The province’s Minister of Women and Gender Equality says pay equity legislation is not a “silver bullet” to close the wage gap.

Recently, Minister Pam Parsons’ briefing book for the mid-March sitting of the House of Assembly was posted to the province’s ATIPP website. In it, it’s stated that pay equity legislation can be costly, operationally complex, involve significant legal battles, and only result in “minor and unmeaningful” increases for a “limited number of women.”

Minister Parsons uses Ontario, a province with such legislation, as an example. She says it has not closed the gap.

She notes that the province has taken numerous steps to address the situation, such as mandating a gender-based analysis. She says everything government produces is done through the GPA+ lense. To date, she says over 500 employees have received training.

She says they have been taking other steps such as the move to $10 a day child care, the review of minimum wage provisions, and the use of women’s employment plans and gender equity and diversity plans.

Parsons is hesitant to give any timelines on when pay equity legislation could be introduced.