The meeting, held at Metro Hall in Toronto on April 28, 2000,brought together members of community groups, equity practitioners, and labour activists from across Ontario to discuss measures that eliminate barriers to equitable employment that are currently faced by equity seeking groups. The information the participants shared at the conference are being collected and integrated into a plain language promotional package on federally regulated employment equity programs to be used and widely distributed by the Alliance for Employment Equity and its allies. The educational package will be available in the fall of 2000. Among the high-profile speakers who set the tone for the conference were Winnie Ng, Ontario Director of the Canadian Labour Congress, Evelyn Gold, of the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work, Ethel Lavalley, Secretary Treasurer of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Antoni Shelton, former Executive Director of the Urban Alliance and currently an Executive Assistant for CUPE Ontario, and Abbie Bakan Professor of Women's Studies at Queen's University. Many of the speakers referred to the hostile environment members of designated groups face in many Ontario workplaces, and how difficult it is for workers to resolve their complaints.
Many trade unionists misunderstand the purpose of equity programs and how they work.
There is a need to raise the profile of employment equity and work to improve the public's understanding. Persons with disabilities are finding a lack of support services to help them succeed in the workplace. Negative attitudes toward disabled workers are a big part of the problem. In the afternoon session, there were informative presentations and exchange of information on issues affecting transgendered and transsexual people. Participants in the session learned that transgendered people are those who live in a different gender than the one they were born to.