Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to speak to the Reform Party's motion which I believe to be predicated on a lot of misinformation, half truths and generally misdirected with a great deal of pomposity. Some rather unfortunate ethnocentric views are being perpetrated on the basis of what is a very logical piece of legislation with very reasonable goals being set by the government to deal with overwhelming inequities that already exist.
I welcome this opportunity to clear up the confusion surrounding Bill C-64 created by some ill informed members of the opposition. I am anxious to explain how this made in Canada legislation will respond to the country's unique workplace needs to ensure fairness for all Canadians.
I have been told repeatedly by Canadians that communications and education are essential to the success of employment equity. It is within this context that I frame my comments today. I believe it is critical for Canadians to understand what Bill C-64 will and will not do. They should be fully aware that Canada is charting its own course with this progressive piece of legislation.
The suggestion has been made by some members of the Reform Party that the United States experience with affirmative action proves workplace equality is unworkable. It is not fair to compare apples with oranges. This is Canada and that is the United States.
In outlining the many merits of Canada's approach to employment equity I intend to demonstrate how, despite misleading comments to the contrary, in Canada we got the legislation right. Let me outline the key differences between the American's affirmative action approach and Canada's employment equity legislation.
With all due respect for our neighbours, the U.S. approach is characterized by a confusing and sometimes contradictory multitude of federal, state and municipal laws, policies and programs.
We also have to understand there is a great deal of competition for jobs. The pressure is great with two million jobs being lost annually in the U.S. As an example of how this pressure is generated in the U.S., look at the global picture and see where the pressure points are.
An article in the Utne Reader , the May-June 1995 issue, states: ``In the 1950s, 33 per cent of U.S. workers were employed in manufacturing. Today less than 17 per cent of the workforce is engaged in blue collar work. Management consultant Peter Drucker estimates that employment in manufacturing is going to continue dropping to less than 12 per cent of the workforce in the next decade. Although the number of blue collar workers continues to decline, manufacturing productivity is soaring''.
Another factor to consider is that changes have also been dramatic in the wholesale and retail sectors. There are pressures there and competitions for jobs. There are a lot of pressures on businesses, on government and on individuals. For instance, typical of the trend of retail giant Sears Roebuck, Sears eliminated a staggering 50,000 jobs from its merchandising division in 1993, reducing employment by 14 per cent.
Intelligent machines is also another issue invading professional disciplines, encroaching on education and the arts, long considered immune to the pressure of mechanization. A robot that will perform hip replacement surgery is being developed in California. Some firms now use computerized hiring systems to screen job applications. Not only are we competing with other humans, we are competing with robotics, new technologies and the mechanization of the workplace.
What do we do? Do we outlaw new and intelligent machines that will help to improve the economy and provide efficiency and effectiveness? With all of our discontent and malcontent we could devise laws and legislation that would discriminate against those and eliminate them, as is being suggested here.
Another interesting factor to consider because of the pressures being generated is that from 1983 to 1993 banks eliminated in the States 179,000 human tellers, 30 per cent of its workforce with automated teller machines.
This is a whole phenomenon far too complicated. I do not believe one can win the argument as the members of the opposition are proposing by taking a single, narrow example of how a university sets up a program or a course and use that to build a case against employment equity. That is very narrow and unjustified. It does not have much validity.
This profusion of legislation we talk about in the States gives rights, protections and remedies to different groups. Understandably this has created problems. Critics point to abuses and growing disenchantment with quotas in the U.S. which have led federal legislators to re-examine affirmative action.
By contrast, Canada has a streamlined legislative framework. Bill C-64 creates a single approach to employment equity at the federal level with clear responsibilities and duties assigned to employers and government agencies. With a few exceptions the approach to employment equity and the groups covered are essentially the same in most jurisdictions with mandatory employment equity in Canada.
Another crucial distinction is the role of the courts. Employment equity in Canada is proactive in nature. The legislation focuses on negotiated solutions arrived at through co-operative employer-employee relations. It does not require prior presumption of discrimination.
Consequently the Employment Equity Act creates an efficient and cost effective framework that minimizes the role of courts. We have a federal contractors program which a lot of regulated businesses participate in. It has become a state of mind. It is good business for those people to have women, visible minorities and disabled people working for them.
I have attended ceremonies at which we award federal contractors' awards. I have done that over the year and it has been very much applauded by the participants. They set an example many federally regulated businesses want to participate in. That includes universities as well as a variety of different private sector businesses.
The affirmative action program south of the border is rooted in executive order and civil rights law. Its objective is to eliminate discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin. The U.S. approach is characterized by court ordered quotas, preferential treatment to minority owned companies for government contracts and tax incentives to encourage ownership by minority populations.
The American system is also adversarial and litigious, doing little to advance harmony at the work site. It is frequently criticized as a slow and expensive way of achieving equality in the workforce.
Under the Canadian approach to employment equity, employers set their own numerical targets, often reached through consultation with workers and their unions. Bill C-64 specifically prohibits the use of quotas and there are certainly no provisions for preferential treatment to minority owned companies.
It is also good news that the Reform Party elected quite a few women. It might not have been a bad idea to have elected more there. That is an aside and I am sure the Reform member across the way will agree with that.
Merit is still paramount. A vicious rumour is being perpetrated that meritorious applicants, meritorious individuals meritorious successful candidates under employment equity are being maligned as not capable, as having been selected because they are disabled, women or of a visible minority. That is not so. This legislation has merit as its foundation. That remains paramount.
The intent of the Employment Equity Act is not to provide preferential treatment; it is designed to ensure equal treatment of all qualified work ready Canadians regardless of race, physical attributes or gender. It is about removing not erecting barriers to employment. It is about creating equity not inequality and not preferential treatment. It is about improving a system so downtrodden with inequity.
If the Reform Party is willing to do the research it will know the employment figures year after year have on the bottom of the list the disabled, women, aboriginal people and visible minorities. The Reform Party can find a few examples where that is not the case but the government does not build good policy and good legislation on a few examples. The exception is not the rule. That is not the way good policy is developed. That is not the way democracy works best.
It is about removing inequities not erecting barriers to employment. Canada is very fortunate that its legal meaning of equality is unlike that of the U.S. Ours is based on a constitutional guarantee of equality far broader than the U.S. equivalent. In Canada every individual has the right to equality before and under the law and equal protection and benefit of the law. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in section 15(2) recognizes special consideration and the accommodation of differences is sometimes necessary in achieving true equality.
Special treatment is not a departure from equality, it is essential in achieving it. Employment equity has come about because of the overwhelming inequities in the labour market, in all fields of employment. That is what it is based on.
It is unique to Canada. The U.S. constitution has no similar provision. In the United States there is a constitutional right to equal protection of the law only. Historically it has been interpreted by U.S. courts to require identical treatment, thus the development of colour blind and sex blind laws.
Members of Parliament who have participated in committees have learned by that valuable process. I have learned through the constitutional process that same treatment does not necessarily express equality. That is a simplistic view and a view which should have gone out with the dark ages. We are into futuristic and very straightforward issues and views about equality which apply to all Canadians.
Canada's approach to equality is progressive and far sighted. Equality means recognizing differences not just identical treatment. This has led to a greater partnership among groups pursuing fair access to employment opportunities and has resulted in far greater success. The wisdom of the Canadian strategy is proven in our progress. The record shows that while Canadians still have some concentrations of under-representation, advances have been significant under the existing Employment Equity Act and will only increase with the improvements provided in Bill C-64.
That speaks volumes about the Canadian approach. We are not interested in overloading the courts with employment equity challenges. We are looking for equal employment opportunities for Canadian women, aboriginal peoples, visible minorities and persons with disabilities.
We want to ensure fairness for all Canadians by assuring everyone has equal access to a job because we all know Canadians will benefit when we do. The best long term investment we can make as a country is in the creation of a more productive economy that fully capitalizes on the wealth of knowledge and skills of all members of society.
I can assure members of this House and reassure all Canadians that this government has no intention of repealing or weakening its employment equity legislation. We will continue to work diligently in the proud tradition of this great nation to assure the dignity of each and every member of our communities and our country. Canadians expect no less. With this in mind, I urge all members of this House to vote against the Reform Party's motion.