Liberals tell women to wait for equality

The following is a joint statement from NDP MPs Sheri Benson and Karine Trudel in response to the government`s announcement that pay equity legislation will not be tabled until 2018:

We are disappointed and frustrated that this Liberal government is telling Canadian women they need to wait for basic equality.

Enough is enough. Pay equity is a human right and Canadian women should not be made to wait any longer to see their rights implemented.

It’s been twelve years since the Pay Equity Task Force submitted its report and the Standing Committee on the Status of Women recommended that the government implement proactive pay equity legislation.

Allowing the status quo to continue unnecessarily for another two years is to actively deny justice to women who have been waiting since 1977 when pay equity was first declared a human right.

Once again, New Democrats call on the Liberal government to act swiftly and introduce proactive pay equity legislation before the end of 2016.