The new bill, Bill C-15, comes four years after former NDP MP Romeo Saganash introduced Bill C-262, a similar private members bill that died in the Senate.

“By introducing Bill C-15, the federal government is taking a long overdue and much needed step on the path toward reconciliation,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “The Bill would require the government to take concrete action to ensure that Canadian laws are consistent with the Declaration.”

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People establishes a framework of global minimum human rights standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous peoples. Just as Bill C-262 did before it, the new Bill affirms UNDRIP as a universal international human rights framework with application in Canadian law.

The Bill would require the federal government, in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples, to:

• Ensure the laws of Canada are consistent with the Declaration;
• Prepare and implement an action plan to achieve the objectives of UNDRIP, to be completed as soon as practicable, but no later than three years after the day on which this section comes into force; and
• Prepare and table an annual report on progress on the action plan, and to align the laws of Canada with UNDRIP.

Both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called for the government to fully adopt and implement UNDRIP as the framework for reconciliation and justice for Indigenous peoples, including Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit persons who continue to face the deep brunt of the legacy of colonial violence.

Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to pass and enact Bill C-15 in a timely fashion and are joining Indigenous leaders and community members in stressing that Indigenous peoples have been waiting far too long for substantive and resolute measures from the federal government when it comes to justice and reconciliation.

“The government must seize this opportunity to make significant and meaningful change in the lives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples and move forward on the path to true reconciliation,” said CLC Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau.

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“The expansion of the CERB to include those continuing to work in low-income, precarious jobs is an important step,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “This move will be a relief to many workers who have been struggling and were left out of previous supports. The NDP should be credited with helping to influence this expansion of the emergency benefit.”

The Prime Minister’s announcement of top-up payments for essential workers, including those working in long-term care, is also a necessary move, said Yussuff.

Workers in long-term care often hold multiple part-time positions in different facilities in order to make a decent living. These workers are often without sick leave or benefits of any kind.

“This crisis has made it clear that our society’s essential workers have been grossly undervalued for too long,” said Yussuff. “When we start to re-open the economy, we must work to rectify these structural inequities around compensation and support. We must go to bat for the very workers who are ensuring our society continues to function throughout this pandemic.”

The CERB expansion also includes supports for hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers, Canadians who became unemployed before the COVID crisis and workers who have exhausted their EI claims.

“We will continue to work closely with government and opposition parties to bring attention to the experiences and needs of workers throughout various sectors in order to identity any new or emerging gaps,” said Yussuff.

For more information:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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“It takes 16 months for women’s median earnings to catch up to what men make in twelve. We mark Equal Pay Day to draw attention to the continued realities of wage discrimination and gender inequality in our country,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress. “This year we must also recognize the gendered impact the COVID-19 crisis will have. The pandemic has exposed the lack of concrete protections for workers, especially for workers in sectors where women are often employed, and for women who work in low-wage and precarious jobs.”

The pandemic has demonstrated how important the work traditionally performed by women is to the maintenance of healthy and safe communities. Many undervalued workers have now been deemed essential, but these workers are still underpaid. Their work is often invisible and unrecognized, marked with poor working conditions, exposure to violence and harassment and other health and safety risks, limited job security and access to benefits, including paid sick leave.

“These workers are putting themselves and their families at risk so the rest of us can stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Clarke Walker. “Not only do these workers deserve higher wages, they should have predictable hours and job security, paid sick days and emergency leave, access to the equipment to do their job safely, support to meet their child care needs, and access to Employment Insurance and health benefits.”
“It’s time to usher in a new normal for our most vulnerable—and valuable—workers.”

According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 13 percent of all working women in Canada are at risk of layoff, compared to nine percent of working men. Low-wage workers, who are disproportionately women, are most at risk.

Canada’s unions say that this is a time for bold, feminist action to recognize the value of women’s work and to end wage discrimination. Canada must make women’s economic justice a priority in the COVID-19 response and in the plan for recovery.

“This crisis has exposed who falls through the gaps in our system. The government has taken an important step with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, but much more needs to be done to ensure that we leave no one behind as we respond to COVID-19. Every level of government must apply a gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) to how it’s responding to this crisis,” said Clarke Walker.

Join the cross-country Equal Pay Day Virtual Rally on April 4 at 1:00 p.m. by registering here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/9119266283687928587

To learn more about Equal Pay Day, go to the Ontario Equal Pay Coalition website.

Click to access the CLC COVID-19 Resource Centre.

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