On January 1, 2021, the Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c. L-2, was amended to include the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, SOR/2020-130 (the “Regulations”).
Section 36 of the Regulations mandates extensive annual reporting requirements for federally regulated employers. Pursuant to section 36, federal employers are required to provide the Head of Compliance and Enforcement with their first annual harassment and violence occurrence report on or before March 1, 2022. Broadly, the report includes information relating to occurrences of harassment or violence for which a Notice of Occurrence was issued under section 15(1) of the Regulations.
Specifically, the report must set out:
- the name of the person reporting or their business name;
- their business number, as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c. 1 (the “Income Tax Act”);
- Subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act defines business number as the number (other than a Social Insurance Number or trust account number) used by the Minister to identify (a) a corporation or partnership, or (b) any other association or taxpayer that carries on a business or is required by the Income Tax Act to deduct or withhold an amount from an amount paid or credited or deemed to be paid or credited under the Income Tax Act.
- the name of a person who can be contacted in respect of the report; and
- the following information in respect of any Notice of Occurrences (provided under subsection 15(1) of the Regulation) in the preceding calendar year (i.e. 2021):
- the total number of occurrences,
- the number of occurrences that were related, respectively, to sexual harassment and violence and non-sexual harassment and violence,
- the number of occurrences that resulted in the death of an employee,
- if known, the number of occurrences that fell under each prohibited ground of discrimination set out in subsection 3(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act, RSC 1985, c. H-6 (i.e. race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability, and conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or a record suspension has been ordered),
- the locations where the occurrences took place, specifying the total number of occurrences that took place in each location,
- the types of professional relationships that existed between the principal and responding parties, specifying the total number for each type,
- the means set out in section 32 of the Regulations by which resolution processes were completed and, for each of those means, the number of occurrences involved, and
- the average time, expressed in months, that it took to complete the resolution process for an occurrence.
Federal employers may complete the report online at Form Detail (servicecanada.gc.ca).
If you have any further questions regarding your reporting requirements, please contact Scott A. McCann or Joshua Sutherland.
