Madam Speaker, the member for Wetaskiwin moved that in the opinion of this House the government should support the rights of all job applicants to be evaluated solely on the basis of merit.
If we lived in a perfect world, there would most likely be unanimous support for the motion but unfortunately we do not. If all persons regardless of their sex, ethnic origins or disabilities were treated equally, there would not be a need for employment equity programs. But unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world.
The realities faced by women, visible minorities, natives and the disabled are not the same as those faced by able-bodied white males. I speak from firsthand experience as I have a daughter who was born with cerebral palsy. I know firsthand the reactions some people have toward those of us in society who might not be or seem not to be as able-bodied as others. The discrimination these people face is real. It still occurs today. It is not a thing of the past.
Look at the current response of the Liberal government with regard to the issue of pay equity for women in the federal civil service. Even though the human rights commission has ordered the Liberal government to pay the salaries it owes to these women, the government has refused to do so.
When people say that employment equity is to solve problems of the past, they are wrong. Discrimination is still very much a reality in the workplace and in the hiring process.
The Reform Party says that employment equity is itself a form of discrimination, that it prevents able-bodied white males from getting jobs, that there are barriers. When the Reform Party says this, it is turning the issue of employment equity on its head. Employment equity does not prevent white males from getting jobs. What it does is it creates a level playing field so that everyone who applies for a job is considered equally and on the basis of merit.
The Employment Equity Act instituted by the Conservative government in 1986 is designed to ensure that women, natives, the handicapped and members of visible minorities are evaluated on the basis of merit when they apply for a job in federally regulated institutions or in crown corporations. In other words, the act is designed to eliminate the discriminatory barriers to employment that these four groups face. It ensures that employers focus on an objective assessment of the applicant's knowledge, skills, experience and personality.
The Conservative Party fails to see how such an act can be discriminatory. In fact this act represents an important step toward making merit in the true sense of the word the basic tool in evaluating job applications.
The Reform Party says to let the competitive forces of the workplace take over and discrimination will be eliminated. It should be pointed out that for hundreds of years market forces did regulate the hiring process and it is because of the inappropriate way in which the market regulated itself that the Employment Equity Act became a necessity.
We should not and cannot return to the ways of the past, at least not until discrimination itself is a thing of the past. That is why the Progressive Conservative Party cannot support this motion.