Review of the Employment Equity Act

March 23, 2021

The Honourable Filomena Tassi, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Labour
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0A6

By email: Filomena.Tassi@parl.gc.ca   

Dear Minister Tassi:

I would like to express my appreciation for your decision to review the Employment Equity Act. This legislation was created some 35 years ago and while it has undergone modest amendments over this period, this is indeed the right time to introduce more substantial changes to it that will help protect and empower Canadians from the four designated groups it covers – women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

I understand that you plan to create a working group that will study how to modernize the federal Employment Equity regime. I am asking you to include Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) representatives in this committee.

As the bargaining agent for over 60,000 public service professionals employed by the federal and provincial governments, PIPSC has for many years worked to raise awareness, provide support and collaborate with employers to remove potential workplace barriers for our members who belong to these groups. We have held constructive discussions with the Treasury Board on the issue of Employment Equity in the past and I believe our experience in this regard would be of great benefit to both the working group and to our members.

I thank you for your immediate attention to this matter and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Debi Daviau
President