Question Period Note: HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN FEDERAL WORKPLACES

Labour Program measures to address harassment and violence, including domestic violence, within the federally regulated sector.

The Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations (the Regulations) came into force on January 1, 2021. This historic piece of legislation created a more robust and integrated regime to protect employees from harassment and violence in federal workplaces – including the federally regulated private sector, the federal public service and parliamentary workplaces.

Under the Regulations, federally regulated employers, including Ministers, are required to take steps to prevent, protect against, and respond to occurrences of harassment and violence in the workplace, which includes a spectrum of reprehensible behaviours ranging from teasing/bullying to sexual harassment and physical violence.

Employers have specific obligations including: conducting a workplace risk assessment; developing a workplace harassment and violence prevention policy; developing or identifying training on harassment and violence; and, following specific steps and timelines in a resolution process when responding to notices of occurrence of harassment and violence.

The Canada Labour Code requires a review of the harassment and violence provisions every five years, starting January 1, 2026. This provides an opportunity to evaluate the success of the regime and identify any potential improvements.

The Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention provision were accompanied by several other measures to support victims of violence, including guidance documents, a roster of investigators developed through a tripartite working group, and paid leave for victims of family violence in the federally regulated private sector.

In 2019, the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund was established to support culture change related to harassment and violence in federally regulated workplaces. The Fund provides $3.5M annually to projects aimed at creating safer workplaces and helping workplaces comply with the legislative provisions. Projects included the development of tools and resources and training materials for a variety of workplaces across Canada, including workplaces in First Nations communities and in the marine, trucking, banking and performing arts sectors.

The Harassment and Violence Prevention-related projects will be updated this year, and a Call for Concepts was held from April 26, 2022, to May 24, 2022. It was open to not-for-profit organizations, federally regulated private-sector organizations, Indigenous organizations (including band councils, tribal councils and self-governing entities), unions whose projects focus on the federally regulated private sector.

The Government of Canada is committed to support psychological health and safety in the workplace, the ratification of Convention ILO 190, and the review of the Employment Equity Act, which will all work together to create healthier workplaces that will help eliminate harassment and violence.

As highlighted in a study published in April 2022 by Western University and the Canadian Labour Congress, over 71 per cent of Canadian workers have experienced at least one form of harassment and violence or sexual harassment and violence in their workplace in the last two years.

Mandate letter commitment

One of the priorities in the Minister of Labour’s December 2021 mandate is to “continue to support employers and unions to strengthen harassment and violence prevention measures in federally regulated workplaces”.

Bill C-65: Harassment and Violence Regime

Bill C-65 amended the Canada Labour Code to create a single, integrated regime to protect federally regulated employees from harassment and violence in the workplace. More specifically, the regime:

Expanded on the previous violence prevention requirements under Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) to ensure that employers take the necessary steps to prevent and protect against both harassment and violence in the workplace;

Repealed the sexual harassment provisions that were formerly found in Part III (Labour Standards);

Required employers to investigate, record and report occurrences of harassment and violence, subject to regulatory requirements;

Protected the privacy of employees who report occurrences of harassment and violence in order to encourage potential victims to come forward;

Narrowed the grounds for exemption from the establishment of a workplace committee;

Extended coverage of Part II of the Code to cover staff in ministers’ offices, also known as “exempt staff”;

Incorporated by reference Part II of the Code within the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act to ensure that parliamentary workers benefit from the same occupational health and safety protections as other federally regulated workers; and

Provided the Minister of Labour with the power to establish pilot projects to test new amendments under the Code to determine if they would lead to better outcomes for employees and employers.

In Budget 2018, the Government committed $34.9 million over five years, starting in 2018-19, and $7.4 million per year ongoing to support activities included in the proposed regime under Bill C-65. This funding is to be used for assisting workplace parties in resolving harassment and violence complaints, establishing an outreach hub to support employees, regulatory development and enforcement activities, training programs for inspectors, an awareness campaign, education materials and tools, and funding other initiatives related to harassment.

Budget 2018 also contained several other measures to support victims of violence, including amendments to the Canada Labour Code to provide a total of five days of personal leave per calendar year, with the first three days paid, to workers in the federally regulated private sector for reasons including to treat an injury or illness, take care of health obligations for any member of a worker’s family or care for them, and manage any urgent situation that concerns the worker or a family member. This paid leave builds on the 10-day unpaid leave for victims of family violence that was introduced in the Code and came into force September 1, 2019. This will help employees protect their financial security while they seek the support they need. Research shows that financial dependence is one of the most significant reasons why victims of family violence stay with their abuser, or return after leaving.

Statistics Canada released a report on December 5, 2019, titled: Gender-based violence and unwanted sexual behaviour in Canada, 2018: Initial Findings from the Survey of Safety on Public and Private Spaces.

Enforcement of Harassment and Violence Regulations (Bill C-65)

The Labour Program investigates complaints regarding non-compliance with the Code and prescribed regulations, not actual occurrences of harassment and violence.

While investigations pertain to a specific complaint, inspections are another method utilized by the Labour Program to determine compliance rates with the Code and Regulations in particular workplaces or industries.

As of January 1, 2021, monetary penalties could be issued as the result of committing a violation under the Code or its prescribed regulations, including the new Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations.

Employers must report annually to the Head of Compliance and Enforcement with the aggregated data on all occurrences as outlined in the Regulations. The Labour Program analyzes the annual reports to determine higher-risk sectors and employers which assists with compliance, enforcement and promotion activities.

The inaugural annual reports for the period of January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, have been received and currently under review. Employers who fail to submit such reports are subject to compliance action under the Code and Regulations.

None