Moncton — The New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity welcomes two firsts: the election of a woman as Premier of New Brunswick, and the commitment of a majority party to adopt pay equity legislation for the private sector.
“The election of New Brunswick's first woman premier is a truly historic moment for our province,” says Johanne Perron, the Executive Director of the Coalition. It took more than a century after women won the right to vote for New Brunswick to elect its first woman premier. New Brunswickers also elected a record number of women MLAs, who will hold 34.7% of the seats in the Legislative Assembly.
“This is not only a political victory, but also a victory for pay equity,” adds Perron “This election marks the first time in the province's history where the party that forms the next government has committed to extending pay equity to the private sector.”
The Liberal Party's election platform includes the following commitment: Phase in pay equity in the private and care sector, using a model similar to Quebec and Ontario.[1]
On election night, Premier-designate Susan Holt reiterated her party's commitment to pay equity on CBC News: "One of the things that I'm really proud of that was in our platform is a commitment to pay equity, because we should have equal pay for work of equal value, regardless of the gender of the person doing the work, and that's something that a Holt government is going to be proud to put in place, and that my girls I'm sure will be proud to be a part of.”
The Green Party, who won two seats, also pledged to adopt pay equity legislation for the private sector in its election platform - a commitment it has renewed since the party's first platform in 2010.
"We've been advocating for pay equity in New Brunswick's private sector for over 30 years, and we welcome the commitment of the Liberal and Green parties. The new government has a responsibility to correct this long-standing gender discrimination, and we look forward to working with all elected parties to make the right to pay equity a reality for all New Brunswickers,” added Perron.
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