Status of Women Committee on Oct. 29th, 2009

Evidence of meeting #37 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 work.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Study on Increasing the Participation of Women in Non-Traditional Occupations

Committee Business

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Christopher Smillie Policy Analyst, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, Canadian Office

Debra Faye Penner Office Administrator and Estimator, Dig-All Construction Ltd.

Sylvie Émond Adult education and vocational training commissioner, Commission scolaire de Laval

René Barrette Vice-Principal, Le Chantier vocational training centre, Commission scolaire de Laval

Bianka Michaud Education consultant, Le Chantier vocational training centre, Commission scolaire de Laval

5:05 p.m.

Vice-Principal, Le Chantier vocational training centre, Commission scolaire de Laval

René Barrette

There is a bonus system that encourages trades people to work longer hours. There is a system that gives bonus hours so that new skills can be learned more quickly, and a wage scale that goes up as a function of the number of hours worked.

When construction workers have their plate full with work that needs to be done, they give it all they have got in order to improve their employment conditions. The notion of work-sharing has become difficult to pin down in their context. The bonus system needs to be re-designed.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC

Again, I would just use the example of physicians and 70-hour weeks. We've seen more women working as physicians.

As you indicated last week, when they come into that business they come into it in terms of what is reasonable and what will work in their lives in terms of the hours they put in.

Do I have any more time?

5:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

You have about thirty seconds.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC

I would be very interested to hear from Mr. Smillie. You talked about having a seminar in March. How are you envisioning that and what are you looking towards?

5:05 p.m.

Policy Analyst, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, Canadian Office

Christopher Smillie

It's not my seminar; it's a symposium being put on by the Construction Sector Council. I don't want to speak for them, but I would suggest that the clerk or Madam Fry or even you yourself could call them and ask them for more information. They have a draft date, and I believe they're trying to do exactly what we're talking about here. I've let the cat out of the bag a little bit because they haven't announced it yet, but I made phone calls before I came here. It is in the sector council that employers and labourers sit and deal with HRSDC on a trilateral basis.

Maybe we can request more information from them through the committee.

5:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Thank you very much.

I want to thank the witnesses for coming and for being patient and answering the questions. I specifically want to congratulate Mr. Smillie on having the most extraordinary gender sensitivity in his language and in everything he has said. With people like you in construction, women will come. You will change the culture immediately.

Thank you very much.

We are going in camera to discuss future business.

[Proceedings continue in camera]