News Sexual Harassment Workplace Violence
Western University developing tools for workers, employers to combat violence and sexual harassment

The federal minister of labour dropped in at Western University in London, Ont., late last week to get an update on online tools and resources being developed for vulnerable workers. The tools, being funded by Ottawa, will serve two purposes.

First, they will enable vulnerable workers to report incidents of sexual harassment and violence as well as access support resources.

Second, they will ensure workers, unions and employers are able to respond effectively to issues of harassment and violence in the workplace, with a particular focus on domestic violence, the government said.

Minister Filomena Tassi toured Western’s Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children, where she learned more about projects that are receiving funding through the federal government’s Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund.

These projects, along with the others announced last year, will help workplaces comply with Bill C-65—new legislation to protect employees from harassment and violence in federally regulated workplaces. The final Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention regulations will be published in the coming months, and the legislation will come into force later this year.

“I’m really pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with some of our stakeholders and partners and to get an update on the important work being done to make our workplaces healthy and safe,” said Tassi. “When we introduced Bill C-65, we knew that legislation is just one part of the best approach to workplace harassment and violence. That’s why we made significant investments in projects like the ones underway at Western University that will help protect federally regulated employees from these unacceptable behaviours, because all Canadians deserve a workplace that is free from harassment and violence.”

About Bill C-65

• Bill C-65 will strengthen provisions in the Canada Labour Code by putting into place one comprehensive approach that takes the full spectrum of harassment and violence into consideration, and expand the coverage to cover parliamentary workplaces, including staff of Parliament Hill. Bill C-65 will come into force in 2020.
• Through Budget 2018, the Government committed $34.9 million over five years, starting in 2018–19, with $7.4 million per year ongoing, to support Bill C-65, of which $3.5 million annually is dedicated to grants and contributions through the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund. There are seven projects receiving funding through the new fund, which was announced last year on International Women’s Day.