Surrey: Following the federal NDP’s recent platform promise to bring in pay equity legislation if elected, BC Liberal MLAs are renewing their calls for John Horgan to introduce similar legislation at the provincial level. Surrey South MLA Stephanie Cadieux introduced two bills to the B.C. legislature to tackle the issue of pay equity, but both were ignored by the BC NDP government.

“John Horgan has said he doesn’t think legislation is part of the answer to eliminating the gender wage gap – but his federal counterparts seem to think otherwise,” says Cadieux. “The Premier wasn’t ready to address pay equity when I introduced my bill last year, or when I introduced similar legislation again this spring. But now that even his own party is calling for this legislation, John Horgan needs to recognize that this is an area where government can – and should – be making a difference.”

When asked about Cadieux’s legislation, the Premier admitted he hadn’t looked into it before dismissing the idea as a ‘political stunt’.

“The NDP has had more than a year to examine this issue – but we have yet to see any action from this government,” says Cadieux. “Equal pay for women is no stunt. It’s high time for John Horgan to act to address this very real issue that affects half our population.”