Quebec City, 5 October 2026 — The APTS, CSN, CSQ, FAE, FIQ, FTQ and the SFPQ will be in Superior Court as of tomorrow to contest the provisions of the Pay Equity Act passed in 2019. 

For the labour organizations, the principle at the heart of this issue remains fundamental: workers are entitled to a salary free from discrimination and, where discrimination is found to have taken place, they must receive everything to which they are entitled. 

This principle was, however, at the heart of a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, which in 2018 struck down certain provisions of Québec’s pay equity regime. The Québec government was forced to rewrite the legislation, as the country’s highest court ruled that the provisions preventing the retroactive application of salary adjustments constituted discrimination against women.  

However, the new legislation passed by the government in 2019 retains these discriminatory provisions, the labour organizations will argue before Superior Court from Tuesday onwards. 

Moreover, other provisions of the Act are being challenged by certain labour organizations, particularly those relating to freedom of association. 

“Almost thirty years after the Pay Equity Act was passed, we are still having to fight to ensure workers obtain what they are entitled to. This is not a technicality: it is money they have never received”, stated the union leaders. 

Pay equity is not merely an abstract principle, the organizations point out. It aims to rectify systemic pay discrimination against jobs predominantly held by women. When a worker is denied the salary to which she is entitled, the consequences can extend far beyond her pay, affecting, in particular, her social entitlements and economic security. 

“Behind this legal battle are workers who have been underpaid for years. This isn’t just a matter of figures between lawyers. What they are demanding isn’t a favour; it’s what they’re owed. It is for them that we are here in court”, completed the union leaders.