Employment Equity: Black Workers And 2SLGBTQ+ Workers Will Now Be Designated In Federal Legislation

Canada's Minister of Labour and Seniors, the Honourable Seamus O'Regan, recently announced the federal government's plans to bring the Employment Equity Act up to date in response to certain recommendations in a newly published report, including two newly designated groups that face major hurdles in the workplace: Black persons and 2SLGBTQ+ persons.

In its current form, the Employment Equity Act (the "Act") aims to achieve equality in the workplace for members of four designated groups, namely women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. The Act applies to employers in the public and private sectors under federal jurisdiction.

This past December 11, Canada's Minister of Labour and Seniors, the Honourable Seamus O'Regan, announced the release of the final report of the Employment Equity Act Review Task Force, which was mandated in July 2021 to advise the government on ways to update and enhance this legislation. The report, entitled A Transformative Framework to Achieve and Sustain Employment Equity, is the result of consultations with Canadians, employer and employee organizations, civil society groups, experts, and public sector representatives. It contains a number of conclusions and recommendations.

In response to the report, the Minister announced some of the federal government's initial pledges to update the Act. Of particular note is the inclusion of two newly designated groups that face significant barriers in the workplace: Black workers and 2SLGBTQ+ workers.

The other equally substantive pledges made by the Minister at this point are primarily terminological in nature, including, to list just a few: updating the definition of "Aboriginal peoples" to distinguish between First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples; replacing the term "members of visible minorities" with "racialized people"; and updating the definition of "persons with disabilities" to align it with the Accessible Canada Act and, thereby, making it more inclusive.

In an effort to honour its pledges and implement the Review Task Force's recommendations, the government will soon undertake consultations with the affected communities as well as trade unions and employers. Moreover, it will consider how the other recommendations made by the Task Force, to which it has not yet committed, may be implemented. Specifically, the Task Force recommends that parliamentary employees and public sector employees working abroad be covered by the Act, that sanctions for breaches of the Act be stepped up, and that an independent Equity Commissioner with guaranteed funding under the Act be appointed to ensure compliance with the legislation.

Once a bill has been tabled in the House of Commons following these consultations, it will become clear what the new employment equity obligations for employers under federal jurisdiction will be. Judging from the federal government's initial pledges, it would appear that there is a genuine willingness on its part to strengthen the Act's protections and achieve its objectives.

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