Human Resources committee  Sure. Right now violence and sexual harassment are dealt with separately in the code. Sexual harassment is dealt with under part III of the code, which is labour standards. What's different about labour standards is that the requirements associated with what the employer is required to do are different from what's in part II.

Human Resources committee  To be honest, one of the things that I'm planning, one of the big parts when we move forward with new legislation, is making sure people understand that the law has changed and that they understand their roles and responsibilities. On harassment and violence, there is already so much media attention around it and so much heightened interest in it that in one way we don't have to be drumming up interest in it.

Human Resources committee  It doesn't necessarily have to be “hire”. Through the regulations, we'll spell out what a competent person is, and that person.... I think the key part is that it's impartial and has to be agreed to by both parties. Is it an external person? In some cases, it may be. In other cases, if you're in a large organization, such as the public service—

Human Resources committee  It's important to note that right now there are provisions under the code for violence. The inspectors are already receiving complaints on them and undertaking investigations. There are provisions on sexual harassment as well. They're just different, and what they're investigating is different.

Human Resources committee  That's one of the details we are still working through to have it in place when the legislation does come into force. We're calling it an outreach hub, and it would be a 1-800 line that employees and employers could call. There would specially trained individuals who would be able to refer them.

Human Resources committee  It could be the employee. It could be anyone. Basically, if you were a bystander and you saw a situation of harassment, you could bring that forward to the employer as well. In order to trigger the process, the employer just has to be made aware that there is an issue.

Human Resources committee  In a case in which there are collective agreements, often those collective agreements will set out a process by which they would deal with harassment and violence in the workplace. Those collective agreements will need to abide by the legislation, so in some cases that may mean the processes will need to be adjusted in order to be consistent with the legislation.

Human Resources committee  Yes, it would be delegated.

Human Resources committee  How would they know that the employer was aware? That would be my first question. Certainly I would think that they should once again bring it to the attention of the employer.

Human Resources committee  Yes.

Human Resources committee  There are two things I'll mention. First of all, under the code there are protections against reprisal. If there is reprisal, that is a contravention of the legislation, and they can complain about that as well. They are protected under the code for that. The second thing, though, is that if the employer has been made aware of the issue of harassment and has done nothing, has not initiated the process as per the legislation, then yes, they could come to the labour program and indicate that the process has not been followed by their employer.

Human Resources committee  Any time there are changes and updates to the legislation, resources are put in place to help employers adjust to them. That's in the form of education and training, and that type of thing. In addition, there's an intention to put in place an outreach hub that will allow employers and employees to get support in understanding the legislation and what their rights and responsibilities are under the legislation.

Human Resources committee  In moving forward with the legislation, we are still developing regulations. Until all of those regulations are developed, we won't be able to have the full gamut of all the educational products and training and that type of thing.

Human Resources committee  The employer isn't required to pay for the inspectors. That's covered by the labour program.

Human Resources committee  Regardless, if the employer and the employee haven't reached a resolution of the issue, the employer is obligated to have a competent person and is obligated to pay for it. The only time the labour program would come in is if they don't do that. The employer is obligated to conduct the investigation, and if they hire a third party to do it, then the labour program would only come and investigate if that process hadn't been followed, so the costs for this competent person would be borne by the employer.