Madam Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to talk to the House today about the need for and the many benefits of the proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act. Once read, once well understood, if people are familiar with the history of how this has all come about, there is no need for the fearmongering and the falsification of information going on here today.
It should be stated clearly that what the employment equity legislation does is reinforce the merit principle. It states that very clearly. That may be a bit problematic to some because I guess some would feel a bit more comfortable knowing that there are flaws and gaps. Really what we have done is given prominence to the merit principle. Not only that, we also looked for a balanced approach of trying to integrate the four target groups in a very enforceable way into the whole labour market and also to express equity as it should be.
I do not think there is any fear with all these people fearmongering about their jobs, including the hon. members across the way scaring people by saying that what is going to happen if we do hire disabled people, women, aboriginals and visible minorities is that these people will not be hired meritoriously.
This is erroneous and this is clearly discriminatory. It is an assumption, a false assumption. Because those four target groups are going to be aided by this legislation, it is perfectly acceptable that this happens considering the gross under-representation of those groups. It is a wrong that has not been corrected.
There have been many barriers. There have been many obstacles and this is a step forward. It is needless for people to put fear in the hearts of those people who have jobs out there, particularly those people who are highly placed.
Members need not worry because these four target groups are so under-represented as of yet. It will take such a long time. It will still be such a big struggle. This will make it easy but it is not going to be just the legislation that is going to make it happen.
Unfortunately some of the greatest obstacles we will have are attitudes of people. We can put legislation there to help but unfortunately we cannot change the minds of all those people who are otherwise inclined.
The equity is not simply the subject of ideological debate for me and many other members of this House. For those of us who are women, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities or aboriginal people, employment equity is fundamentally about democracy. It is the freedom to exercise our rights to participate fully in the political process, to make contributions to the economic and cultural fabric of our nation.
Employment equity means ensuring that all Canadians have a fair chance in the workplace. It ensures that no person is denied employment opportunities for reasons unrelated to ability. It involves identifying and eliminating barriers, taking special measures and making reasonable accommodations.
As was stated by the hon. member, there are no quotas. For instance, if 25 per cent of the population is aboriginal in a said province and there is a thousand-person company and there is not one aboriginal person, is it not reasonable to assume that company or other companies like it would want to achieve that kind of representation of that population? That is not unreasonable. That is not discriminatory. That is perfectly logical, perfectly acceptable and it is the way things should evolve if we are to show the dignity and the respect of one another as human beings.
It also talks about equality, the opportunity of equality. That seems to fail some people. In short, employment equity means ensuring that employment opportunities are open to those who have historically been arbitrarily excluded. We need not go into the figures. We all know what they are. It is a fact that is well known to many of us, including hon. members opposite.
This bill is a fulfilment of this government's vision of our country, one in which each of us has equal access to employment opportunities and a chance to fully share in Canada's prosperity. Why should some people be on the periphery of prosperity? Why should they not be sharing in the wealth of this country in terms of jobs, promotions and training? Why not adopt this legislation fully? All members of the House should see the historical isolation and marginalization of target groups in our population and that those who need a helping hand and logical reasoning, those who need that acceptance, should be accepted.
By strengthening the employment equity act we are reconfirming the core values Canadians hold dear: fairness, decency, and equality for every citizen in this nation. Canada is known around the world for that. We are citizens of the world. We are recognized for that. Why would we not enhance that within our own country?
Equality does not come easily in Canada. It is a source of national shame that as recently as the 1950s the first peoples of this country were subject to laws which prevented them from leaving reserves without a bureaucrat's permission. It is a known fact that our people were going to war and fighting for this country as First Nations people and they did not have the right to vote. Women were not even considered persons in the eyes of the law until October 1929 when women won the famous Persons case and gained the right to become members of the Senate.
According to the 1993 annual report on employment equity we still have not come close to attaining our goals. According to the most recent census aboriginal peoples continue to be under-represented in the workforce at just 1.04 per cent compared to 3 per cent in the Canadian workforce.
Aboriginal people continue to occupy the lowest paying jobs. The wage gap between aboriginal men and women working full time and other Canadians has actually increased since 1987. Mind you it should be noted by all members of this House that aboriginal people on average still make an annual income of $10,000.
Aboriginal participation in the workforce has risen by less than .5 per cent since employment equity came into effect. This is even though the number of employable aboriginal people rose by almost 50 per cent during the years 1986 to 1991.
The plight of persons with disabilities is not much better. The representation of this group in the workforce has changed very slowly. They are equally under-represented in the labour market especially given that the number of Canadians with disabilities increased from 5.4 to 6.5 per cent of the population over the same five year period.
It is simply unacceptable that today in Canada a woman still earns only 70 per cent of her male counterpart's wages, or that a person of colour is denied a promotion on the basis of his or her skin colour.
The litmus test of Canadians' commitment to true equality is access to employment. Jobs are the key to social and economic integration into the community. They are a source of fulfilment and independence for all Canadians. As the Prime Minister would say, a job gives you self-respect and dignity. Jobs are part of this government's agenda.
Employment equity ensures that those jobs will be available to everyone without any barriers. By the turn of the century two-thirds of the entrants to the workforce will be women, aboriginal peoples, members of visible minorities and persons with disabilities. This country needs the wealth of their talents.
With this bill we want to achieve a better balance that works to the advantage of all Canadians. This legislation does not set out to redress the difficulties being faced by disadvantaged groups by creating new problems for other Canadians. The amendments are designed to clarify and strengthen existing laws, not to increase the regulatory or financial burdens to employers.
Madam Speaker, I know I am out of time so I will skip a great deal of what I had to say which I think was also important. I will conclude by saying that by assuring equal access to employment and fair treatment of all, we can and will build a better nation for our children, for our families and for all Canadians.
Remember that 60 per cent of the Canadian population is constituted by these four target groups but they are not adequately represented. It should be noted that we are talking about fair representation, not under-representation. We are talking about equality of opportunity.