Ministers’ Offices Grouped Under One Pay-Equity Plan

Summary#

The Canada Gazette published the Order Grouping Ministers’ Offices for the Purpose of a Pay Equity Plan (SOR/2024-116). The Order groups all federal ministers’ offices so they develop and maintain a single pay equity plan for ministerial staff. It came into force on May 31, 2024 and is paired with regulations that change how the Pay Equity Act applies to ministers’ offices.

What it does#

• Groups every ministers’ office together so one pay equity plan covers all ministerial staff. The group is automatic and adds new ministries as they are created.
• Says the Order takes effect on the day it was registered (May 31, 2024).
• Is intended to work with new regulations (separate from this Order) that:
  • make all ministers’ offices subject to the Pay Equity Act, even those with fewer than 10 staff;
  • require the single group plan to be the only pay equity plan for ministers’ offices (no multiple plans);
  • shorten the time for routine pay-equity updates from five years to three years;
  • require ministers’ offices to pay any required compensation increases as a lump sum (no phased-in payments);
  • require the group to make all reasonable efforts to form a pay equity committee;
  • adapt the administrative monetary penalty system so small ministers’ offices are assigned the same penalty ranges as offices with 10 to 99 staff;
  • allow the grouped ministers’ offices time to prepare their initial plan (the regulations set timing tied to when the group is established or when a new ministry is appointed).

Who's affected#

• Ministerial staff across all ministers’ offices — the change brings even small offices into the same pay-equity exercise.
• Ministers’ offices themselves, including an estimated 2 to 5 offices that previously had fewer than 10 staff and are newly made subject to the Act. The government estimates 34 to 37 offices already met the 10-staff threshold.
• The Pay Equity Commissioner and the Canadian Human Rights Commission, who will administer and oversee the grouped plan and receive a single annual statement instead of many separate ones.
• Practical figures from the government’s analysis:
  • One combined plan will cover all 39 ministers’ offices.
  • The small offices newly covered are estimated to employ between 17 and 44 ministerial staff in total.
  • The cost of any pay adjustments is estimated at less than $1 million per year.
  • The government estimates it will take about three hours to gather information to prepare or update the plan for a small office and about five hours to prepare the annual statement.

Why it matters#

• It aims to make pay equity for ministerial staff consistent across different ministers’ offices. That reduces the chance that two people doing similar ministerial work are paid differently just because they work for different ministers.
• It brings small ministerial offices into the proactive pay-equity system, so more staff can benefit from pay adjustments where predominantly female job classes are undervalued.
• The single plan and shorter review cycle (every three years) are meant to keep the exercise running through elections and cabinet shuffles, so pay-equity work is less likely to be interrupted.
• The government expects administrative savings and fewer duplicate reports because one plan and one annual statement replace many separate ones. The direct yearly cost of any pay increases is expected to remain modest (under $1 million).