Human Resources committee  We have a definition. As I mentioned, we will table the policies that we have. As I said, the code of conduct, which only deals with sexual harassment between members of Parliament, is very short. It's a one-liner, but the one that applies to members of Parliament as employers

Human Resources committee  The question is always, does the relationship of trust still exist? Can the employment relationship still continue? That's where in the past we've looked at different avenues as to how we can take the situation where it is right now, a bad situation, and make it a better situatio

Human Resources committee  That would be on my part. As I said, these were not necessarily inquiries requiring just a phone call, or that type of situation. They were inquiries that required a lot of work on our part. In the example I used earlier, an inquiry did not result in a formal complaint but resul

Human Resources committee  There was no policy before 2014. Basically, this is all new. These numbers are according to the policy that was approved by the board in December 2014. We had no baseline before that. With the low numbers in 2014, 2015, to 2016, the first reporting period was a bit longer; I we

Human Resources committee  The two programs we've added have been developed by staff in my office. For the first one, we used a firm in Montreal to bring the expertise to develop online training. We put our content into their format. If you look at it, you'll see that it's very well made and we're very pro

Human Resources committee  This is a challenge I have lived in the past two years. As Mr. Robert mentioned, in our environment it's easy. We have 1,800 positions and we can shuffle people. However, in your environment, you're offices are small. You have your Ottawa office, and have your constituency office

Human Resources committee  Fortunately, I haven't had too many repeat offenders, but it's always a challenge, especially depending on who the “offender” is. If it is the member, then maybe a dialogue with the whip would be in order. Fortunately, we haven't had to explore this avenue. These are the types o

Human Resources committee  Right now under the policy that we have, it's my choice.

Human Resources committee  I do make sure that the investigator is acceptable to both parties and I have sometimes had to—without going into details—insist with some of these providers that a person be of a certain gender or maybe be knowledgeable about certain cultures. That is something we do think about

Human Resources committee  Yes, definitely, because even though you have a situation in which no harassment is found, you're facing a damaged workplace. If the employment relationship should continue, I think from an HR perspective, there should be some intervention to make sure that the workplace is repai

Human Resources committee  Right now, as I said, we provide these services through the Finding Solutions Together program. We have resources available whether through that program or not. With the employee assistance program, I have two nurses on staff who can assist. We can look at additional counselling

Human Resources committee  The three policies I mentioned earlier have different definitions. The one in the code of conduct that's been approved by the procedure and House affairs committee is fairly short, because it's sexual harassment only, and it's one sentence, whereas the—

Human Resources committee  From memory, it's conduct of a sexual nature that detrimentally affects the workplace. It's something to that effect. That's the one in the code of conduct. That applies to a member-to-member situation for sexual harassment only. That's a very short definition, whereas in the p

Human Resources committee  I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say “competent person”. Is that in the role of investigator or...?

Human Resources committee  A competent person to conduct the investigation...? From my perspective, what I do right now is that I have standing offers with multiple firms across Canada, because the investigations could take place anywhere. I base my evaluation of their competencies from having conducted mu