Well, the first thing we would say is adopt the pay equity task force recommendations from 2004. They are good recommendations. They will benefit women from coast to coast to coast.
When some of us in the room were younger activists—that would be me—things were going to be different after 10 years. But 30 years later we're sitting here and the gender pay gap is about where we were when some of us were much younger.
The reality is that it's not only about equal pay for equal work; it's about equal pay for work of equal value. That means we need to start to pay women for the value of their work rather than downgrading the pay because it is a female-dominated occupation. It makes a huge difference.
I remember years ago meeting a women who had won a similar pay argument at a hospital in Saskatchewan, and she talked about what the difference was for her. She could buy a small home for her and her two kids. It made a big difference, between what she was being paid before and what she was being paid in the new regime.
We didn't go into details, because quite frankly let's go back to 2004. Let's dust off that report. Let's make sure we implement it and then we lead the way.
We have to remember as well that women in the federal public sector have lost their rights on pay equity by the equitable compensation act, which is not going to be equitable and is not going to compensate people for what they need.