Canadian HR Reporter Weekly

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 CANADIAN HR REPORTER WEEKLY It was a ruling that disappointed many in Newfoundland and Labrador, and beyond. A man accused of directing a sexist slur against TV reporter Heather Gillis of NTV in St. John's in 2017 was found not guilty on Feb. 20 when it came to his interfering with the public peace. While the judge sympathized with Gillis' concerns, the alleged offence did not meet the legal requirements. Female reporters increasingly face this type of harassment when they report live from a scene. And it's one of the reasons Cathy Bennett, member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for Windsor Lake, announced on Feb. 20 she would be introducing a private member's motion calling on the provincial government to amend the Labour Standards Act, the Labour Relations Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act to address the specific issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. Citing the #MeToo movement — used on social media to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially at work — Bennett said laws must keep up with society, and there's a moral obligation to keep workplaces safe. "It's evident that we still see substantial situations where women are harassed, particularly sexually harassed in the workplace. And when we think about what's changing in the world with the #MeToo movement, I just felt that it's time that we look at the actual laws and whether or not there are things we can do in the language of the laws that make it prohibitive," she said. "Quite frankly, I think the language should be very clear that sexual harassment is against the law." Societal expectations have significantly changed in this area, and the laws haven't kept up, said Bennett, a member of the province's governing Liberal party. "We've had decades of males making the laws. When you put a gender policy lens on the creation of the law, then different things get brought to the surface. And while we have many meaningful and responsible men in legislatures across the country, including my own, it does require that women who are in legislature stand up for things that are different for us," she said. "ere's all kinds of workplaces that are used by men and women, and there needs to be laws covering all of those workplaces so that women don't have to put up with this type of behaviour." A lot of legislation has been around for a long time, and while changing and updating it isn't a fast process, jurisdictions and institutions are starting to realize, "My god, we really do need to update and modernize… because…. now is the time to deal with it," said Linda Ross, president and CEO of the NL Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women in St. John's. It's about opening up the laws and taking a look at them to see whether or not they can be strengthened, she said: "Where we need better language, and if there are things we should be doing that we're not doing at the present time, in terms of the kinds of issues that are covered under those particular acts." "e unfortunate thing is it takes a composite of things like harassment and #MeToo and everything else to trigger it — but better late than never." In the past, a lot of what was referred to as the workplace was really about bricks and mortar, said Ross, but today, "any kind of harassment can be work-related… as evidenced by journalists who are doing their work in the street or harassment on social media that takes place, and we need language that addresses that, the changing times." Changing the law While Newfoundland and Labrador has a human rights code, along with the common law remedy for employees, those are reactive measures, according to Greg French, Combatting sexual harassment Newfoundland and Labrador pushes for greater workplace protections BY SARAH DOBSON 'Strengthened and modernized' Just days after Cathy Bennett's announcement, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announced a "newly strengthened and modernized" Harassment Free Workplace Policy for departmental government employees, in effect as of June 1, 2018. The policy is meant to increase accountability for all employees, and includes an updated definition of sexual harassment to encompass gender-based harassment. The government is also putting in place a "harassment-free workplace manager" dedicated to managing all aspects of the policy and its procedures, including the co-ordination of harassment investigations. Key elements of the policy include: • an employee awareness program and mandatory training focused on prevention for all employees under the policy • a 90-day timeline for all harassment investigations • a "single-access" entry point for complaints • communication checkpoints for both complainants and respondents to provide regular updates as a complaint progresses through to resolution • when requested by a complainant, a complaint shall be automatically subject to a formal investigation.

• Cover