Statement from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat to all employees of the core public administration regarding pay equity and to all members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

August 20, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

The Government of Canada is committed to supporting an inclusive public service where women receive equal pay for work of equal value. Through our work with the members of the pay equity committees for the core public administration (CPA) and the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) members, we are setting the standard for workplaces across the country.

Creating pay equity plans in such diverse organizations is a complex undertaking requiring deep collaboration between the employer and employee representatives, all of whom must reach consensus on each step of the process. While significant efforts have been made to advance this work, on May 31, 2024, TBS applied to the Pay Equity Commissioner for extensions to its deadline to complete the plans.

On August 19, the Pay Equity Commissioner granted the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) an extension of 3 years to develop a pay equity plan for CPA employees. In addition, on July 5, the commissioner also granted TBS an extension of 18 months to develop a pay equity plan for RCMP members.

As the country’s largest employer and service provider, implementing pay equity for over 270,000 public servants in the CPA, including 21,000 members of the RCMP, is a historic and unique effort to address the pay gap.

These extensions will allow the committees to complete their important work under the Pay Equity Act and ensure we get this right.

The government is dedicated to supporting the Pay Equity Act (2018) and the Pay Equity Regulations that came into force in 2021. As a result, employees who may be entitled to an increase in compensation under the final pay equity plans will receive that increase, as well as interest on that sum, backdated to the original deadline of September 4, 2024.

TBS will continue to provide updates at Pay Equity - Canada.ca as the work towards pay equity in the public service continues.