Human Resources committee  We actually weren't aware that we were to make introductory remarks, so we are open to taking your questions if that's okay with all of you.

Human Resources committee  The first thing I will mention is that in the current process, sexual harassment is dealt with under a different portion of the code. It's dealt with under part III of the code, which has different provisions and different requirements than does part II, which is occupational hea

Human Resources committee  I'll turn to my colleague Brenda.

Human Resources committee  Sure. Maybe the first thing I will mention is that when the legislation comes into force, the labour program will have the capacity to help both employers and employees through it. We're going to have an outreach hub that will provide support for employees in navigating the proce

Human Resources committee  I think the first step in it is that yes, indeed, they need to make their employer aware of the incident. That said, if the employee doesn't feel that they're able to come to a resolution of the issue, then the employer is obligated to undertake an investigation by a competent

Human Resources committee  The qualities of the competent person will be one of the areas that we're going to clearly spell out through the regulations. The idea would be that in the regulatory process we'll be able to consult with employers and employees, as well as other experts, to make sure we get the

Human Resources committee  Again, it will be worked out through the regulations, but in theory, yes, if that's what they want to put in place. Again, I think the key part about it is that there has to be mutual agreement between the parties, the employer and the employee, that this indeed is a competent pe

Human Resources committee  Again, through the regulations, we would look at putting in, I would suggest, a time limit by which there needs to be agreement. You don't want to have people just continually disagreeing. There's going to be a time limit, and then at that point, yes, it could come to the labour

Human Resources committee  They can file a complaint at any point. It could be, for example, that your employer doesn't have a policy, or that you bring a complaint forward to your employer and they don't respond. At any point in that process, they can come to the labour program with their complaint.

Human Resources committee  The labour program isn't going to investigate the complaint of harassment specifically. The role will be to investigate if the process has been followed. The idea is that in the process that's set out, there would be a competent person identified by the employer and the employee

Human Resources committee  You go to the labour program.

Human Resources committee  I'll begin, and then I'll turn to my colleague to add to it. Essentially, the intention of the legislation is to include a number of steps that need to be undertaken before a complaint could potentially come forward to the labour program. In other words, when employers become aw

Human Resources committee  Yes.

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 employer

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.