Status of Women Committee on March 5th, 2013

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

Then just very quickly, is there any type of survey that you take with your employees so that you know if it's harassment or sexual harassment? Is that separated as well?

[Monique Marcotte]

We've recently conducted two surveys, one in 2010, and we did what we'd call a mini-survey or a pulse survey in 2012. We didn't have per se specific questions on harassment, but we did have questions on respect in the workplace. In 2010, 54% of the employees responded that they felt that they had experienced respect in the workplace regardless of their title. In 2012 we checked on that, and the results were much better.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

I am sorry, but I have to interrupt you.

We now move to the official opposition, with Mrs. Day.

You have seven minutes.

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair, I am going to share my time with Irene Mathyssen.

My question is about the crux of the issue. Your main competitor asked its own newspapers and other media to state that, as the result of an access to information request, 1,454 documents about inappropriate behaviour on the part of CBC/Radio-Canada employees were handed over. But it seems that that, despite the information that your main competitor is distributing, your organization does not have figures like that and that you have come up with a total of around ten cases.

Can you confirm that statement? Do you think that the information they are distributing is misleading and that it is really an attack from your main competitor in an attempt to undermine your organization's credibility?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Mrs. Marcotte and I have already told you that our reply to Québecor's access to information request contained only one case in the organization. Since 2010, there have been three, in all our offices across the country. Québecor Médias people choose to interpret that in the way they want.

A little earlier, I quoted the words that appeared in Le Journal de Montréal. The article mentions “1,454 cases processed between January 1, 2010 and halfway through 2012”. That is a gross exaggeration. That is why we are before you today. We want to establish the facts. For us, any kind of harassment is serious. It is a major concern to which we pay a good deal of attention.

A little earlier, Mrs. Marcotte told you about the kinds of steps we have taken. They come right from the CEO. He attends the workshops on respect like any other employee of CBC/Radio-Canada. It is very important.

As to what Québecor's intentions are, it is hard for me to say.

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

So it is a tiny percentage, as you have just confirmed once more. That is very positive.

Can you tell me which mechanisms your organization uses? A little earlier, you mentioned training. How does that work?

[Monique Marcotte]

In 2007, all employees took “Respect in the Workplace“ training, including the human resources staff. Currently, as Mr. Lacroix indicated earlier, all employees must complete online training on the prevention of violence in the workplace. Human resources staff provide training to each new employee as well. In addition, in 2010, all employees took training on official investigations, and all new employees since that time have to take it as well. It deals with the sequence of events that have to take place when an official complaint is received.

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Your organization has been active for many years. We know that your organization has gone through major conflicts with employees. How do you describe the present workplace climate in terms of employee respect and safety?

[Monique Marcotte]

I would just like to mention that we have just, in November 2012, conducted an employee survey. In it, 86% of employees replied that CBC/Radio-Canada supported diversity in the workplace and recognized the value of human differences. That is a very positive result. it is also an increase of twelve percentage points over the 2010 survey. That was a good result then, but this shows that we have made even more progress since.

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Let me just finish Monique's answer.

In the priorities that CBC/Radio-Canada has clearly established since 2008, people are our absolute priority. Then there are our programs and, third, what we call our strategic planning.

We have worked very hard to improve our relationships, to make them more transparent and to work with our unions. As you heard just now, we have worked together on initiatives and seminars about respect in the workplace. This is a joint initiative by the unions and by management to make sure that the value is fully explained. It is a value on which we build, especially in today's complex media environment.

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Could you say that the fact that this news was made public by your competitor increased the level of stress? Could it have caused some frustration for some in the staff?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

When we read news like that that does not tell Canadians the truth, it does make us want to come before you today and set the facts straight. It is very important for you to understand the extent to which we at CBC/Radio-Canada protect human values like this and invest in them.

When people attack CBC/Radio-Canada in that way, you can be sure that the CEO is going to stand up, say it is unacceptable and provide the facts. That is what we are doing in our presentation today.

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

I will leave the rest of my time for my colleague.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you, Mrs. Day.

Thank you very much, Monsieur Lacroix and Madam Marcotte, for bringing this information to us, for your quick response to complaints, and your very obvious concerns to address sexual harassment.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

You have one minute.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

It is a form of violence and, to that end, I would like to bring a motion to this committee:

That the Committee conduct a study of the recommendations of the panel on Violence Against Women in Canada, and that it report to the House on the progress made towards each specific recommendation, including an action plan to complete those recommendations not yet implemented. And that the Committee set aside adequate time and resources to hear from witnesses who could assist in the study, and that each caucus submit names to the clerk to ensure the thoroughness of the study.

I have a copy of that motion for our clerk. I'm providing notice of that motion.

Thank you.

If there's any time left at all, I'd like to say that it concerns me very much that in a situation where we're depending on the veracity of the media, there would be false accusations, and a deliberate or an apparent skewing of information and data. I'm wondering what your response would be—

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

Ms. Mathyssen, I have to interrupt you. I am sorry.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

peut-être in writing.

Merci.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

Thank you.

We continue with Mrs. O'Neill Gordon, for seven minutes.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thanks to both of you for taking time to be with us here today.

This has certainly been a thorough study for our committee. The more we go through it, the more we learn that every department works towards having a workplace free of sexual harassment or just a harassment-free workplace. It is very important to see that civil servants and all workers go to their day's work facing just the regular challenges and that they don't have to worry about all the sexual harassment or any other harassment, because, as they do their day's work, they face enough challenges as it is.

When you talked about training, there was one question I had. Is this training mandatory? Is it something they get every year? Is it just something they take when they come in the first time? How does that work?

[Monique Marcotte]

Again, there are a number of things: mandatory training for respect in the workplace, which occurred in 2007, and mandatory training for prevention of violence in the workplace, which includes the concepts of bullying and ostracizing. That is mandatory training. We have an obligation under legislation to review our policy every three years. To the best of my knowledge, I believe we have to renew our training on that same cycle.

New employees who come in must review all policies, all management policies, including the anti-harassment and discrimination policy and the violence in the workplace policy. Human Resources has mandatory training when it comes to the formal investigation process, as I mentioned earlier.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Is there any training paid for by the individual or is it all paid by the CBC?

[Monique Marcotte]

It's all provided by the CBC. The prevention of workplace violence is an online training. So basically the employee logs in and we tag who's had it and who hasn't had it. But all mandatory training.... When it's mandatory by the employer, our practice is that we pay for it.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

We talked about sensitivity training. Is this general training different from sensitivity training? Is sensitivity training just taken when they're reprimanded?