Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Canada (Ratification: 1964)

The Committee notes the observations provided by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) referred to in the Government’s report.

Discrimination on the grounds of political opinion and social origin. The Committee recalls its previous comments in which the Committee urged the Government to take the necessary measures with a view to the amendment of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) and the legislation of specific provinces and territories, to include the grounds of political opinion and social origin as prohibited grounds of discrimination, the Committee notes with regret that the Government does not provide any indication that steps have been taken in this regard with respect to the CHRA, or to the legislation of the territories or most of the provinces concerned. The Committee further recalls its previous comments in which it noted that the CLC had expressed concern at the rise in social inequalities in Canada, and that a research paper released in 2009 by the Canadian Human Rights Commission concluded that adding the ground of “social condition” to the Canadian Human Rights Act would extend protection to the most marginalized and vulnerable groups in society, providing them with better access to legal recourse.

The Committee notes that although there still has been no change at the provincial and territorial levels in terms of adding social origin or political opinion as grounds of discrimination, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission has recommended the inclusion of “social disadvantage” or “social condition” to the Human Rights Code, thus encompassing “social origin” based on Canadian legislation and jurisprudence. The Committee further notes that the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission has developed and published a Guideline on Political Belief and Activity intended to raise awareness on individuals’ rights and responsibilities under the New Brunswick Human Rights Act. In the jurisdiction of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Human Rights Act, 2010 was adopted, which, as was the case under the previous legislation, prohibits discrimination on a range of grounds, including social origin and political opinion.

Recalling that the ground of social origin or “social condition” is only covered by the legislation of Quebec, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, and that political opinion continues to be absent from the federal legislation, as well as from the legislation of Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Nunavut, the Committee once again urges the Government to amend the CHRA and to take the necessary measures with a view to amending the legislation of the relevant provinces and territories, to include social origin or “social condition” and political opinion as prohibited grounds of discrimination in employment and occupation, and to provide information on the concrete steps taken in this regard. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on any developments regarding the inclusion of “social condition” as a prohibited ground of discrimination in the Manitoba Human Rights Code, and encourages the Government to take this opportunity to take measures to have the ground of political opinion also included.

Gender equality in employment and occupation. The Committee notes the CLC’s comments relating to section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act, which states that a mail contractor is not deemed to be a dependent contractor or an employee within the meaning of the Canada Labour Code. The CLC considers that this discriminates against women as they account for 71 per cent of the rural and suburban mail carriers, and the composition of dependent contractors is predominantly women. The Committee also recalls its previous comments noting concerns regarding the restructuring of the Status of Women Canada (SWC), resulting in the closure of a number of the SWC’s regional offices, thus making access to the services of the SWC more difficult for women, particularly in remote and rural areas. The Committee notes that the Government considers that there has been no negative impact due to the restructuring of the SWC on women’s access to programmes and services regarding employment and occupation, and that numerous projects have been funded addressing women’s economic security and prosperity with a specific focus on supporting women in non-traditional occupations. The Government indicates that in 2011, the SWC launched the Blueprint Projects which aim, inter alia, to help community-based organizations improve financial and growth opportunities for women business owners, increase recruitment of women in non-traditional work, and retain and promote women in non-traditional and under-represented sectors. The Committee also notes that the SWC continues to promote sustainable gender-based analysis (GBA) which must be conducted by federal departments with respect to all policies and programmes to ensure that the outcomes benefit both women and men. The Committee further notes that under the New Brunswick Wage Gap Initiatives, various initiatives and projects have been launched in order to promote non-traditional career options of both women and men, and that Ontario has launched training programmes to increase the representation of women in non-traditional fields of employment, that benefited 450 women between 2009–11. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact of the exclusion pursuant to section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act on women in terms of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation and to indicate whether any measures are being taken to address the issues raised by the CLC. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken under the Blueprint Projects with respect to the increase of women’s representation in non-traditional work and to provide information on the outcome of GBA conducted in federal departments. The Committee also asks the Government to continue providing information on measures taken to promote women’s access to occupations that have been traditionally dominated by men, including in the provinces and territories, and to provide information on the impact of such measures in increasing women’s representation in traditionally male-dominated occupations.

National policy. The Committee notes that the CLC considers that there is a need for a more structured national policy which would encompass unifying principles for all jurisdictions, express goals to be achieved and provide for holistic approaches for integrating workplace developments. The CLC also notes that a better oversight is needed to ensure that regulatory reforms, labour market changes and technological innovations are made with the aim to reduce inequalities. The CLC notes in particular that part-time and temporary work should be systematically examined as well as income inequalities, especially for women, young workers and economically marginalized groups, and that the social partners should be involved in all processes dealing with the promotion of equality of opportunity in employment and occupation. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether any steps have been taken or envisaged to address the issues raised by the CLC, including with respect to the need for a more structured national policy and to indicate how the social partners collaborate in this process.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.