The following was published by PSAC on March 13, 2026
March marks both International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, a time when workers at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) should be celebrating an estimated $15.9 million in pay equity adjustments to fix years of pay discrimination against women. Instead, these workers are being made to wait even longer.
The work was done. The deadline was set for March 3, 2026. The pay equity committee, made up of workers and the employer, had agreed on a fair plan. All that was left was to make it official.
Instead of advancing pay equity, the government intervened and further delayed justice for workers at CFIA.
Treasury Board undermined a fair process
The CFIA Pay Equity Committee reached an agreement after years of work. A draft plan was posted in December 2025, and employees submitted comments by mid‑February. The committee was ready to post the final plan by the March 3 deadline set by the Office of the Pay Equity Commissioner.
Then the government intervened, despite no concerns being raised about the appropriateness of the consultant’s methodology or its application in the CFIA case.
CFIA has now decided to delay the final plan by a full year to explore the feasibility of using a different calculation method. The calculation method they would like to now explore was already reviewed and rejected by the consultant and the Pay Equity Committee, consistent with guidelines published on this issue by the Office of the Pay Equity Commissioner. We are concerned that Treasury Board is hoping to reduce how much workers are owed.
What this means for women workers
Pay equity is not just about money; it is about fairness and dignity. For decades, jobs done mostly by women have been undervalued and underpaid; pay equity laws exist to help correct that.
The estimated $15.9 million in adjustments at CFIA would go to workers in job groups such as administrative support, clerical, and program management, where women make up the majority. By delaying this plan, the government is delaying justice for women, even as it claims to champion women’s rights.
A “feminist” government in name only
Actions speak louder than words. The government should stop interfering, and CFIA should post the final plan today. Instead, they are choosing to undermine the very workers they claim to support.
When the government interferes in a fair, lawful pay equity process that has already reached consensus, and when government agencies block progress and miss deadlines to avoid paying what is owed, it sends a clear message: Women can wait even longer for justice.
Women workers deserve better
PSAC is preparing to object to CFIA’s request for an extension and will continue to fight for our members and for pay equity. Fair pay is not a favour: it is the law and it is long overdue.