Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to address this House regarding Motion No. M-104 proposed by the hon. member for Saskatoon—Humboldt. This motion advocates that the Employment Equity Act should be repealed since it is costly, unnecessary and in contravention of the merit principle with respect to hiring and promotion. The Employment Equity Act is an act which embodies the principles of fairness, justice and equality for all, an act which is a beacon to disadvantaged groups in our society.
First I will point out that the Employment Equity Act has its foundation in the Constitution of this country. In 1982 the charter of rights and freedoms constitutionally affirmed the right to equality in employment. Canadians believe in fairness. This is why our Constitution enshrines the fundamental right to equality for all. Canadians believe in giving a helping hand to those who need it. This is why section 15(2) of the charter clearly sanctions the creation of laws, programs and activities designed to improve the condition of disadvantaged groups which is what employment equity does.
Equity means fairness and that is exactly what this legislation is all about. Fairness in employment means the removal of barriers to real equality of opportunity in the workplace. Fairness in employment means a workplace where differences are respected, valued and accommodated, not penalized. Fairness in employment means a workplace where individual talents and abilities are given the opportunity to grow, where they are utilized to their fullest. Fairness in employment means hiring based on ability to do the job, not on outmoded and false stereotypes which have been hurdles to real equality of opportunity for much too long.
The intent of this act is not to provide preferential treatment. It is designed to ensure equal access to opportunities for all qualified Canadians regardless of their race, physical attributes or gender. It is about removing, not erecting barriers to employment.
The act was not created overnight. It was a product of a comprehensive review of the Canadian workplace in 1984 by the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment headed by Judge Rosalie Abella. In the course of its review the commission looked closely at affirmative action programs in the United States. Canadian commissioners wanted to learn from the American experience in order to avoid some of the problems associated with that legislation.
Judge Abella quite correctly concluded that Canadians would resist the American approach given its overly interventionist government policies and the imposition of quotas. She recommended instead that Canadians adopt the employment equity model which focuses on the elimination of discriminatory employment barriers.
Our approach to achieve equality is far more progressive than the American model. It has led to greater partnerships among groups pursuing fair access to employment opportunities and has also led to far greater success. For example, often workers, union leaders and employers will work together in unison to establish a fair equity plan. In this way employment equity works as much to the advantage of employers as it does for the members of the designated groups. Organizations that take advantage of and capitalize upon the rich composition of Canadian society will come out ahead, way ahead.
Employment equity policies exist in this country because they are needed. I wish this were not so. I wish we could say that equality of opportunity is already a reality in our society, that nobody is denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to their ability, but we know that unfortunately this is not yet the case. Statistics show very clearly that certain groups in our society continue to experience significant disadvantage in employment.
The member for Saskatoon—Humboldt knows as well as I do that unemployment rates among aboriginal people and persons with disabilities are way beyond acceptable levels.
Women and members of visible minorities tend to be concentrated in lower paying jobs with fewer chances for advancement. About two-thirds of the women in the workforce covered by the Employment Equity Act are employed in clerical work. Members of visible minorities represent only a small proportion of upper level management positions. Aboriginal men and women earn substantially less than other employees.
Let there be no doubt, this legislation is in response to a social need.
Since 1990 two parliamentary committees have studied our employment equity legislation. It is highly significant that both committees have recommended strengthening the legislation, not discarding it.
This is not surprising. Employment equity represents a win-win solution which will benefit all Canadians, not just members of designated groups. Employment equity promotes sound human resource practices.
The record shows that employers support this legislation and realize that it is good for business. During parliamentary committee hearings on this legislation in 1995 numerous business organizations testified that employment equity means good business sense. For example, the executive vice-president for human resources of the Canadian Bankers Association told the parliamentary committee: “We think employment equity not only had a positive impact on the way our organizations manage their workforces, but also it has proven to be good for our business”.
The vice-president of the Business Council of British Columbia declared:
In our experience, successful businesses implement employment equity programs because it makes good business sense, not because of some legislative compulsion. With an increasingly global or international marketplace, smart businesses have workforces that are reflective of their marketplaces. It's no longer a moral issue; it is now a strategic issue.
The point is simply that the Employment Equity Act is very much in sync with the views and attitudes of the progressive employers in this country who do not see it as onerous or costly. Quite the contrary, these employers know very well that a diverse workforce representative of their community gives them an enormous boost in their efforts to remain competitive.
Despite the claims made by the hon. member for Saskatoon-Humboldt, fairness in employment need not be too costly. For example, a recent study done in the United States by the Job Accommodation Network revealed that when companies made adjustments in the workplace to assist persons with disabilities, the cost to the employer was less than $500 in more than 70% of the cases.
Even more compelling is the fact that the return of the company averaged more than $28 for every dollar spent on such accommodation.
All these considerations serve to bear out the premise of Robert Reich, former U.S. secretary of labour, who said social justice is not incompatible with economic growth, but essential to it.
What about the merit principle? Is employment equity indeed in conflict with merit, as the Reform Party would have us believe? This is perhaps the most baffling of the allegations made by the member. A simple reading of the legislation itself ought to clear up such misconceptions.
Two separate provisions in the act expressly protect the merit principle and clearly state that employment equity does not mean hiring or promoting unqualified persons.
Far from being in conflict with the merit principle, employment equity is in fact a commitment to merit, as echoed in the title of the 1990 report of the parliamentary committee which studied this legislation. The notion that employment equity is in—