Thank you, Bethany.
I, in fact, wear two hats today. One is as an occasional policy adviser with the Union of Safety and Justice Employees, and the other is as the executive director of Equal Voice, where I will provide some comments. I concur with many of the statements that Bethany and our colleagues have made. The parliamentary environment is not dissimilar to what we in fact see on Parliament Hill. I think we welcome Bill C-65 as a very strong first step, but I think in order for you to all get it right, we do need to look at some significant amendments to the bill.
In short, when Equal Voice looked at legislation and workplace policies across the country, we came up with nine criteria that I think are applicable both to the parliamentary working environment and to many of the federally regulated agencies and departments on whose behalf this legislation is being drafted. Very quickly, we have 10 points that we want you to consider. Many of them have already been addressed. Really, at its heart, politics has to be taken out of this process at every stage of the game. We know on Parliament Hill and in federally regulated agencies like the RCMP, politics often is the primary consideration, not explicitly, but implicitly in terms of how employers deal with what is often egregious behaviour.
Clearly, in our minds, a definition of “sexual harassment” is prudent in moving forward. We need to recognize that harassment can take place outside the workplace, crucial for both federally regulated agencies and, obviously, on Parliament Hill, given the extent of activity that takes place outside this working environment, or a constituency office. We need mandatory training by qualified experts. I think that's really clear. I think mandatory is key.
We have to ensure that the competent persons who are identified are in fact truly independent as many others have said, and that they have the qualifications necessary, otherwise this bill will not serve anybody in the long run. We too are very concerned about confidentiality involved in the cases of Correctional Service Canada, RCMP, and Parliament Hill. We know that confidentiality is a really tough one and that lots of people aren't coming forward because they are not trusting of that process. We have to make sure that the results of the investigation are clearly communicated and there is some stipulation for recourse. We know that the House of Commons policy that many parties have worked really hard to improve is vastly underutilized because people are not confident that their employment or their identity will be protected.
Finally, there are just three more points. Clearly, we want time limits stipulated in the bill so investigations don't go on for months, if not years, which we're seeing across the board. Employment and counselling services, I think, are fundamental especially on Parliament Hill where we know that the environment can be really toxic in certain instances; and even with the outcome of an investigation, we do need to ensure that people actually get the kind of support they need.
What we understand about harassment is that, really, we're forfeiting, in fact, in some cases, the pipeline of the future in terms of women coming to the Hill really wanting to make meaningful contributions to public service, using an opportunity to work in an MP's office as a way to do that and better understand political processes. If they have a highly negative experience, we've lost them. We've lost a potential MP, we've lost a potential elected person, and I would say on the USJE side of the House, we often see that. Often highly qualified women who leave Correctional Service Canada, say, “No, I can't do this. On I must go.” That would be true of the RCMP as well.
I'll leave it there.