Advocates welcome promised pay equity laws in N.B., but warn some will be left out

Advocates are welcoming a pledge from New Brunswick's first femalepremier to enforce pay equity in theprivate sector, but also warn that it isn't a silver bullet.

Johanne Perron, executive director of the New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity,has beencalling on government to make the changefor about 30 years.

"This is a really important step forward," she said in an interview. "We will work with the government for sure to move this forward as soon as possible."

Perron andKerri Froc, an associate professor in the faculty of law at the University of New Brunswick,both applaudHolt's promise, but say theeffects won't reach everyone.

That's because, typically, pay equity laws in Canadaare meant to apply to larger companies, Froc said.

"The models that we have of pay equity are really about ... employers that employ 10 or more employees," she said in an interview.

WATCH | 'Pay equity isn't going to reach everyone,' says law prof:

Pay equity promise a step forward, not a silver bullet, advocates say

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While those working to bring about pay equity welcome Premier Susan Holts pledge to legislate it in the private sector, they say pay transparency rules are also needed to help the most vulnerable workers.

She said roughly 75 to 80 per centof workplaces have fewerthan 10 employees.

"So this is about bigger workplaces that can, you know, have the resources to engage in a pay equity exercise."

She said that meanssome of the most vulnerable workers won't see any benefit frompay equity laws.

"You're going to have people that are employed by small businesses where they don't have access to this," Froc said. "In these smaller workplaces, this is still going to be a problem."

Holt has yet to table legislation, and Froc saidNew Brunswick could take a different approach from other Canadian provinces.

However, the Liberalplatform says it will borrow from models in Ontario and Quebecboth of which only apply pay equity to employers with 10 or more employees, said Perron.

To account for the gap, Froc and Perron saygovernment should consider implementingpay transparencyalongside pay equity.

"We see that it makes a big difference, too, for people from different minorities racialized people, immigrant people, people with a disability," Perronsaid.

In neighbouring Prince Edward Island, pay transparency laws have been in effect since June 2022, said Froc.

"This really isn't something that is high cost to government or business. It really is about changing behaviour," shesaid.

"Putting pay bands in your advertising, making sure ... you have non-retaliation for workers that discuss their salary, making sure that you don't ask questions about someone's previous salary when you're interviewing thembecause that can perpetuate pay inequalities."

Pay transparency doesn't just help women, said Haley Flaro, executive director of Ability New Brunswick.

"Ability New Brunswick has seen examples of individuals hired for a position thatwe find out laterthe salary bracketwas actually quite higher, but they were started at a lower compensation because they had a disability," she said.

"With lots of different diverse populations, unfortunately there can be an inequity where people are started at lower salary brackets for whatever reasonastereotype, an assumption."

Froc noted pay transparency is a much less resource-intensive practice for businesses than pay equity is.

"It's mostly about what the employer is not doing. Don't retaliate, don't ask people about the income they're currently... earning," she said."Again,very low-effort, low-cost kinds of things that we could implement relatively quickly."

How resource intensive pay equity will be for businessesis top of mind for Louis-Philippe Gauthier, Atlanticvice-president for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

"How many businesses is it going to affect, how many employees, what is going to be the administrative burden, what types of measurements are going to be asked from businesses?" Gauthier said, listing his questions about the plan.

"Is this going togenerate a brand new industry of consultants that'll have to work with businesses, smaller businesses, to achieve the paperwork requirements?"

Gauthier says that's what happened when pay equity was introduced in Ontario and Quebec. However, henoted Holt's background could make for a different outcome.

"In this case, we're fortunate to have a premier that has a lot of experience with small businesses," he said.

"How much of the common sense of dealing with small businesses, and the realities of small businesses, will find itself in the act and the regulation itself?"

Holt reiterated the promise shortly after winning a majority on Oct. 21, but said this week her government has yet to determine when it will table the legislation.