For Immediate Release
4 March, 2024
NDP MHA Lela Evans (Torngat Mountains) is appalled by the Minister of Women and Gender Equality’s continued refusal to be transparent about the status of the regulations for Pay Transparency Legislation that are two months overdue.
Media quoted the Minister today saying that she will not be answering any questions on pay equity or pay transparency. Evans says that this Minister is not fulfilling the duties of her office and thereby failing the women of this province. If she can’t do the job then she needs to step down for the sake of the office.
“It’s appalling, that this Minister will not answer questions regarding the status of the regulations,” said Evans. “I attended the consultations for pay transparency and it was obvious that attendees were concerned by the lack of work done to date. The feedback and recommendations the Minister received at this event should be made public.”
A year ago, the NDP voted against the woefully inadequate legislation and supported a subsequent call from the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour for “An Equality Reset”. The request was for government to hold meaningful conversations with worker representatives and make appropriate amendments in order to achieve pay equity for women and gender diverse workers in this province.
“The Minister can stand up all she likes and talk about how ‘historic’ work is being done on pay transparency legislation however, this government only acted after public outcry and shaming from the media,” said Evans. “Skirting media questions, and refusing to be open about timelines, tells me this Minister and the Furey Liberal government aren’t taking this issue seriously.
“Friday is International Women’s Day and the Minister should be ashamed of the way government continues to undermine women’s work in the province.”
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For further information, contact Stephanie Curran, Media Relations Manager, NDP Caucus at 330-0328 (c), or stephaniecurran@gov.nl.ca