Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer ANNUAL REPORT ON THE HOUSE OF COMMONS POLICY ON PREVENTING AND ADDRESSING HARASSMENT 2015–2016 Introduction The House of Commons Policy on Preventing and Addressing Harassment was adopted by the Board of Internal Economy on December 9, 2014. This policy applies to:  all Members of Parliament as employers, including House Officers whose employees’ salaries are paid out of the House Officer’s budget set by the Board in accordance with section 16 of the Governance and Administration By-law;  staff employed by o Members, o House Officers, and o Research Offices;  interns and volunteers (paid or unpaid). Employees covered under a collective agreement as well as employees of the House of Commons Administration are excluded from the application of this policy and are covered by separate frameworks. The policy builds upon the framework previously implemented by the Board, namely access to Finding Solutions Together, a confidential program for informal conflict management resolution, as well as a Harassment Prevention Program that focuses on increasing awareness and proactively stopping potential harassment at its earliest stages. The policy addresses prevention, processes for filing informal and formal complaints, investigating and reporting, appeals, and communicating findings. Enquiries or complaints will not always result in formal harassment investigations as they may be resolved through one of the options outlined in the policy, such as mediation. This policy applies to Members as employers and does not cover situations between Members. As this is the first reporting year for the policy, the report covers the 16-month period from the date the policy was approved to the end of the 2015–2016 fiscal year. Enquiries/Complaints The cases outlined in this report are categorized as enquiries or complaints (formal or informal) and were handled through the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, either by the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) himself or by the Manager of the Respectful Workplace Program, who reports directly to the CHRO. Enquiries may involve a request for information regarding the options available under the policy or otherwise, and in certain situations the person making the enquiry may be referred to a more appropriate channel to resolve the issue. During the period covered by this report, a total of ten cases were processed. Of these ten cases, seven were enquiries only; of the remaining three, two were resolved informally and one required the Page 2 intervention of an external mediator and was successfully resolved. Since none of these cases generated a formal complaint, no investigations were conducted during the reporting period. Training/Awareness Training and awareness sessions were developed in the spring of 2015, shortly after the policy was approved. Although some sessions were held, delivery was later suspended as a result of dissolution and the general election. The Whips’ offices were contacted in January 2015 to determine the best delivery model for these sessions. It was determined that national training days were appropriate but would only be periodic. It was also determined that, given the geographic dispersion of participants, classroom training may not be the best option and the use of technology should be leveraged through an e-learning program. Planning for the development of a training program to be delivered using an e-learning platform is currently underway. This will allow the House of Commons to deliver just-in-time training to targeted groups anywhere in Canada, including in Ottawa and in the constituency offices. This model will also eliminate travel costs for participants and instructors. Notwithstanding the above, three training sessions were delivered and were attended by over 150 participants. Finally, a section on harassment awareness was developed and is prominently displayed on the parliamentary intranet site. Pierre Parent, CHRP Chief Human Resources Officer House of Commons Ottawa, May 2016 Page 3 Table 1 – Grounds for Enquiry/Complaint COMPLAINT ENQUIRY Abuse of authority 2 1 Harassment 1 1 Sexual harassment - 2 Mixed - 3 COMPLAINANT RESPONDENT Male 1 7 Female 9 3 Unknown - - 10 10 Table 2 – Status of Respondent Member 5 Colleague 3 Other 2 Table 3 – Gender of Complainants and Respondents Total Table 4 – Outcomes ABUSE OF AUTHORITY HARASSMENT SEXUAL HARASSMENT MIXED Enquiry only 1 1 2 3 Complaint withdrawn - - - - Informal resolution 2 - - - Mediated resolution - 1 - - Investigation - - - - Table 5 – Results of Investigation Substantiated 0 Partially substantiated 0 Not substantiated 0 Frivolous or in bad faith 0 Page 4