The official opposition at Montreal city hall wants a change to provincial law that would force companies that have city contracts to obey the same rules the city does with respect to hiring visible minorities.

Vision Montreal opposition spokesperson on diversity, Annie Samson, recognizes that making employers more sensitive to the need for diversity in their hiring practices is no small thing, but says that's no excuse not to take action.

Samson wants to start with companies that win municipal contracts. She says they must be subject to the same equal-opportunity hiring practices that are required of the city itself.

Samson wants the province to give city hall the power to penalize employers that have discriminatory hiring practices by refusing them city contracts.