Canadian HR Reporter

PM40065782 RO9496 September 7, 2015 INSIDE OVERPAID EMPLOYEES Fear not, payroll has options when it comes to recouping wrongly paid compensation Harassing men Sexual harassment of men deserves consideration page 6 Glass ceiling An in-depth report looking at the plight of interns page 11 No comment Taking out time-wasters in performance reviews page 25 page 21 Credit: Julie Gordon (Reuters) The CANADIAN OUTPLACEMENT COMPANY Since 1981 Jamie Shaw, spokesperson for the B.C. Compassion Club, greets patients at the East Vancouver marijuana dispensary in B.C. Insurance coverage for medical marijuana is a rarity in Canada — but that may change as acceptance grows. Should medical marijuana be covered? BY LIZ BERNIER JONATHAN ZAID was 14 when doctors made the diagnosis: His unrelenting headaches — and de- bilitating pain — were caused by a condition called "new daily persis- tent headache." "I tried 48 prescription drugs and all kinds of other therapies, and none of those were indicated for my condition. e plan for- mulary covered every single one of those drugs without a question, but none of them were indicated or studied or researched for what I have," said Zaid. Eventually, he found something that worked: Medical marijuana. Zaid is the fi rst — and, so far, only — patient to receive insur- ance coverage from Sun Life Financial for medical cannabis through the University of Water- loo Student Union in Ontario. It took a lot of education, ad- vocacy and stigma reduction, he said — but it worked out for him in the end. " ey fi nally understood that it was necessary to cover it, and saw the impact that it would have on my life and my academ- ics. And when they looked at the CCHRA focuses on 1 voice, 1 designation, 1 standard Quebec mulling rejoining national body BY SARAH DOBSON THE past 18 months have seen plenty of changes at the Canadi- an Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA), from adjusting the policy around the National Knowledge Exam (NKE) to upgrading qualifications for the Certifi ed Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation. And then there was Ontario's deci- sion to pull its membership. But the national body is not slowing down. Just recently, it announced it had changed its structure signifi cantly, with a re- designed philosophy, a new set of core principles and new bylaws. It's about being a strong, vibrant, national body that brings together Canada's diverse HR voices to cre- ate one voice, one national stan- dard and one designation, accord- ing to Roma orlakson, chair of both CCHRA and the Human Re- source Management Association of Manitoba (HRMAM). "We are sending a clear message that we are one, we're commit- ted to one designation, especially as we move towards becoming self-regulated." Focus on collaboration In moving the designation forward and implementing recommenda- tions that came out of the practice analysis report, it's important to collaborate with all the provinces, she said. "We feel that national collabora- tion and that diversity of opinions and input that that brings really is what we need to advance our HR profession, both locally and globally." That diversity included Que- bec's Ordre des conseillers en res- sources humaines agrées (CRHA) which has been involved as an observer — and it could rejoin the council later this year. CRHA left the national body in 2010. " ere's a lot of value alignment there with Quebec and so we're excited about the possibility that they may also want to be part of this," said Thorlakson. "We see great potential for working to- gether with Quebec." e likelihood is good Quebec will return, said Anthony Arigan- ello, CEO of CCHRA and presi- dent and CEO of the Vancouver- based Human Resources Manage- ment Association (HRMA). "Quebec recognizes that they've been a lone wolf for a number of years but it'd be great to broaden and let their members know that they have an affi liation and maybe even a membership with the CCHRA as part of a national interest…. I think they'd be a full member. at's what they're considering." It looks like CCHRA is starting to really focus on the right things, said Dionne Pohler, assistant pro- fessor at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. "To some extent, these are the things that frustrated Ontario and a long time ago Quebec as well, so I think they're really starting to re- alize they need to ask these kinds of questions, but I do like the ap- proach I see them taking and it's… too bad that Ontario wasn't still a major part of those conversations as a member." COST > pg. 12 FOCUS > pg. 10 Wage gap infl uenced by person's location: Study CCPA ranks best, worst cities for women BY LIZ BERNIER FEW would argue that the wage gap between the genders is not a signifi cant issue — but, as it turns out, the region a person lives in has a lot to do with just how wide that gap is. at was the central fi nding of the Canadian Centre for Policy Al- ternatives (CCPA) report e Best and Worst Places to be a Woman in Canada in 2015. e study ranked the nation's 25 largest metropolitan areas based on how men and women compare in fi ve areas: economic security, leadership, health, personal secu- rity and education. e fi ndings indicate that a re- gion's dominant industries and provincial policies play a large role in the gender gap. For in- stance, cities in Quebec tended to rank higher because of provincial policies aimed at improving work- life balance for women. Montreal, Quebec City and Gatineau all ranked within the top 10. On the fl ip side, regions primar- ily focused on male-dominated in- dustries, such as Calgary, Edmon- ton and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., ranked in the bottom three. But the study is not about call- ing out which cities are the win- ners and which aren't, said Kate McInturff , the study's author and senior researcher at the CCPA in Ottawa. Rather, it is meant to be a testament to the fact these gender gaps are real, measurable and need to be addressed, she said. " ere are real benefi ts to ad- dressing this. I understand that INVEST > pg. 13

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