Todd Smith calls new provincial pay equity laws toothless.
Earlier this week, the province introduced laws meant to make hiring practices more transparent and give women more information so they can be paid equally to men. The province is calling it the first bill of its kind in Canada.
But the MPP for Prince Edward Hastings says there’s nothing historic about it. He says it seems like a desperate attempt by the current government to claim they’ve dealt with the issue, even though they haven’t.
According to the MPP, he supports pay equality, but this legislation just doesn’t do that. He also says the Equal Pay Coalition and the Ontario Federation of Labour have both called the legislation insufficient.
Smith says the government didn’t need to pass laws to introduce pay equity policies.
The new laws come into effect next year. The province says it will require that all job posts include a salary range. It will also prevent employers from asking candidates about how much they used to make, and stop employees from getting in trouble if they talk about their pay.