Mr. Speaker, recently I heard the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador say “A deal is a deal and you can't renege on a deal. Fair is fair and all we want is what's fair”.
He should have been speaking for women workers in his own province who have just been told that it is okay to make them wait for pay equity compensation. It was women who earned lower wages for years and had to carry the financial burden of the province's fiscal problems.
The Liberal government has also delayed or argued over paying compensation for pay equity claims but the government does not have a deficit. In fact, the women workers of Canada often hear the Liberals crow about eight straight surpluses in a row.
What are the Liberals waiting for, to cry poor and tell women, no, not now?
The government has to stop disputing how or when it will give out its share of pay equity and get on with it. Women workers in Canada are waiting.