Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Marginal note: Short title
1 This Act may be cited as the Employment Equity Act .
Marginal note: Purpose of Act
2 The purpose of this Act is to achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability and, in the fulfilment of that goal, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities by giving effect to the principle that employment equity means more than treating persons in the same way but also requires special measures and the accommodation of differences.
Marginal note: Definitions
3 In this Act,
means persons who are Indians, Inuit or Métis; ( autochtones )
means all persons in Canada of working age who are willing and able to work; ( population apte au travail )
means the chairperson of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal; ( président )
means the Canadian Human Rights Commission established under section 26 of the Canadian Human Rights Act ; ( Commission )
means a person designated as an employment equity compliance review officer pursuant to subsection 22(3); ( agent d’application )
means women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities; ( groupes désignés )
means persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour; ( minorités visibles )
means such member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada as is designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of this Act; ( ministre )
[Repealed, 1998, c. 9, s. 37]
means persons who have a long-term or recurring physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning impairment and who
and includes persons whose functional limitations owing to their impairment have been accommodated in their current job or workplace; ( personnes handicapées )
means prescribed by the regulations; ( Version anglaise seulement )
means any person who employs one hundred or more employees on or in connection with a federal work, undertaking or business as defined in section 2 of the Canada Labour Code and includes any corporation established to perform any function or duty on behalf of the Government of Canada that employs one hundred or more employees, but does not include
means an Employment Equity Review Tribunal established by subsection 28(1). ( tribunal )
Marginal note: Application
Marginal note: Employer’s duty
5 Every employer shall implement employment equity by
Marginal note: Employer not required to take certain measures
6 The obligation to implement employment equity does not require an employer
Marginal note: Employment of Aboriginal peoples
7 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where a private sector employer is engaged primarily in promoting or serving the interests of Aboriginal peoples, the employer may give preference in employment to Aboriginal peoples or employ only Aboriginal peoples, unless that preference or employment would constitute a discriminatory practice under the Canadian Human Rights Act .
Marginal note: Certain rights not employment barriers
Marginal note: Analysis and review
Marginal note: Employment equity plan
Marginal note: Reasonable progress
11 Every employer shall ensure that its employment equity plan would, if implemented, constitute reasonable progress toward implementing employment equity as required by this Act.
Marginal note: Implementation and monitoring of plan
12 Every employer shall
Marginal note: Periodic review and revision of plan
13 Every employer shall, at least once during the period in respect of which the short term numerical goals referred to in paragraph 10(1)(d) are established, review its employment equity plan and revise it by
Marginal note: Information about employment equity
14 Every employer shall provide information to its employees explaining the purpose of employment equity and shall keep its employees informed about measures the employer has undertaken or is planning to undertake to implement employment equity and the progress the employer has made in implementing employment equity.
Marginal note: Consultation with employee representatives
Marginal note: New employers
Marginal note: Employment equity records
17 Every employer shall, in accordance with the regulations, establish and maintain employment equity records in respect of the employer’s workforce, the employer’s employment equity plan and the implementation of employment equity by the employer.
Marginal note: Reports of private sector employers
Marginal note: Availability of reports of private sector employers
Marginal note: Consolidation to be tabled
20 The Minister shall in each year prepare a report consisting of a consolidation of the reports filed under subsection 18(1) together with an analysis of those reports and shall cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament not later than the fifteenth sitting day that that House of Parliament is sitting after the report is completed.
Marginal note: Report of Treasury Board
shall send a copy of the report to its employees’ representatives.
Marginal note: Compliance audits
Marginal note: Powers of compliance officers
Marginal note: Security requirements
24 Every compliance officer or any other person acting on behalf of or under the direction of the Commission who receives or obtains information relating to a compliance audit under this Act shall, with respect to access to and use of that information by that compliance officer or person, satisfy any security requirements applicable to, and take any oath of secrecy required to be taken by, persons who normally have access to and use of that information.
Marginal note: Employer undertaking
the compliance officer shall inform the employer of the non-compliance and shall attempt to negotiate a written undertaking from the employer to take specified measures to remedy the non-compliance.
the employer may inform the compliance officer of such belief.
Marginal note: Direction of Commission
Marginal note: Employer’s request for review
Marginal note: Establishment of Tribunals
Marginal note: Powers of Tribunal
Marginal note: Decision of Tribunal
Marginal note: Enforcement of orders
Marginal note: Report of activities of Human Rights Commission
32 The Commission shall include in its annual report referred to in section 61 of the Canadian Human Rights Act a report of its activities, including an assessment of their effectiveness, under this Act during the year.
Marginal note: Limitation
Marginal note: Privileged information
Marginal note: Violation
Marginal note: Assessment of monetary penalty
Marginal note: Notice of assessment of monetary penalty
37 A notice of the assessment of a monetary penalty shall
Marginal note: Employer’s options
Marginal note: Review by Tribunal
Marginal note: Registration of certificate
Marginal note: Regulations
Marginal note: Powers, duties and functions of Minister
Marginal note: Delegation
43 The Minister may authorize those persons employed in the federal public administration whom the Minister considers to be appropriate to exercise any of the powers and perform any of the duties and functions that may be or are required to be exercised or performed by the Minister under this Act or the regulations, and any power exercised or duty or function performed by any person so authorized shall be deemed to have been exercised or performed by the Minister.
Marginal note: Review of operation of Act
Marginal note: Compliance with certain provisions
45 The Treasury Board, the Public Service Commission and any person who is an employer to whom the Employment Equity Act , R.S., c. 23 (2nd Supp.), applied shall, within one year after the coming into force of this section, comply with sections 9 and 10 of this Act.
46 to 53 [Amendments]
54 [Repeal]
Marginal note: Coming into force
Footnote * 55 This Act or any provision of this Act comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
Return to footnote * [Note: Act in force October 24, 1996, see SI/96-93.]