Question Period Note: WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH

What is the federal government doing to address mental health issues in federally regulated workplaces?

• Mental health is a major concern for all Canadians that has become even more prominent as a result of the pandemic.
• On January 1, 2021, new workplace harassment and violence prevention legislation and regulations came into force, which have strengthened federally regulated employers’ obligation to prevent psychological illnesses and injuries in the workplace.
• Building on this work, the Government of Canada conducted an online engagement on mental health in federally regulated workplaces during winter 2020-2021. The feedback received from a wide range of stakeholders and Canadians during the engagement process has helped inform proposals for potential policy solutions that reflect the diverse needs of federal jurisdiction workplaces. We will be returning to discuss those potential solutions with stakeholders in the coming weeks.
• I would like to remind Canadians during these difficult times that a number of mental health supports are available. For example, the "Wellness Together Canada" portal includes free tools and resources that can benefit everyone, workers included, in improving our mental well-being.

• The Minister of Labour has been mandated to improve labour protections in the Canada Labour Code (Code) by including mental health as a specific element of occupational health and safety (OHS), and by requiring federally regulated employers to take preventative steps to address workplace stress and injury.

• “Mental health” is generally defined as a “state of well-being where every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and is able to make a positive contribution to her or his community”.

• In the context of OHS, what is generally understood as “mental health” is most often referred to as “psychological health.” This interpretation is the result of recent court decisions referring to “psychological health and safety” as an implied element of OHS obligations and regulations. Beyond the legal uptake, experts also have adopted the use of the term ‘psychological’ when referring to or describing mental health illnesses, injuries or hazards that occur in or are linked to the workplace.
Canada Labour Code and Mental Health
• Occupational health and safety is covered by Part II of the Code and related regulations, which apply to federally regulated private sector employers, Crown corporations, the federal public service and Parliamentary workplaces including the House of Commons and Senate.

• Currently, the Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations require employers to implement and monitor hazard prevention programs in support of requirements under Part II of the Code, define mechanisms to encourage employers to prevent or reduce exposure to hazards, and set penalties for failure to comply. They do not specifically emphasize psychological health-related hazards.

• While focus has historically been placed on the physical aspect of health and safety, recent Court decisions have interpreted the obligations of employers under Part II of the Code and related regulations as implicitly including psychological health and safety.

• Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, federal employers have a duty to reasonably accommodate previous or existing mental disability, including those unrelated to work.
Bill C-65
• Bill C-65, which came into force on January 1, 2021, amended the Canada Labour Code to create a single, integrated regime that will protect federally regulated employees from harassment and violence in the workplace. Notably, it amended the purpose statement of Part II to include a specific reference to “psychological injuries and illnesses”. This will strengthen the expectation that prevention of psychological illnesses and injuries is now also part of the employer’s obligation.

• In addition, the new Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, which support the legislative amendments and have come into force at the same time as Bill C-65, provide a definition of harassment and violence as behaviour that may cause “psychological injury or illness”. The regulations require employers to take steps to mitigate risks of harassment and violence in the workplace. Such steps can include undertaking, with employee representatives, a workplace assessment as well as developing a prevention policy.
Federal-Provincial-Territorial Coordination

• Mental health in the workplace is a shared priority for federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for labour. In partnership with the Labour Program and PTs, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has recently completed a national review of workplace psychological health and safety initiatives, tools, and legislation. The findings of this review will eventually be presented to federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Labour.

• According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, 500,000 employees are unable to work each week due a mental health issue or illness.
• The Canadian economy loses an estimated $6 billion per year in productivity from absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover.
• One in three workplace disability claims in Canada are related to mental illness and 70% of short-term and long-term disability costs are attributed to mental illness.
• According to one estimate, the direct cost of mental health problems and illnesses is $42 billion per year.
• A February 2021 Morneau Sheppell report found that for eleven consecutive months, Canadians have reported significantly decreased levels of mental health compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.