Province opens in-person consultations on Pay Equity Act review

Human resources professionals in New Brunswick can still let their voices be heard on the issue of pay equity in the province, as the provincial government is set to open in-person consultations this week.

The provincial government will open the first of six in-person consultations on the Pay Equity Act, 2009, on Sept. 10 in Fredericton.

The Fredericton session will be held at the Centre communautaire Sainte-Anne, with an English sitting at 1:30 p.m. and a French sitting at 3 p.m. pa

Sessions in Campbellton (Sept. 15), Grand Falls (Sept. 16) and Moncton (Sept. 23) will be held at the Memorial Regional Civic Centre, the E. & P. Sénéchal Centre and the Community Hub, respectively. The final two sessions take place in Woodstock on Oct. 2 at the AYR Motor Centre and in Saint John on Oct. 6 at NBCC's Grandview campus.

Attendees may join all or part of a session. Those unable to attend can still submit feedback through an online form, by email or by mail, with the consultation period remaining open until Oct. 30, according to the Government of New Brunswick.

Background on the review

The review, which opened to public input on July 2, examines the province's decade-old pay equity framework and considers extending its reach beyond the public sector, where it currently applies, into private employment and care-sector roles. The Pay Equity Bureau, which administers the existing act, is overseeing the policy work.

The province describes the underlying principle of the law as "equal pay for work of equal value," a standard applied by comparing job qualifications, effort, responsibility and working conditions to correct pay gaps between roles traditionally held by women and comparable roles traditionally held by men.

The Government of New Brunswick also cited demographic pressures as a factor behind the review, noting that an aging and declining population is "intensifying the need to address workforce shortages by promoting fair pay and inclusivity." The bureau said it will additionally explore practices that "respect and affirm all gender identities," moving beyond the binary model reflected in current legislation.

What happens next?

Through the consultation, the Government of New Brunswick says it aims to gather perspectives on how the current act is functioning, weigh the potential benefits and concerns of expanding pay equity rules, and use that input to inform what it calls "an effective pay equity approach for all New Brunswickers."

Feedback gathered through the online form, in-person sessions, email and mail submissions will be compiled into a summary report, which the government plans to release in February 2027. Policy recommendations or further next steps are expected to follow that spring.

Employers, employees, unions, business organizations, human resources professionals and other interested residents are invited to take part. Questions may be directed to the Office of Women and Gender Equity at [email protected] or 1-877-253-0266, Monday to Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.