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 Canada’s Legal Framework
Distinct and complex.
Comprised of two sets of laws governing workers in
federal or provincial and territorial sectors of
the country:
10% of Canadian workforce (federal sector)
◦
Canada Labour Code
◦
Canadian Human Rights Act
90% of workforce (remaining non-federal sectors)
◦
Provincial Legislation
◦
Territorial Legislation
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Federal
 Canada
Labour
Code
 CLC, Part 1 –
Industrial Relations
 CLC, Part 2, Health
& Safety
 CLC, Part 3 –
Employment
Standards
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Provincial
 Employment
Standards Act, 2000
 Occupational
Health & Safety Act
 Labour Relations
Act, 1995
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CANADIAN CHARTER
OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
 Federal law enacted in 1982 guaranteeing
the rights and freedoms of all Canadians
 Part of the Canadian Constitution (1982).
A set of laws containing the basic rules for
how Canada operates.
 Challenges to both the Charter and the
Constitution are handled in the courts.
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 Fundamental freedoms guaranteed:
 Freedom of conscience and religion
 Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and
expression (including freedom of the press and
other media of communication)
 Freedom of peaceful assembly; and
 Freedom of association
 Other rights protected by the
Charter:

Mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights,
official language and minority language
education rights, and rights of Aboriginal peoples
of Canada.
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 Section
33 – “the notwithstanding
clause”
Under “the notwithstanding clause”, Parliament
or a legislature can pass a law that is exempt
from certain sections of the Charter (i.e. the
fundamental freedoms, the legal rights or the
equality rights.)
 Used

very rarely
Example: Quebec Government passed laws
requiring signs to be in French only.
 Expires
after five years.
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 Canadian Human Rights Legislation
 human rights acts or codes legislated to prohibit
discrimination on various grounds with respect to
employment, provision of goods, services and facilities
normally available to the public, and accommodation.
 Two types of legislation:
 Canadian Human Rights Act


covers federally regulated employees who are 10% of
Canadian workforce
Provincial and Territorial Human Rights Legislation

covers non-federally regulated employees (remaining 90% of
workforce)
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Discrimination is any practice or standard
that, intentionally or not, has the effect of
limiting the opportunities available to
certain individuals or groups because of
shared personal characteristics such as race
or colour, in a way that perpetuates the
view that they are less capable, or are less
worthy of recognition or value.
-
New Brunswick Human Rights
Commission
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
Direct Discrimination:
◦

occurs when people are treated
differently (usually less favourably)
based on a prohibited ground.
Indirect/Constructive/Adverse or
Systemic Discrimination:
◦
occurs when people are treated
differently (usually less favourably) as a
result of a seemingly neutral policy or
practice.
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RACE
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
RELIGION
MARITAL STATUS
AGE
FAMILY STATUS
SEX
NATIONAL/ETHNIC ORIGIN
DISABILITY
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CONVICTIONS
((PARDONS NOT GRANTED)
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 Bona
Fide Occupational Requirement
(BFOR/Q = qualification)
a
justifiable reason for discriminating against
a member of a designated group.
 Duty
to Accommodate:
 an
employer’s legal duty to take reasonable
steps, in policies or conditions of work, to
accommodate an employee’s individual needs.
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Harassment: “…any unwanted physical or
verbal conduct that offends or humiliates you.
Such conduct can interfere with your ability to
do a job or obtain a service.”
(Canadian Human Rights Code)
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 Harassment
is a type of discrimination
that takes many forms:








Threats, intimidation or verbal abuse
Unwelcome remarks or jokes
Display of sexist, racist or other offensive
pictures/posters
Sexually suggestive remarks or gestures
Inappropriate physical contact (touching, pinching etc.)
Leering or whistling
Outright demands for sexual favours
Physical assault (including sexual assault)
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 Sexual Harassment
 unwanted, often coercive, sexual behaviour
directed by one person towards another. Can
be emotionally abusive and creates an
unhealthy, unproductive work environment.
 Most frequent complaint received by
human rights agencies.
 Most costly for employers without
effective policies, or who fail to treat
such complaints from employees,
customers and/or clients seriously.
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 Consensual
Relationships and Workplace
Romance Survey:

63% of Canadians have had a workplace romance
 Creates Employer Dilemma:
 monitor workplace relationships and risk “meddling” in
employee’s private lives?
 ignore such relationships and risk the potential problems
they present?
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Electronic Sexual Harassment

Cyber sexual harassment is a growing
concern that occurs in a variety of forms:



Forwarding e-mail jokes with sexual content
Sending e-mails pestering another employee
for a date
Accessing pornographic web sites at work and
sharing content with other employees
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 Employer
actions to stop electronic
sexual harassment:



Adopt “zero tolerance” policies, whereby
disciplinary action occurs regardless of proclaimed
innocence of the employee.
Train all employees on sexual harassment and
electronic usage policies.
Equip e-mail systems and Web sites with scanners
to screen for inappropriate words and images and
flag offending employees for disciplinary action.
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Two basic types of sexual harassment:
 Quid pro quo:
Sexual harassment in which employment
outcomes are linked to the individual granting
sexual favours.
 Hostile Environment:
Sexual harassment in which an individual’s work
performance or psychological well-being is
unreasonably affected by intimidating or
offensive working conditions.
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
90% of all women working outside the home will
experience sexual harassment at some point in their
working lives.

49% of women in the workforce have experienced
at least one type of unwanted sexual attention.

Only 4 of every 10 Canadian women who suffers
sexual harassment at work will take any formal
action.

Only 1 out of every 2 women believe a complain
would be taken seriously in their workplace.
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The Canada Labour Code:
-- governs workplace for industries with federal
jurisdiction, and regulates labour standards and
occupational health and safety.
Employment Standards Act:
-- minimum, non- negotiable standards of employment
required by law. No one can “contract” out of these
standards.
-- designed to protect workers from possible
exploitation through unregulated labour markets.
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Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S)


legislation that outlines the general rights and
responsibilities of the employer, the supervisor and
the worker.
all employee have three basic rights with respect to
Occupation Health and Safety:



The Right to Know (e.g. WHMIS)
The Right to Participate (Health and Safety Committees)
The Right to Refuse Dangerous Work
Labour Relations Legislation:

governs collective bargaining and industrial relations
among employers, their unionized employees and trade
unions.
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
Two Separate Pieces of Legislation
◦
Employment Equity (EE)

◦
addresses discrimination in employment,
especially where designated groups are
concerned
Pay Equity

addresses historical wage gaps between
females
and males doing the same or comparable
work
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 The Employment Equity Act (1986)
 passed to achieve equality in the workplace and
to correct conditions that create barriers to
employment for members of designated groups
and established the need for accommodation of
differences. Highlights included LEEP and FCP.
 The Employment Equity Act (1995)
 replaced 1986 act and strengthened legislation
by covering private sector employers under
federal jurisdiction, as well as federal
government employees.
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Employer Requirements:

Employers are required to develop and
implement EE plans and programs, and to report
to HRSDC annually on their progress in achieving
a representative workforce for the four
designated groups:
 Aboriginal people
 Persons with disabilities
 Visible minorities
 Women
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
Advantages of embracing
Employment Equity for employers
includes:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
enhanced innovation, improved
competitiveness and improved access
to new markets
help in creating tolerance for diversity
in organizational culture
improved corporate image
enhances recruitment efforts
increases employee commitment
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Establishing an Employment Equity Plan:

To demonstrate “reasonable effort” employers
must:
1.
2.
3.
Create organizational commitment and
structure for an Employment Equity
program.
Develop mechanisms to consult and
collaborate with employee
representatives.
Conduct a workforce survey and
undertake a workforce analysis.
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4.
5.
6.
Review employment systems if under
representation exists.
Develop and implement an EE plan to
address any inequities discovered through
workforce analysis and employment
systems review.
Monitor implementation of the plan.
Review and revise as necessary.
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
Glass Ceiling
◦

Discriminatory practices that have
prevented women and other designated
group members from advancing to
executive level jobs.
Glass Walls and Glass Elevator
◦
Over time, women tended to advance to
senior positions, but only in a limited
number of functional areas such as human
resources or corporate communications
and for less pay than their male
counterparts.
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Breaking the Glass

Practical steps employers can take to break down the
glass ceiling, walls and elevators that still hold women
and other members of designated groups back from
real advancement, such as:
 creating
mentoring programs and career rotation opportunities;
 increasing representation in top management and on Boards of
Directors;
 allowing for work/family balance, etc.
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Pay Equity

The right to equal pay for work of equal
value.
Pay equity legislation was enacted in 1987 to
address the historical wage gap that exists
between men and women.
 The current wage gap in Canada is 71% and
widens when race and ethnic background are
considered.

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Equal pay for Equal Work

Addresses overt discrimination in wages through
direct comparison of jobs occupied by different
genders though the jobs are basically the same.
 Example: male and female professors
Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value

Aims to reduce the wage gap by comparing jobs
of a different nature that are considered “male”
or “female” jobs.
 Example: nurses vs. mechanics
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Indicators of
Diversity Fig. 3-8
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The Business Case:

Diversity allows new talent and new ideas from
employees of diverse backgrounds.

Diversity helps recruiting and retention and increases
market share, as people and customers prefer to work
and buy from others “like” themselves.

Diversity leads to lower costs due to fewer lawsuits
Do you feel more comfortable interacting with
someone that is similar to you? Why?
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Diversity Training


Intended to minimize discrimination and
harassment lawsuits, and to improve acceptance
and understanding of people with different
backgrounds, experiences, capabilities and
lifestyles.
Often includes three components:



legal awareness
cultural awareness
sensitivity training
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






Canada Labour Code
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/index.html
Employment Standards Act, 2000
http://www.elaws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_00e41_e.htm
Canadian Human Rights Act
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/H-6/index.html
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act http://www.elaws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_97w16_e.ht
m
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