Madam Speaker, our government strongly believes in the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, regardless of gender.
However, as we know, that is not the case. Regardless of how we measure it, women continue to be paid less than men. A recent Statistics Canada survey found that, in 2017, Canadian women earned only 88.5 cents for every dollar earned by men. We know that our government must take action, and that is exactly what we are doing. In budget 2018, we committed to implementing a pay equity reform in federally regulated workplaces and to bringing in proactive pay equity legislation by the end of 2018. Ensuring that Canadian women get equal pay for equal work strengthens our economy and families and helps our communities to prosper.
This historic proactive pay equity legislation will ensure that on average, women and men in federally regulated sectors will receive the same pay for work of equal value.
We know it took a little time. However, we have to acknowledge that reforming pay equity is a complex task. There are examples of proactive pay equity systems, and we can learn from them. However, we also have to come up with pay equity reforms that work for various kinds of federally regulated workplaces, from the public service to small businesses.
We want to be sure we are implementing well-designed, effective policies that will produce positive results.
A proactive approach would require employers to regularly review their wage systems, identify inequalities between men and women, and take action to eliminate them.
That way, we are presenting Canadians a balanced, sensible, and effective pay equity reform. To get there, we promised them that we would introduce a bill on pay equity before the end of 2018. That is exactly what we will do.
The Special Committee on Pay Equity was set up in 2016. It produced a report with several recommendations, including one to consult stakeholders on developing new legislation. That is precisely what we did. We consulted a huge number of stakeholders. As we move forward with pay equity reform, new legislation will be based on the valuable feedback we gathered during our consultations.
We have also taken measures to impose a zero tolerance policy with regard to workplace violence and harassment. Even though workplace violence and harassment can happen to everyone, women are more likely than men to be victims of this behaviour. We know that this behaviour can have an adverse effect on women's careers and futures.
We want to help create a society where the contributions of women are recognized and valued, and where everyone is treated fairly, regardless of their gender. Achieving pay equity in the federal jurisdiction is also an important part of that.