coming. I know that it's within short notice only that you've been able to give us such valuable information.
I have quite a few questions, but they're pretty short ones.
First of all, I'd like to know when the AIG started and when the ACG was introduced, the two grants, the apprenticeship incentive grant and the apprenticeship completion grant. In what year were they started?
4:50 p.m.
Director, Trades and Apprenticeship Division, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
The apprenticeship incentive grant began in January 2007 and the completion grant began just this past July.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Alice Wong Conservative Richmond, BC
This past July, okay. Wonderful.
My other question concerns the many EI training programs the government has put in, especially for those whose industry will be disappearing. Do you have the actual number of people who have benefited, and do you foresee these people going back to the workforce pretty soon after, say, two years of training?
4:50 p.m.
Director General, Workplace Partnerships Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
I don't have the numbers with me, but I certainly think we have the numbers of people who've benefited, which, unfortunately, are significant in real terms.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
Director General, Workplace Partnerships Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
I think we have a fairly good idea of that as well, which we will provide.
4:50 p.m.
Director General, Workplace Partnerships Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
Yes.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Alice Wong Conservative Richmond, BC
My other question is about immigrants, specifically immigrant women, because I know that the foreign credential recognition issue is something the government is working hard on so that some of the foreign-trained people who come to this country will be able to go back to the workforce.
I'm interested in the language requirement, because immigrant women are often in non-traditional jobs. They do not require as much facility in English or French as those in more sophisticated jobs. So can you shed some light on the correlation between the two?
4:55 p.m.
Director, Trades and Apprenticeship Division, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
I can speak to the trades. A couple of years ago we did some work with the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks to benchmark the examination requirements for someone to be certified in the red seal trades. We found that on a benchmark scale of 1 to 12, they came in at roughly the 5 to 6 level. So on the scale of 1 to 12, according to the Canadian language benchmarks, passing the exam requires about a 5 to 6 level.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Alice Wong Conservative Richmond, BC
Okay. What about the even lower skills trades, like carpentry and other non-traditional jobs, for immigrant women to go into?
4:55 p.m.
Director, Trades and Apprenticeship Division, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
We took a cross-section of trades. I think we studied 10 trades at the time. I'd have to get the list of jobs for you, but the jobs may have included carpentry. I'm not sure.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Alice Wong Conservative Richmond, BC
So would you believe that increasing language training together with trades training would be a good move for new immigrants, especially immigrant women?
4:55 p.m.
Director, Trades and Apprenticeship Division, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
I believe there are programs in place that address that, and the language benchmarks are now being used for ESL programming across the country.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Thank you very much.
I just have a couple of questions.
Mr. Green, on page 5 of your presentation you talked about the gender gap—the 84¢-on-the dollar comparison—and you said that in the blue-collar occupations the gap is even bigger. Can you give me a couple of examples of what blue-collar occupations would have that larger gap?
4:55 p.m.
Director General, Workplace Partnerships Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
I know the number we're using in the blue-collar occupations is actually 72¢. When we talk about some of the blue-collar jobs, I think we're talking about non-traditional jobs, the trades, construction, etc.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
So what you're saying then is that if there's a female with an electrician's trade ticket and a male with an electrician's trade ticket working for the same company or the same union, there would be a wage gap between the two of them?
4:55 p.m.
Director General, Workplace Partnerships Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
I'm not sure if I'm saying that.
Christina, do you have...?
4:55 p.m.
Director, Labour Market Policy Research, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
I think those would be average figures across the occupations, so they wouldn't necessarily refer to people who work within the same company.
