Targets for five-year pay equity plan released

Not even the Official Opposition is criticizing a report on pay equity in New Brunswick, even though there's nothing init to suggest the wage gap between men and women is narrowing.

The glossy report on the five-year wage gap action plan lays out targets such as total pay equity in the public sector. Another target is closing the wage gap to10 per cent in the private sector within the next three years.

Opposition critic Margaret-Ann Blaney, who was minister responsible for the status of women in the former Torygovernment, praised the Liberals for sticking with the plan she put in place last year.

"I had absolutely no criticism to offer at all," Blaney said Wednesday. "How could I, when in fact you're forward with our plan?"

However, the only concrete achievements listed in the report are the setting up of new advisory groups, the creation of a website, and the establishment of a series of meetings.

Status of Women Minister Carmel Robichaud sounded proud of that list.

"The wage gap progress report highlights the significant amount of work completed or started to date on all of the causes and contributors to the wage gap in our province," Robichaud said Wednesday.

As for the actual gap in pay between men and women, government officials acknowledge it's actually been narrowing more slowly since the previous government launched this action plan two years ago. However, there's no mention of that in Wednesday's report.