Let's move faster: City Hall

Employment Equity Act
By IRWIN LOY, 24 HOURS

There could be changes coming to the federal act that mandates racial equality in the workplace.

The Employment Equity Act, brought in by the Tories in 1986, is due for its federally mandated review this year.

The act is meant to removes barriers to employment for minorities without imposing quotas on employers. But currently it only applies to about two million people, or 13 per cent of Canada's labour force. That needs to change, says Vision Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie.

"That's a relatively low number," said Louie, who serves on the mayor's working group on immigration. "That's not what people would expect when they think of a federal equality act."

NPA Coun. B.C. Lee, who chairs the working group, wants to see the federal government speed up changes that would allow faster recognition of foreign credentials. He says Federal Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn has told him it could take about two years.

"We think that two years is quite a long time," Lee said. "We would like to see that it go faster."

The working group met with Blackburn yesterday, who was in town on a nationwide tour promoting racism-free workplaces. Blackburn announced his ministry would hire nine regional officers to work on the issue.

Half of Vancouver's population is made up of visible minorities. More than 1.4 million Canadians reported they experienced racial discrimination, according to a 2003 Statistic Canada study.

LARGEST VISIBLE MINORITIES IN THE CITY OF VANCOUVER:
1. Chinese (161,110)
2. South Asian (30,655)
3. Filipino (22,085)
4. Southeast Asian (14,670)
5. Japanese (8,280)
6. Latin American (6,490)
7. Korean (6,130)
8. African (4,780)
9. West Asian (3,160)
10. Arab (1,465)
11. Multiple origins (4,550)

- Source: City of Vancouver