Auditing federally regulated employers
In 1977, the Commission became responsible for auditing federally regulated employers under the Employment Equity Act (EEA).
In the years that have followed, the Commission has had the responsibility to conduct audits of federally regulated employers to promote compliance with the EEA.
The EEA requires federally regulated employers to take steps to eliminate barriers and increase representation in the workplace for members of the four currently designated equity deserving groups: women, Indigenous peoples, racialized people, and people with disabilities.
Horizontal audits
Over the course of 2023, the Commission completed individual horizontal audits of several private sector employers in the communications industry as well as federal departments and agencies in the public service. These audits focused on systemic issues faced by designated group members in each specific sector.
The Commission completed a pilot blitz audit, in which they examined the self-identification surveys and workforce representation rates of more than 200 small employers. As a result, more employers than ever before have been recently subject to the EEA compliance audits, greatly increasing our impact in enforcing the EEA and in ensuring full representation of members of designated groups.
The Commission also launched a new horizontal audit on the representation of racialized people in the federally regulated ground transportation sector. The objectives of this horizontal audit are to assess compliance with the EEA and share, with employers in that sector, meaningful ways to help them recruit and retain racialized people in their workforces.
Audit reports
At the end of a horizontal (issue based) audit, the Commission publishes a sector-wide report. This report includes a summary of the overall audit findings, common barriers, and positive practices uncovered during the audit of that sector.
- Horizontal Audit in the communications sector: Improving representation for people with disabilities
- Horizontal audit on Indigenous employment in the banking and financial sector
Modernization of the Employment Equity Act
On December 11, 2023, the federal government’s Employment Equity Act Review Task Force released its final report, entitled A Transformative Framework to Achieve and Sustain Employment Equity. (PDF).
This report has been in the works since the Taskforce was established in 2021 to compile recommendations to the Minister of Labour on how to modernize and strengthen the Employment Equity Act. Part of their process involved public engagement and consultation, which included the Commission. The Commission provided a submission to the Taskforce in April 2022.
The Commission welcomes the final recommendations in the Taskforce’s 2023 report and looks forward to seeing the next steps towards implementation.