Section 45(4) of the legislation grants the C-NLOER authority to require an Operator to include provisions in a Benefits Plan to ensure that designated individuals or groups have access to training and employment opportunities and to enable those individuals or groups, or corporations owned or cooperatives operated by them, to participate in the supply of goods and services used in any proposed work or activity referred to in the Benefits Plan.

Accordingly, Operators’ Benefits Plans are expected to include a Diversity Plan. This may be filed with the C-NLOER as a part of the Benefits Plan, or as a standalone document. In the context of a Diversity Plan, designated individuals or groups are considered to include: women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

The Operator is expected to review, assess and apply models such as the federal Employment Equity Act, the Federal Contractors Program, and other models as appropriate in preparing its Diversity Plan. Such plans should encompass employment equity measures with an explicit objective to facilitate the participation of designated groups.

For further information on Benefits Plan provisions in relation to diversity plans, refer to the Benefits Plan Guidelines.