Pride at Work Canada Testifies Before the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights on Employment Equity
On February 9, 2026, Pride at Work Canada appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights as part of its study on employment equity in the federal public service.
Represented by Jade Pichette, Director of Programs and Advocacy, we joined fellow witnesses Tyler Boyce (The Enchanté Network) and Bonnie Brayton (DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada) to share perspectives on the urgent need to modernize Canada’s Employment Equity framework.
The Committee, chaired by Senator Paulette Senior, is examining issues related to employment equity under its general order of reference on human rights. This study presents an important opportunity to address long-standing gaps in how federal employment equity policies recognize and respond to systemic barriers.
Why This Matters
For too long, 2SLGBTQIA+ workers have remained outside the formal structure of the Employment Equity Act. This exclusion has real consequences: without designation, communities are not consistently counted, gaps are not measured, and systemic barriers remain inadequately addressed.
Appearing before the Senate was an opportunity to underscore:
- The need to explicitly include 2SLGBTQIA+ communities within employment equity legislation
- The importance of intersectional data collection and transparency
- The broader human rights implications of leaving communities unrecognized in federal equity frameworks
Modernizing employment equity is not symbolic; it is structural. It determines who is counted, who is protected, and who is prioritized in policy reform.
Learn More
We invite you to explore our policy brief on modernizing the Employment Equity Act: