Status of Women Committee on Nov. 26th, 2013

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

I will assure them of your confidence and your support.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

Thank you, Ms. O'Neill Gordon.

Thank you, Minister.

I now invite Mr. Dion to take the floor. You have seven minutes.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It is an honour for me to be part of your committee today. I am also honoured and pleased to be Kirsty Duncan for a few moments.

Minister, congratulations on your new responsibilities. They are not very new to you as you were appointed a few months ago already, but this is the first opportunity I have had to congratulate you.

I would like to focus, at least at the beginning, on the word “danger” and its definition. In the Canada Labour Code, the definition of “danger” includes:

...any exposure to a hazardous substance that is likely to result in a chronic illness, in disease or in damage to the reproductive system;

The problem is that in your government's new omnibus budget bill—and these bills always come with surprises that have nothing to do with the budget itself—we discover a new definition of the word “danger” that will replace the current one in the Canada Labour Code, where the damage to the reproductive system will not be mentioned.

First, are you aware of this change?

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, on a point of order, I'm not sure what the Canada Labour Code has to do with the status of women and supplementary estimates (B).

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

I'm speaking about the reproductive system. That definition will affect many women at work, so I think it's very relevant.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

It's not relevant to Status of Women. We're supposed to be talking about supplementary estimates (B). That's what the meeting is for.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

Mr. Dion, you have the floor.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

I'm very surprised that my colleague would question the fact that we speak about a danger to the reproductive system with respect to the status of women. If she doesn't see the link, I think she's alone on that.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

Thank you, Ms. Truppe and Mr. Dion.

We are discussing the dangers women may face at work. Given the expertise of the Minister of Status of Women, who is with us today, I would like to hear her opinion on the issue.

Minister, you have the floor.

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I will say that I am here in my capacity as the Minister of Status of Women, not as the Minister of Labour, but I'm happy to answer your question.

I want to be very clear, as I have been in the press. The ability to refuse to work for any employee, whether a woman or a man, continues. This is not changed in the code. Whether it be the opposition, the media, or others who may want to refute it, this is not changed.

I'd like to say that what we're doing with the code is actually enhancing and focusing on the internal responsibility system. I think the thing that is most important to employers and employees is that right there on the ground they can make a decision and move forward to make sure that workers, whether they be women or men, are not put in harm's way. This is something that I take very seriously.

The statistics are very clear with respect to making sure that Canadians are safe in the workplace. We need to take this very seriously. We are encouraging employers to take this very seriously, and they have. We also encourage employees to do the same, to make sure they're stepping up if they are concerned with respect to any workplace issue. This is a joint responsibility.

If the employer and employee are unable to resolve their issue right then and there, they can call a health and safety officer from the labour program in Canada, who is well trained and focused 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to intervene with respect to their concern. This is something which we pride ourselves in as Canadians.

I was travelling through Central and South America recently, and I have to say that the one thing Canadians should be exceptionally proud of is our health and safety system in the workplace. We have a circumstance where other countries want to be like us. They are asking Canadians to train them because we are second to none. We should be exceptionally proud of our health and safety officers. They do outstanding work.

What we are doing with the Canada Labour Code is focusing and making sure that there are opportunities for workers, employers, and employees to come to resolution immediately on the job. Instead of having to wait for someone to show up to make sure that the issue they're concerned about is resolved, they can deal with it immediately themselves and move forward. That's what we want to have happen. We want to make sure that workers in this country are empowered. We're providing them that opportunity. As I said before, every worker in the country continues to have the ability to refuse to work at any point in time.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Minister, I don't question your commitment to the protection of the health of Canadians. It's why I guess you will certainly revisit this decision to take the reference to damage to the reproductive system out of the definition of the word “danger” as it is in the Canada Labour Code. There is no reason to do that. Can you tell me a reason to do that?

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, on a point of order, this meeting is supposed to be on supplementary estimates (B). They are getting into labour issues. What was the point of having this meeting?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

I made my point about that. I think it's about the reproductive system. The minister said she is very concerned about health, that it's important to her, so I'm asking the question. She spoke about a lot of different things, but she did not address my question as to why she is supporting the move of this government to change the definition of the word “danger” in the Canada Labour Code in a way that will eliminate any reference to the reproductive system.

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

On a point of order, Madam Chair, can we have a ruling on whether this is relevant to the discussion? We only have the minister for a certain amount of time. I know that I for one would like to hear the minister talk to Status of Women department issues, and it's clear to me that this has nothing to do with her portfolio as Minister of Status of Women.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

Thank you, Ms. Ambler.

As I already mentioned, we are discussing the conditions in the workplace for women, and Mr. Dion's point was regarding women. Given the minister's expertise as Minister of Status of Women, I asker her to respond to the question, which she did.

Mr. Dion, do you have another question on the same topic?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Madam Chair, I did not get an answer to my question. Why was the reference to the reproductive system removed from the definition of the word “danger”?

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

I would ask...

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Madam Chair, I am sorry to interrupt, but I have the right to get an answer to my question. I would also like you to ensure that all the time that was wasted is not docked from my speaking time.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

The clock has been stopped. We have taken this into consideration. Please go on and ask your question.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Why has the reference to the reproductive system been removed from the definition of “danger” in the Canada Labour Code?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Madam Chair, as I mentioned before, we have been very focused on making sure that women, as well as men, are safe in the workplace.

As I mentioned before, with regard to the health and safety of Canadians, something I think Canadians don't fully appreciate is that our health and safety officers are second to none in the world. Our health and safety officers are cherished and other countries want emulate them.

Ten days ago I was in Colombia. I can tell you that they were asking for Canadians to train them, through our labour program, to make sure they are meeting the health and safety standards that we have here. The same occurred in Mexico, where they were asking for exactly that.

We are very focused on making sure that workplaces in Canada are safe so that fewer injuries take place, whether they be physical injuries, or even those that may be seen as injuries related to mental health related. The Government of Canada, in fact, my predecessor as Minister of Labour, launched a national voluntary standard with respect to mental health, something which Canadian women have been asking to have for quite some time.

These are issues that are top of mind. These are issues we are dealing with at Labour Canada. These are issues that Canadian women care about immensely. We're making sure that workplaces are safer for them, so that they can go to work, be healthy and happy, and return to their families so they can enjoy their evenings at home, or perhaps their mornings after a night of being on call, as I might do.

I would encourage the member to stay focused on why we're here today. I'm delighted to be here as the Minister of Status of Women and to focus on those things we had already been speaking about. I recognize that the member may want to take us a little off track and talk about other things, but I would encourage him to go to the human resources committee where this is being discussed at length by the committee, as well as by numerous officials. He may want to speak to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour, as well. She would be happy to take any of his comments.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

Mr. Dion, you have a few seconds left.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

If we believe the statutory interpretation, we assume the intention of legislators when they change the wording of a law is to change its meaning. You removed the words "reproductive system" from the definition. You are changing the meaning.

Minister, I urge you to look at this file and to convince your government to not make this change. You have been unable to give one reason to do so.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

Thank you very much, Mr. Dion.

Ms. Crockatt, you now have the floor for five minutes.

[Joan Crockatt, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

I would like to take a moment at the outset to correct the record.

Ms. Mathyssen said it was March 2012 since the minister had appeared before this committee. She was not on the committee this year, and she might have received inaccurate information. In fact, Minister Ambrose did appear before this committee in the spring, on Bill S-2. I just wanted to note that.

Minister, thank you so much for being with us today.

You are a role model for women. When we're talking about women and their full participation in the economic, social, and democratic fabric of Canada, I can't think of anybody who would show them it's possible more than you. You're a pediatric surgeon. You have your M.B.A. You've been a leader in the health care field. You've been a really busy parliamentarian. Now, as the minister, I know you are and will be a very strong champion of girls' and women's rights. Thank you for being here.

I want to ask you about women's participation in the workforce, particularly in the skilled trades. I'm sure you are well aware that women are 47.5% of the Canadian workforce, but they're under-represented in skilled trades and science and technology. These tend to be higher paying jobs. They hold only 11.8% of construction jobs; 19% of forestry, fishing, mining, and oil and gas jobs; and 30% of agriculture jobs.

I was shocked, for example, to go up to Fort McMurray and find out that women are the most adept at operating those big, huge, and very expensive trucks.

In many cases, I think women don't look to those occupations that can lift them out of lower paying jobs. I'm wondering if you can tell us how Status of Women is working to encourage and promote women in these higher paying skilled trades.