Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR January 26, 2015 24 FeAtures yEAr in rEViEw Foreign worker overhaul e issue of temporary foreign workers dominated headlines in 2014, beginning with the very fi rst issue in January which featured a story on a move by ontario to beef up protections in employment standards and health and safety legislation. at was followed by major changes to the temporary Foreign Worker program (tFWp): the Labour Market impact assessment fee increased dramatically, from $275 to $1,000; the percentage of foreign workers was capped at 10 per cent for fi rms with at least 10 in HR in HR the year that was the year that was in HR the year that was in HR in HR the year that was in HR the year that was the year that was ghomeshi off the air Jian Ghomeshi took over headlines in october and november following allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault. e popular CBC radio host fi led a $55-million lawsuit against the broadcaster after he was fi red, a lawsuit he later dropped. experts pointed out that he was a unionized employee, governed by a collective agreement, and therefore his remedy was to be found via arbitration. e case shined a very bright light on sexual harassment and the treatment of women in the workplace — and continues to do so. ottawa attacked, employers locked down on oct. 22, shots rang out in the nation's capital. a ceremonial soldier was killed at the national War Memorial before the gunman stormed the halls of parliament, brought down in a hail of gunfi re by Sergeant at arms Kevin Vickers. in the hours following the tragedy, many employers in ottawa went into lockdown — prompting many fi rms to review their procedures to make sure they were up to date. Credit: Mark Blinch (Reuters) Credit: Chris Wattie (Reuters) employees; and applications in areas with high unemployment (six per cent or higher) were banned. hr association musical chairs ontario's Human Resources professionals association (HRpa) announced that, eff ective June 30, it was pulling out of the Canadian Council of Human Resource associations (CCHRa). e move saved HRpa, and cost CCHRa, $500,000 a year. at meant Canada's two most populous provinces — ontario and Quebec, which hasn't been a member of CCHRa for some time — are no longer at the CCHRa table. hr designation musical chairs e CCHRa unveiled new competencies for the Certifi ed Human Resources professional (CHRp) designation, outlining 44 discipline-specifi c professional competencies. it was based on the results of an evidence- based process undertaken in a professional practice analysis back in 2013. But that news was soon overshadowed by a bombshell — ontario's HRpa announced it was launching a three-level designation. e CHRp was made a junior-level designation and a mid-level Certifi ed Human Resources Leader (CHRL) and senior-level Certifi ed Human Resources executive (CHRe) were launched. HRpa Ceo Bill Greenhalgh called the move a "game-changer" meant to refl ect and promote the evolution of the profession. e move raised questions about the CHRp designation, its portability and whether or not other associations might adopt the new designations. Canada wasn't the only country experiencing waves in the HR designation pool. in the united States, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) split from the HR Certifi cation institute (HRCi) to launch its own designations — SHRM-Cp and CHRM-SCp. HRCi stayed in the game, continuing to off er the existing pHR, SpHR and GpHR designations, among others. By Todd Humber time to split up hr? an op-ed piece in the Harvard Business Review made waves in calling for HR to be split into two departments. Ram Charan, a dallas-based business advisor and author, said many Ceos were simply disappointed with HR people. He called for eliminating the CHRo position and separating HR into administration (reporting to the CFo) and strategy (reporting to the Ceo). " e problem with HR is real," he wrote. "one way or another, it will have to gain the business acumen needed to help organizations perform at their best." Credit: binik/Shutterstock hack attack e cyber attack against Sony, allegedly related to the launch of the fi ctional comedy e Interview which features the assassination of north Korea president Kim Jong-un, showed the vulnerability of communications and intellectual property in a digital age. e release of emails from executives was embarrassing and cringeworthy, and served as a reminder of the old adage that applies to social media and email alike: "don't say anything you wouldn't want to see on the front page of the New York Times." Credit: Kevork Djansezian (Reuters) e cyber attack against Sony, allegedly related to the launch of the which features the assassination of north Korea president Kim Jong-un, showed the vulnerability of communications and intellectual property in a digital age. e release of emails from executives was embarrassing and cringeworthy, and served as a reminder of the old adage that applies to social media and email alike: "don't say anything you wouldn't want to see on the front page of the Credit: Kevork Djansezian (Reuters)

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