Tracey Ramsey

[International Trade, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is outrageous that the government will not study the impact of the TPP before signing on the dotted line, but we know that the deal would have serious consequences for Canadians: tens of thousands of jobs lost, higher drug costs, stifled innovation, rising inequality.

We all know that if the minister did not support this deal, she would not sign it. Is the minister rushing to sign the deal to try to get it done before Canadians know how much it will hurt them?

[Status of Women, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, a group from the Windsor and Essex region, including Terry Weymouth, Nour Fawaz, and Dan Brown, produced a short video encouraging more women to pursue work in fields that were greatly under-represented by women, such as trades.

Entitled “Because It's 2016”, it was released on YouTube and has since enjoyed over 14,000 views. The video shows bright, enthusiastic, capable women in jobs such as firefighting, policing, welding, plumbing, engineering, scientific research, computer programming, and manufacturing.

I urge all members in the House to find ways to encourage women in their communities. Together we must challenge sexism and traditionalism, and push for equal opportunities for girls and women to pursue any career path they choose. As a country, we do ourselves a disservice to continue to label careers with gender.

I ask my colleagues to stand with me to continue the fight for equity, and to never stop forging the way forward so all women can prosper and succeed.

Whether it is on the floor of the House of Commons or the shop floor, I am proud to stand with my sisters.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that the previous government put many barriers in front of not only women but in front of organized labour. This was a further barrier to supporting women in our public sector and supporting the right to collective bargaining in our country, making it more difficult.

Women are joining unions at the highest rate. That is because being a member of a union and having collective bargaining language is an equalizer for women. It affords them the opportunity to make a good wage with good benefits and to provide for their families in the same way that men are in our society.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to say that it is a fact that as a portfolio, the status of women committee has the smallest budget that exists. To give a file to that committee, which already has a reduced amount of support from the House, just adds further strain and reinforces what we are saying here, which is that when we talk about women in our society, when we talk about women in this House, quite simply we are saying that their value is diminished, that we should not assign resources to this. I believe that striking an independent committee would take the pressure off the status of women committee, which already operates under a small budget. It would reinforce the idea that all of us, across party lines, in this House will provide the resources necessary to make this piece come into legislation.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the systemic discrimination that exists is sexism. We still place a high value on a man's role in society, his need to fulfill his role for his family, and we do not put the equivalent thought into how productive women are in the workplace, how intelligent they are, all the skills they bring, and how it really is about a balance in our society.

I believe that it is a sincere issue that exists, whether we are talking about public or private, when we talk about the top levels of private companies.

It needs to be addressed. That is why we stand here today with a motion. We need legislation or we will never see the end of this discriminatory practice.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for London—Fanshawe.

I would like to thank the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for introducing the motion before us in the House of Commons today, which is so worthy of our collective attention and action. The motion tabled by my colleague is quite lengthy, but in summary it calls on the government to recognize pay equity as a fundamental human right, to implement the recommendations of the 2004 pay equity task force report, to restore the right to pay equity in the public service, and to strike a special committee of MPs to conduct hearings on pay equity and to propose proactive pay equity legislation.

Since the federal election, there has been a lot of talk about how the current government will fix some of the damage done by a decade of Conservative government. The sad truth of the matter is that the previous Conservative government turned back the clock on pay equity with support from the Liberals. Today is an opportunity to move forward in the right direction by finally working to ensure equal pay for work of equal value.

I would like to begin my remarks by discussing the challenge before us today. The gap in wages between women and men is real, persistent, and widespread. There are several ways of measuring the problem.

One way is to compare the annual earnings of women and men. Statistics Canada tells us that in 2008, the annual earnings of women were 64.4% of their male counterparts'. One explanation for this is that women are more likely to work part-time hours than men.

Another way to compare earnings is by looking at the annual earnings of full-time workers only, which tells us that in 2008 Canadian women working the full year, full-time earned on average 71% as much as their male counterparts. In median terms, women earned just 76¢ on the dollar. This figure can be skewed by a small number of people who have extremely high salaries. For example, we know that approximately 80% of corporate-board seats are held by men, according to a study done last year by Catalyst.

A third way of measuring the gender wage gap is by looking at hourly wages, which shows that women aged 25 to 54 earned about 85% as much per hour as their male counterparts. In non-unionized workplaces, the gap drops to 79%, while in unionized jobs the gap is 94%. Women in Canada are joining unions at a high rate, and it is no surprise that they are seeking jobs where pay equity is ensconced in collective agreements.

Whichever way one chooses to measure the gender pay gap, it is there, it is real, and in many ways it is getting worse.

I have already touched on some of the factors that contribute to this stubborn wage gap: more women than men work part-time; more women work in lower wage occupations and industries; and women account for 60% of minimum-wage workers, despite making up half of the Canadian workforce.

Raising the minimum wage, as the NDP proposed to do federally, would help raise the bar for women, as would implementing a national affordable child care program. Statistics also tell us that about two-thirds of the female workforce is concentrated in teaching, nursing and health care, office and administrative work, and sales and service industries. It is not enough to say that the wage gap exists because women make career choices related to work–family balance. Many occupations that are considered to be women's work have underpaid women compared to so-called men's jobs because of a historic under-valuing of women's skills and work.

A Toronto Star editorial published in 2014 made a comparison between licensed practical nurses, where 90% of the workforce is female, and cable-TV service-and-maintenance technicians, where the workforce is 97% male. LPNs are better educated and more skilled, but have median earnings of about $38,000 per year compared to $51,000 for the technicians. Let us look at early childhood educators and assistants. In 2010, their average wage was about $22,000. We also know that the wage gap exists for well-educated women in top positions. In 2008, female university graduates earned $62,800 annually while men earned $91,800. Top women executives at S&P 500 companies continue to be paid less on average than their male counterparts. From the lowest-wage jobs to the highest, the gender wage gap persists.

Internationally, Canada is one of the worst developed countries for pay equity. The World Economic Forum ranks us 80th out of 145 countries. Among the OECD countries, we rank 30th out of 34. Even more embarrassing is that Canada's previous prime minister did not believe in pay equity at all, calling it a “rip-off” and “ridiculous”. When his Conservative government brought forward a 2009 budget bill that weakened pay equity rules, gutted Status of Women Canada in terms of both funding and mandate, the Liberal Party voted in support of the government's agenda. The day before the vote, the leader of the Liberal Party shrugged his shoulders and said to the media, “We have made it clear that we are not pursuing an amendment strategy. Sometimes we have to hold our nose”. The question facing the Liberal government of today is quite clear. Does it agree it is time to stop holding its nose and move forward with real, tangible progress toward equality for women?

Last month in Davos, the Prime Minister was lauded for calling himself a feminist and embracing gender equality. Now is the time to put words into action. I am hopeful all parties in the House can work together to get proactive pay equity legislation in place so that we can achieve wage equality.

The motion before the House today presents solutions to a problem that I hope we can all agree exists and must be fixed. Thanks to the work of the pay equity task force over a decade ago, parliamentarians already have a clear road map for moving forward on achieving pay equity for women. The task force, struck in the year 2000, was asked to examine pay equity and develop recommendations for improving the pay equity legislative framework in Canada. Over the course of several years, it held extensive consultations, as well as public hearings, round tables, and more.

In 2004, the task force produced a comprehensive report, which included over 100 recommendations related to legislation, collective bargaining, oversight, and enforcement. It recommended stand-alone, proactive pay equity legislation that would put the onus on an employer to introduce a pay equity program rather than relying on an individual or union to pursue a complaint. Sadly, the Liberal government of the day failed to implement most of those recommendations. It acknowledged pay equity as a right and the fact that proactive legislation was needed, but it failed to introduce the necessary legislation.

The Liberals' failure to act was followed by a Conservative government that was ideologically opposed to proactive pay equity legislation, but the road map developed by the pay equity task force in 2004 still exists and today's motion calls on the Liberal government to finally do the right thing and implement these recommendations. It is so important that we as parliamentarians commit ourselves to eliminating the gender wage gap. It is both a moral issue, as well as a social and economic one.

The wage gap translates into higher rates of poverty and greater retirement insecurity for women. It means foregoing important contributions to our local and national economies. In an era of slow economic growth, we simply cannot afford to ignore the wage gap. According to Ilse Treurnicht, head of MaRS Discovery District, one of the world's largest urban innovation hubs, “Canada is in a global talent war; as a country with a modest population we can’t win unless all our players are on the field”.

In addition to pay equity legislation, we can also tackle the gender wage gap by helping women and girls enter high-wage occupations, including STEM careers, where STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In the Windsor-Essex region, a recent video entitled Because It's 2016 showcased local women working in STEM careers in an effort to highlight the opportunities available for women in these good-paying jobs.

As an auto worker, I know what it means to work in a male-dominated field and that it will take a lot of work to address the stereotypes, workplace policies, systemic discrimination, and other barriers that can prevent women from entering high-wage occupations. It is 2016, and in this place women make up just 26% of elected representatives. Across Canada, women make 77¢ on the dollar compared to men, and internationally our country ranks 30th out of 34 OECD countries for wage equality.

We know that pay equity and the fight for women's equality are issues that cross party lines. I challenge my colleagues from all parties to join together, vote yes to this motion, and let us finally move forward on achieving pay equity.

[International Trade, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, dairy producers are not the only ones to lose under this job-killing deal. The TPP would also expand loopholes to bring in temporary foreign workers with no regard for the impact on Canadian jobs and wages. The Conservatives allowed rampant abuse of the temporary foreign worker program on their watch and now the Liberals are about to make matters even worse.

Will the minister cancel her trip to New Zealand and take the time to look at the cost to Canadians instead of rushing to sign this reckless deal?

[International Trade, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, this week the trade minister plans to sign on to the job-killing TPP trade deal, even though the government has admitted it has no economic impact study. Would the minister sign a mortgage without knowing the interest rate?

There are jobs on the line here and Canadians will pay the price. My former co-workers in the auto industry and tens of thousands of others stand to lose their livelihoods under this Conservative negotiated deal. Will the government produce an economic impact study before signing any deal?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, throughout debate, many members in the House spoke about families and people in their ridings who were struggling. People in my riding of Essex are struggling as well. Unfortunately the speech failed to outline plans to fight poverty and reduce inequality in Canada. There is nothing to address the fact that the absence of federal minimum wage leaves far too many Canadians working full time, but still living below the poverty line.

A way to provide direct help to tens of thousands of families is by giving them a raise, by reinstating the $15 an hour federal minimum wage.

Does the member opposite agree that the government needs to take a leadership role for all Canadians and provide direct help to them by giving them a raise through reinstating the federal minimum wage and raising it to $15 an hour, and also to support workers and ensure that minimum wage workers in Canada do not fall below the poverty line?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Speech from the Throne talks about job creation, but fails to make any mention of the important role that small businesses play in this respect. Small businesses are the real job creators in our country, creating over 77% of all new private sector jobs.

I recently met with a small business owner in my riding who is worried about the ability to make ends meet.

The federal government can support small businesses by cutting their tax rate from 11% to 9%.

It is also time for stricter regulations that limit the exorbitant fees that credit card companies charge to retailers and small business owners.

Does my colleague opposite not agree that it is time the federal government act upon these priorities and take immediate steps to support small businesses?