Finance committee  This is typical: pay equity issues get this much time, while all the other important issues—

Finance committee  I just want to put out here that this is a huge, huge attack on people's ability to use the Human Rights Commission to advance their economic equality, and this isn't about helping anybody in terms of the current economic crisis. This is in fact about hurting people and this is about women who put their money in the communities, who spend their money where they live and work, and then don't have access to the Human Rights Commission to advance their wages, even over a long period of time.

Finance committee  No, it's not really going to apply to anyone, but those to whom it will apply won't get anywhere in terms of advancement at any rate. It's a huge attack on women's economic equality, and I'll tell you that we feel the discrimination every time we take a pay cheque home, every time.

Finance committee  In terms of what this Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act is even doing in this budget act, if it wasn't so desperately awful for women, we would say “What's the problem?” because first of all, they've frozen public sector wages for three years. There is no negotiation. But in terms of the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act, this is not about equitable compensation, it is not about women getting a fair deal as federal public servants, and it is not about women having some access to being able to challenge.

Finance committee  Okay. I hope your translators and interpreters can keep up with this. I want to speak very quickly about the proposed Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act, and specifically I want to say that this proposed act introduces the notion that women's work in the public sector should be valued according to prevailing market conditions in the private sector.

Human Resources committee  Can we say absolument?

Human Resources committee  We haven't completed our research.

Human Resources committee  We've tabled with your government all sorts of documents about what we see as important in workplace strategies. The work that was going to be done on labour market partner agreements, our efforts on the workplace skills strategy—these are things that, when you talk about how to get organizations to move, only come about when you get people working together.

Human Resources committee  The money was aimed at a number of equality-seeking groups, including aboriginal people and recent immigrants.

Human Resources committee  Sure, we can drown you in documents.

Human Resources committee  The question is, will you read them and will you talk to us about them later?

Human Resources committee  Yes.

Human Resources committee  I can't say they came to us in every instance, but we certainly had an opportunity to put forward our positions.

Human Resources committee  Suspicious...?

Human Resources committee  Compounding the lack of employer investment and skills training—which includes workplace-based skills development, apprenticeship, and literacy—are the federal government's cuts to spending on training. These cutbacks have amounted to more than $10 billion since the mid-1990s. However, the Liberal government attempted to put at least some of that back.