Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER SEPTEMBER 2019 NEWS 3 Government boosts funding to eradicate workplace harassment Commits $50 million to legal information, resources to support individuals BY MARCEL VANDER WIER THE FEDERAL government's commitment to combat work- place sexual harassment has be- gun in earnest. Portions of a five-year, $50-mil- lion commitment announced in Budget 2018 are being doled out to organizations across Canada in an effort to address the issue. So far, money has been dedicat- ed to projects in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario and Quebec — each supporting the goal of eliminating gender- based violence and harassment at work. "Workplace sexual harassment is simply unacceptable," said Jus- tice Minister David Lametti. "It is crucial to fill the gaps in legal information and resources to support individuals who bravely come forward with complaints." While the solutions aren't necessarily new, employers will need to prepare for systems and frameworks that employees ex- pect to deal with these situations, says Heather de Berdt Romilly, executive director of the Legal In- formation Society of Nova Scotia in Halifax. "It's really about effective communication and conf lict management and people being trained… about how to prop- erly navigate those often-murky waters on an issue which is very sensitive," she says. "Workplaces that have strong conflict management practices are going to be well set up to deal with any conflicts — not just sexual harassment. But sexual harassment tends to be such an emotionally charged issue that, if you can deal well with those types of issues, you're likely going to be able to deal with the whole range," says de Berdt Romilly. "As we find out from employ- ees what the issues are, where the gaps are, then we can try to develop tools to respond to that, that will further empower them and hopefully make it far less easy for employers to turn a blind eye." Boosted legal services, education Half of the government's finan- cial commitment is intended to boost legal services for complain- ants of sexual harassment in the workplace; the rest is dedicated toward increasing public educa- tion and information, according to the government. Through both initiatives, the federal government intends to help organizations take a stand against sexual harassment, says Ian McLeod, spokesperson for the Department of Justice in Ottawa. "Sexual harassment in Cana- dian workplaces occurs too fre- quently," he says. "It impacts the health and well-being of those involved, as well as their ability to perform their jobs." The Canada Labour Code de- fines sexual harassment as any conduct, comment, gesture or contact of a sexual nature that is likely to cause offence or hu- miliation to any employee or that might — on reasonable grounds — be perceived as placing a con- dition of a sexual nature on em- ployment or opportunities for training or promotion. Federal funding announce- ments began in May and have continued through the summer. Each initiative intends to im- prove access to justice for em- ployees who experience sexual harassment at work, according to the government. The projects will also put outreach programming in place to better inform workers about their rights and opportunities to access help. Initiatives in Nova Scotia, Ontario Each provincial and territorial project is unique. In Nova Scotia, $2.4 million has been dedicated to funding the work of both the Legal Informa- tion Society of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Association of Stat- utory Human Rights Agencies. The first project will provide legal education and information, while establishing a lawyer refer- ral program to provide free, inde- pendent legal advice to victims of sexual harassment in the work- place, says de Berdt Romilly. "Most employees don't really understand the process," she says. "They tend to be afraid of their job security." Many victims of sexual harass- ment have no idea where to begin when it comes to possible legal ac- tion, says de Berdt Romilly. "The #MeToo movement… is PROGRAMS > pg. 12 POWER UP HR Connect with the world's best at Canada's largest HR Conference & Trade Show January 22-24, 2020 Metro Toronto Convention Centre Register by Nov. 8 and Save with our Earlybird discount! hrpaconference.ca

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