Status of Women Committee on Oct. 19th, 2010

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Madame Laurendeau, you have about 10 seconds to answer that.

[Hélène Laurendeau]

The banks are not covered by the equitable compensation act. That's the first thing. The second thing is that if they were, there is a process within PSECA to deal with wage-setting, taking into consideration a non-unionized environment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

I'd now like to go to the Conservatives and Ms. Brown for three minutes, please.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I apologize that I wasn't here for the beginning of your presentation. I had a very important phone call that I had to get today. I'm glad that we had somebody here who could sub for us earlier and who had some knowledge of all of this.

First of all, I would like to say that I come from the private sector. I would like to know whether consultations have included people from the private sector who are non-unionized, to get their input on how this is going to impact them in the future as well. As a woman who comes from business, from having my own business, I have some interest in seeing how this will roll forward.

On what we were speaking about earlier, Ms. Laurendeau, you were starting in on a discussion about the provinces, on how you've consulted with the provinces and what you've learned from them. I wonder if you could expound on that a little and take the time to tell us what you've learned there.

[Hélène Laurendeau]

There are a couple of things.

On the issue of the private sector, this legislation doesn't currently apply to the private sector.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

That's right.

[Hélène Laurendeau]

But we've been in contact informally with employer associations and some of them have given us positive feedback about the underpinnings.

At this stage, we are focusing our consultations on the organizations that are covered by the legislation and developing the regulations--

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

If I may just interrupt there for one moment, just on the impact that it will have on the private sector, though, there obviously will be a trickle-through, because those in the private sector--many of them non-unionized--are the ones who are providing tax dollars for many of these things to be accomplished. I hope they're included in the consultation, in the process.

[Hélène Laurendeau]

Your point is well taken. They are indeed present in terms of feedback.

With respect to prevention models, we have used primarily the work done through the Bilson task force to educate ourselves on what have been the challenges within provinces. Also, I personally visited some provincial counterparts to informally discuss with them what was working well in their regime, what was working less well, and where there would be room for improvement.

I would not go as far as saying that I floated with them the existing model, because at the time I was not in a position to do so, but I certainly made a point of making sure that I had informal discussions with representatives of Ontario and of Quebec on the good progress they have made in that area.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Can you say that there is one province that is moving more quickly than others? Are there better regimes out there that you have been able to take information from?

[Hélène Laurendeau]

It is clear that Ontario and Manitoba were the first ones to move towards a proactive regime. It is also fair to say that the Quebec government, based on those experiences, had improved on the model.

We are hoping that with this current model we have resolved one of the issues that neither of those models have completely resolved, which is the issue of maintenance of pay equity.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you. That's time.

Thank you, Ms. Brown.

Now from the Bloc, Madame Demers again.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Laurendeau, could you tell us what proactive steps have been taken to inform employees of their rights and of what has been done to provide them with equitable compensation before their wages are set?

[Hélène Laurendeau]

Are you talking about the current system or the future system?

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

You said the following in your presentation:

The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act contains robust reporting and transparency requirements to proactively inform employees of their rights and inform them of what has been done to ensure equitable compensation before their wages are set.

[Hélène Laurendeau]

That is one of the things we are developing through the regulations. We want to make it so that the results of any equitable compensation assessment are made public when the time comes for people to have to decide whether to ratify the wages that have been negotiated.

In terms of the consultations, we are at the stage of defining the level of detail of the joint report that employers and bargaining agents will issue outlining problems in equitable compensation, if any, and, if so, the ways in which they will be solved. That will be done by publishing and distributing the equitable compensation assessment report.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Is that after the compensation has been negotiated?

[Hélène Laurendeau]

It will be right when the ratification vote is to be held.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

You say here “...before their wages are set.”

[Hélène Laurendeau]

The agreement in principle on compensation will include, clearly, not buried in all kinds of other information, an equitable compensation assessment report. This will mean that people who are going to have to express their opinion on the agreement in principle will also express their opinion on the nature of the equitable compensation agreement. It will be the last step before the wages are ratified.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Speaking of assessments, can you tell me where you are on the comparative gender-based analysis?

[Hélène Laurendeau]

We have not started the process as such because, as I have already mentioned, we are still working on the regulations that will embed that kind of analysis in the collective bargaining process. We are just establishing the regulatory framework that will allow us to move forward in that direction and implement the act as a whole.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Madame Demers.

Ms. Mathyssen from the NDP.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I understand that Treasury Board is working towards the implementation of the PSECA, but the Public Service Labour Relations Board is responsible to your complaints, ultimately. I'm wondering, in this interim, what's happening to the pay equity cases that are currently before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and how many of those cases are pending.