Status of Women Committee on Nov. 29th, 2012

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

Good morning, everyone. We are going to begin.

Welcome to the 52^nd meeting of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. Today, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), we are continuing our study on sexual harassment in the federal workplace.

This morning, in our first panel of witnesses, we have Serge Jetté, from Conflict Management Services at the Treasury Board Secretariat. Then, from Status of Women Canada, we have Linda Savoie, Director General of the Women's Program and Regional Operations Directorate, and Kelly Bradley, Acting Chief of Human Resources.

Welcome, everyone. Thank you very much for accepting our invitation.

Let me tell you about the procedure this morning. Each organization will have 10 minutes to make its presentation. Then we will proceed to a round of questions. For information purposes, I want to let you know that, since we are timing everything, I am going to tell you when you have one minute left, just to make things a bit easier for you.

Perhaps we can start with you, Mr. Jetté, if you don't mind. You have 10 minutes.

[Serge Jetté, Manager, Conflict Management Services, Human Resources Division, Treasury Board Secretariat]

Thank you very much.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Serge Jetté and I am Manager of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Conflict Management Services and of the Harassment Prevention Program.

My presentation will give you a brief overview of the sexual harassment in the workplace situation at the TBS. I will also briefly go over the 2011 public service employee survey results on harassment. I will end with an explanation of our practices in preventing and resolving harassment situations brought to our attention.

First, I must say that, since 2000, no sexual harassment complaints have been filed at TBS. Regarding the 2011 public service employee survey results for employees who said they had experienced harassment in the workplace, TBS results were very similar to the public service results, with 28% of employees stating that they felt they have experienced harassment over the past two years. The TBS has taken serious steps to improve its performance the next time. I will tell you about them in a minute.

However, the results also called attention to some very positive aspects of our work climate: the vast majority of employees (91%) report that everyone in their work unit is accepted as an equal member of the team, regardless of race, colour, sex or disability. The vast majority (81%) state that their organization treats them with respect. Over 95% of employees report that their work relationships with colleagues are positive.

Let us now look at the measures taken by the Secretariat.

Following the survey results specific to harassment, TBS took steps to ensure that employees were actively provided guidance and education, as well as assistance, regarding harassment in the workplace.

The department therefore introduced an action plan in response to the survey results. This plan requires that all TBS managers and supervisors take a half-day workshop on preventing harassment in the workplace before the end of February 2013. The plan also specifies that all TBS employees must have taken this workshop by the end of June 2015. Finally, the plan also requires that all new employees who join TBS and have supervisory responsibilities must take the workshop. It is a half-day workshop.

This workshop that everybody has to take endeavours to explain what constitutes harassment, what does not constitute harassment, what to do and where to find help if you experience harassment, what resources are available within the department, how these resources can help employees and managers, what steps are taken if an employee files a harassment complaint and the guidance or protection they will receive, and the obligations and responsibilities of management and employees in regard to harassment.

Basically, the initiative aims to better equip all employees and managers to recognize, report, and manage harassment and inappropriate behaviours in the workplace. The evaluation from these sessions shows that they're effective and appreciated.

Further on the matter of prevention, in 2011-12 the secretariat published a brochure for employees that explains what is and what is not harassment and where to go to get help. This brochure is shared and distributed at the many workshops and courses that we offer in house.

How do we process harassment complaints when they're brought to our attention? Our approach at the secretariat is first to encourage an informal resolution, the goal being first and foremost to make inappropriate behaviours stop. When employees come to see us, we try to accompany them in trying to resolve the situation informally, without necessarily having to go formal with a complaint and an investigation and all of that. We want to offer them the opportunity, because that's often what they want. They want the situation to stop.

The nature of the service we offer when they come to us is that we're neutral, we're confidential, and we're informal when we resolve through the informal approach, and employees feel less threatened in coming to discuss their harassment-related concerns with us.

The importance of this approach is confirmed in the latest TBS policy on the prevention of harassment, which goes so far as to mention that officers in charge of the harassment prevention program must be qualified in informal conflict management. In other words, they must be thoroughly familiar with such alternative conflict resolution methods as active listening, empathy, mediation, and facilitated conversations and they must be capable of using them.

TBS is one of the few departments in which the harassment prevention coordinator is also an informal conflict resolution practitioner, and therefore, a mediator. The coordinator is the one who receives, informs, and supports the parties in question when an employee is considering the possibility of filing a complaint or files a formal complaint. This ensures that someone listens and that expert resources are on hand to try to prevent and resolve harassment cases.

This concludes my presentation.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

Thank you very much.

We are now going to proceed to the question period.

No, I am sorry. We are now going to hear from Linda Savoie from the Status of Women Canada. I apologize.

You have 10 minutes.

[Linda Savoie, Director General, Women's Program and Regional Operations Directorate, Status of Women Canada]

Thank you.

As previously stated, I'm the director general of the women's program, and I'm accompanied today by Ms. Kelly Bradley, who is our chief of human resources. Both of us are the departmental coordinators for the prevention and resolution of harassment in the workplace. It's in this capacity that we're here today.

Status of Women Canada is a federal government agency which, like all other departments, adheres to the policies and directives established by the Treasury Board Secretariat. This includes the policy on harassment prevention and resolution, which provides strategic directions and sets out the expected results to foster a respectful workplace and address potential situations of harassment, including sexual harassment.

Before I get into specifics about sexual harassment, I'd like to provide a bit of context about our agency.

As you know, Madam Chair and members of the committee, Status of Women Canada is responsible for exercising leadership and working in partnership to advance equality and increase women's participation in the economic, social, and democratic life of Canada. We also provide expert advice on how to take gender equality into account in developing the best policies and programs for all Canadians. We promote commemorative dates relating to women and girls in Canada. We support action and innovation that will lead to equality in communities across Canada. Finally, we support Canada's efforts to meet international obligations.

We focus on three priority areas, as you may have heard before: increasing women's economic security and prosperity, ending violence against women and girls, and encouraging women in leadership and decision-making roles.

To deliver our mandate, we have some 90 employees across the agency, the majority of whom located here in Ottawa. Our demographic profile is diverse except with respect to gender: less than 15% of our employees are men.

While we are pleased to report that, in the last five years, there have been no claims of sexual harassment filed at Status of Women Canada, we nonetheless strive to put measures in place that will help protect employees from harassment and provide them with a safe, healthy, and violence-free work environment.

More specifically, we have put measures in place to ensure the prompt resolution of complaints and we have undertaken preventive activities to help foster a harassment-free workplace. These activities have aimed to reduce the potential for harassment and, or perceptions of harassment in the workplace.

Over the last two years, Status of Women Canada has delivered two mandatory training sessions to all staff to promote and foster a healthy workplace. First, we have offered a program called A Respectful Workplace. This program was recommended by Health Canada's employee assistance program. Then this year, we have also added another training session called Communicating Effectively in Challenging Situations.

In a demanding work environment that brings together diverse individuals, misunderstandings and interpersonal conflicts are inevitable. Through these training sessions, Status of Women Canada has promoted the awareness and practice of good communication and effective interpersonal skills. We have also reminded employees that ongoing effort to demonstrate respect is everyone's personal responsibility.

Our intent is to regularly provide training that will foster a harassment-free workplace. Nonetheless, there will be occasional instances of conduct incompatible with public sector values. In such cases, like our Treasury Board colleagues, we encourage early, informal approaches to manage conflicts promptly.

At Status of Women Canada, we have also developed a three-year values and ethics plan identifying activities to promote and raise awareness of public sector values, including the value of respect for people.

Early this year, an organizational code of conduct was launched—this is a code to guide and support employee behaviours in all their professional activities.

The overarching objective of these tools and activities is to ensure consideration of values and ethics in all aspects of our business, and help public servants make appropriate decisions when faced with ethical issues in the workplace.

Thank you. Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

Thank you very much.

We are now really going to move to the question period, starting with the government side.

Ms. Truppe, you have seven minutes.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to welcome our guests. Thank you for taking the time to come here today. I have some questions for each of you.

I'll start with the Status of Women first.

I was happy to hear in your opening remarks that there were no claims of sexual harassment found against Status of Women Canada since 2005. Do you include in these numbers the use of informal resolution mechanisms, grievances, and human rights tribunals in your general statistics on incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace? If not, could you indicate how many cases were referred to these alternate and informal resolution options during that same time period?

[Linda Savoie]

That would include any type of complaint through any mechanism available to employees. There were no complaints of sexual harassment in those five years.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

There were no complaints.

[Linda Savoie]

There may not have been any beforehand, but we only went back five years since that's the data that was accessible.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Right. That's pretty good for five years, since 2005.

I see you're undertaking a variety of training sessions for staff and there's intent to continue to offer this type of training.

Could you name and describe the types of training that you offer to employees and whether this training is applied to all employees, including temporary or contract employees?

[Linda Savoie]

Yes, certainly.

The first training we provided focused on respect in the workplace and issues of harassment were discussed. It was mandatory training for every employee in the Status of Women department, no matter their tenure. This was followed by consultations with various individuals who have roles in terms of values and ethics in the department to see what would be the appropriate next steps. It was identified that providing better skills in dealing with difficult conversations, such as telling people how you're feeling about the way they've approached you on something, would be beneficial. This is what we focused on this year. Again, it was training that was mandatory for all employees at Status of Women.

Our next steps are going to be informed by an internal values and ethics committee that has representatives from every part of our organization. Employees from across our organization are building a three-year plan together to identify where the next priorities should be to continue to strive for a respectful and healthy workplace.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you. How long after they're hired do employees receive the training that addresses sexual harassment in the workplace?

[Linda Savoie]

It would depend on when in the year they are hired. However, if they're not getting the mandatory departmental sessions, employees also go through the cycle of mandatory training that is offered through the Canada School of Public Service for new employees or for employees who are getting a promotion and have to do these mandatory training sessions which include values and ethics sessions.

It's a more general approach, more values and ethics focused rather than harassment focused, but that's what they'll get until they fall into our cycle, which is approximately yearly.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

When they fall into the cycle, will they get training on sexual harassment?

[Linda Savoie]

That's correct.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Do you think that would be in a year, six months, or two years? Could you give me a ballpark figure?

[Linda Savoie]

I would say that it's unlikely an employee wouldn't get some form of training or session in the course of a year.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you.

I have a question for Treasury Board. I was happy to hear that since 2000, you've had no sexual harassment complaints filed there either. That's quite a long time.

How long have you had a harassment prevention coordinator?

[Serge Jetté]

Every organization has to have a dedicated employee who is in place to assist managers and employees when there are harassment complaints. In our case, the individual has been there for three years.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

It's been three years. Did you say every department has to have the equivalent of a harassment prevention coordinator?

[Serge Jetté]

Yes. Normally there is a point of contact in a department if you make a harassment complaint. Oftentimes the point of contact rests with HR. Sometimes it's with labour relations, and sometimes elsewhere in HR, but it's a dedicated person.

When somebody files a complaint or comes forward and wants to hear or understand how to proceed and whatnot, you need to have someone to explain to you what's going to happen in a formal or informal process. You need the same thing to support the respondent. Just because you are facing a complaint does not mean you are guilty. This person is also affected. He or she also needs some kind of support to understand how the process will unfold.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

That's good to know. It's nice to know they have somewhere to go, because I'm sure if there were an issue somewhere, a person might not even come forward if there were no options, or if he or she was not sure what to do.

I read somewhere, and I'm just trying to figure out which department or where this falls.... Is there such a thing in Treasury Board whereby if an employee is accused of something and maybe found guilty and is reprimanded or whatever happens, that after two years the file is expunged and actually shredded? Is that true in your area?

[Serge Jetté]

Yes. After two years, the file is destroyed and there's no mention.... There are two things. There's the file, which is the investigation report and all of that—

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

You have one minute.

[Serge Jetté]

—and then, if the investigation shows that the respondent was found guilty, there is a letter that goes to the respondent's employee file saying that he or she has been found to have harassed somebody—no details are included—and that's in there for two years as well.