Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

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

The Committee notes with interest from the detailed information supplied by the Government in its reports, as well as its report submitted under Article 9 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (12 August 1988, CERD/C/159/ADD.3), that further progress has been achieved both at the federal and the provincial levels in the adoption and implementation of legislation and policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation.

1. The Committee notes the 1989 Annual Report on the Employment Equity Act, from which it appears that the reported representation of each of the four designated groups (women, aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities) has improved since the first reporting year. In this connection, the Committee notes with interest the establishment of the Federal Contractors Programme. It requests the Government to continue to supply information on the implementation of the Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Programme, and on the progress achieved, including copies of the annual reports.

2. In its previous comments the Committee noted that there had been policy discussions and recommendations made in Parliament concerning the reform of matters coming within federal jurisdiction to ensure compliance with section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that the Government had made many commitments in response to the recommendations.

In this connection the information in the Government's reports indicates that the following measures have been taken: (a) section 68 of the Public Service Superannuation Regulations (which specified a mandatory retirement age of 65 for contributors under the Public Service Superannuation Act) has been repealed; (b) a number of equality concerns, such as provision for flexible retirement, have been remedied by an Act to amend the Canadian Pension Plan and Federal Court Act, which became effective on 1 January 1987; (c) the Pension Benefits Standards Act was amended (effective 1 January 1987) to ensure equal pension benefit for part-time workers; (d) substantial progress has been made to expand the role of women in the Canadian Armed Forces including a rise to 73 per cent of military occupations open to mixed-gender employment.

The Committee notes with interest the above measures taken and requests the Government to continue to supply information on developments to further ensure compliance with section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. With respect to other recommendations which had been noted by the Committee in its previous observation, the Committee would be grateful for information on any measures taken concerning the prohibition of discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation.

3. With regard to provincial jurisdictions, the Committee notes with interest the following legislative and regulatory developments to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation:

- in Nova Scotia, an amendment to the Civil Service Act on 29 May 1987; and the entry into force of the Pay Equity Act on 25 June 1988;

- in British Colombia, the adoption of the Charter of Rights Amendment Act, 1987, amending 51 provincial statutes to bring them into line with the Charter;

- in Ontario, the entry into force of the Pay Equity Act on 1 January 1988;

- in Manitoba, the amendment to the regulations under the Employment Standards Act on 1 April 1988;

- in Prince Edward Island, the entry into force of the Pay Equity Act on 1 October 1988, and the amendment to the Human Rights Act to include "political belief" as a prohibited ground of discrimination in employment;

- in Newfoundland, the entry into force of the new Human Rights Code on 1 October 1988;

- in New Brunswick, the entry into force of the Pay Equity Act on 22 June 1989, and the Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, effective 1 April 1989;

- in Quebec, the amendment to the Act on Standards of Work on 1 October 1986; the adoption by the Quebec Human Rights Commission of regulations covering the validity of voluntarily established programmes of access to equality; the amendments to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1989 creating a Human Rights Tribunal to adjudicate complaints of discrimination; and the adoption by the Human Rights Commission of guidelines covering indirect discrimination;

- in Saskatchewan, the amendment to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, concerning the definition of "disability" and "mental disorder".

- in Alberta, the amendment to the Individual Rights Protection Act to include mental disability as a protected ground; to extend the protection against sexual harassment to domestics and live-in employees, and to protect pregnant women from gender discrimination in employment.

4. With regard to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Committee notes with interest the following developments:

- the Equal Wage Guidelines (defining how the Canadian Human Rights Commission handles complaints of wage discrimination within the federal jurisdiction under section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act) came into effect on 10 December 1986;

- the approval of a Bona Fide Occupational Requirement Policy, June 1988, and a Bona Fide Justification Policy, June 1988.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the practical application of the above-mentioned measures with its next report.

The Committee further notes the approval by the Canadian Human Rights Commission of a Pregnancy Childbirth Policy (March 1987), a Drug Testing Policy (December 1987) and a Policy on AIDS (May 1988). The Committee requests the Government to provide in future reports details concerning developments with respect to the practical application of these policies, and in particular on protections offered to persons with AIDS or infected with HIV who have been or may be discriminated against in employment and occupation.

5. The Committee notes that the Canadian Human Rights Commission, in its Annual Report, made a number of recommendations to Parliament, including:

- that the Human Rights Act be amended to enable tribunals to order the adoption of special programmes to remedy the effects of past discrimination;

- that a provision be added to the Human Rights Act explicitly stating that it is a discriminatory practice to refuse to make reasonable accommodation for special needs or obligations related to a prohibited ground of discrimination.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the status of these recommendations. The Committee also requests the Government:

- to indicate whether the authority to order the adoption of special measures has been interpreted to be within the scope of the Commission's powers and, if it has, to indicate what the experience has been with its use;

- to provide detailed information, including judicial or administrative decisions, on the way "reasonable accommodation" is currently interpreted by the Commission, particularly as it concerns grounds of discrimination contained in the Convention.

6. The Committee hopes the Government will continue to supply information on the action taken - both at the federal and the provincial levels - in pursuance of the national policy designed to eliminate discrimination with respect to employment and occupation and that in revising or adopting legislation in this field, account will be taken of all the prohibited grounds of discrimination referred to specifically in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention.

In this connection the Committee notes that discrimination on the ground of "political opinion" is only protected against in legislation in Newfoundland, Quebec and now Prince Edward Island. Please indicate in future reports how this ground is protected in practice in the other provinces and at the federal level, in accordance with the Convention.

Further, the Committee notes the Government's indication, contained in its previous report, that protection against discrimination on the ground of social origin would not appear to be necessary in Canada. It also notes that the grounds of ethnic origin and ancestry are covered in legislation at the federal and provincial levels. The Committee would refer the Government to paragraphs 54 through 56 of its General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, 1988, wherein it stated that "The problem of discrimination on the basis of social origin arises when an individual's membership of a class or a socio-occupational category ... determines his or her occupational future ... Although such situations are rarely encountered in a pronounced form, at the present time, prejudices and preferences based on social origin may still persist even when rigid stratification has disappeared." The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the measures taken at the federal and provincial levels to promote equality on this ground in conformity with the Convention.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on the effects in practice of the measures taken by the provinces to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, and on the progress achieved in that respect.

7. The Committee notes that the Quebec Human Rights Commission issued an opinion regarding the conflict between hours of work and the obligation of persons of the Islamic faith to attend prayer services on Friday. It would be grateful if the Government would provide a copy of the recommendations in this respect as well as information on any other measures taken at the provincial or federal levels to promote equality of opportunity in employment on the basis of religion.

8. The Committee notes with interest the provision in the Canadian Labour Code, which establishes an employee's right to employment free of sexual harassment, and which requires employers to take positive action to prevent it. According to the Government's last report, an amendment to the Canadian Labour Standards Regulations, which would prescribe a standard form of sexual harassment policy, was being considered and it was anticipated to become law in 1991. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on progress in the adoption of the above-mentioned amendment and on any other measures taken to combat harassment in the workplace on the basis of sex, or any other ground enumerated in the Convention, and to supply copies of such measures with its future reports.

9. The Committee notes the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, and the Security Policy for the Government of Canada, which were annexed to the Government's reports. It further notes the summary case histories of security complaints dealt with by the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) in 1986-90. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply similar information with future reports.

10. The Committee notes with interest the examples of promotional activities undertaken, including publications, consultations, educational seminars and workshops, video programmes, enterprise visits and study grants at the federal and provincial levels to promote equality in opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on similar activities in its future reports.

The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would supply information on the follow-up given to the (undated) Labour Canada publication "Leave for Employees with Family Responsibilities", which was annexed to the Government's report as well as information on the seminars on reconciling job and family responsibilities, sponsored by the Women's Bureau of Labour Canada and the Status of Women Canada.