Enforcement of pay equity laws in Canada may not be enforced until 2030 – and that’s unacceptable to MPs on a Commons committee on the status of women, says Blacklock’s Reporter..“Issues related to pay equity have been discussed in Canada for decades,” said a report by the Commons committee on the status of women..It recommended cabinet “shorten the timelines to implement the plan.”.The Pay Equity Act was passed into law three years ago when, in 2018, Parliament passed the Act that requires all federally-regulated employers with more than 10 employees to examine wage scales, appoint pay equity committees and compensate underpaid workers. Payments are not retroactive. The law is not yet in force..Full compliance would take up to five years from the date the Act is enforced for private sector firms with fewer than 100 workers. It applies to 4,500 federally-regulated employers in the public and private sector that employ 1,320,000 people, by official estimate..“This means pay equity could actually potentially take until 2029, 2030,” New Democrat MP Lindsay Mathyssen (London-Fanshawe, Ont.) earlier told the committee..“This is significant. We had to wait until 2018 for legislation to be introduced on pay equity. We have now waited an additional three years for regulations to come into play.”.Labour Minister Filomena Tassi admitted the delays..“This cannot be done overnight,” Tassi said in February 25 testimony at the committee..“This takes time. It’s not a situation where you’re looking at crane drivers, male and female, and paying them the same amount of money. You’re looking at different job classes and then trying to make a comparison..“You’re looking at the crane driver and the clerk. You’re looking at the secretary and the caretaker or janitor. This is a complicated and complex evaluation that needs to be done by employers.”.The labour department in a legal notice estimated last November 14 pay equity would cost $1.95 billion over a decade..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
