UTGB Vol 5.pdf - Robson Hall Faculty of Law

62 Underneath the Golden Boy
notice periods prescribed in the Act is an order that they minimally comply with the
Act, employers will have little incentive to make contracts with their employees that
comply with the Act.sc
The Supreme Court has recognized that employees do not enjoy equal
bargaining power with their employers, that meaningful and enforceable
employment standards are necessary to protect workers, and that measures to
promote compliance by employers are also necessary.
C. International Law: Human Rights Obligations
Canada also has obligations under international human rights law, obligations
and commitments that are consistent with fundamental Canadian values of
fairness, equality, and social justice. Many of these obligations-including those
concerning employment rights and the fair treatment of workers-can only be
fulfilled by the provinces, in light of the division of powers in the Canadian
Constitution. The following are just some of Canada's international obligations
with which Manitoba's employment laws must comply, and which must guide
the instant Review:
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW): 51
Article 3
States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular the political, social, economic and
cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full
development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the
exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of
equality with men.
Article 11
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against
women in the field of employment in order to ensure, in a basis of equality of men and
women, the same rights, in particular:
(a) The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings;
(b) The right to the same employment opportunities, including the application of the
same criteria for selection in matters of employment;
(c) The right to free choice of profession and employment, the right to promotion, job
security and all benefits and conditions of service and the right to receive vocational
training and retraining, including apprenticeships, advanced vocational training and
recurrent training;
(d) The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal treatment in
respect of work of equal value, as well as equality of treatment in the evaluation of the
quality of work;
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Ibid. at 1003-1004.
51
18 December 1979, 1249 U.N.T.S. 13 (ratified by Canada 10 December 1981).