Some groups are being left behind....

The House of Commons had a number of unfinished issues that were relegated to the back burner when Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided last month to short-circuit the past session of Parliament.

One of these was the review of the Employment Equity Act. It seeks to ensure that the federal government, federal Crown corporations, and federally regulated firms with 100 or more workers provide equal employment opportunities to four designated groups: women, aboriginal people, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. It doesn't set hiring quotas.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission administers the Employment Equity Act and conducts regular audits of how it is being implemented. Citing the latest available data in a report last spring, the commission documented that in 2005, persons with disabilities and aboriginal people "benefited the least from employment equity initiatives" in the private sector. It noted that while the share of jobs held by Natives increased from 1.3 percent in 1997 to 1.8 percent in 2005, it was "well below" the 2.6-percent availability of aboriginal people

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