City hall plans to update its anti-harassment policy for the first time in four years by making changes to align it with provincial legislation, which recently updated its definitions for sexual harassment.
“The city’s anti-harassment policy is an important part of ensuring a workplace that is safe and free from all forms of harassment, internal or external. The suggested amendments will ensure that the policy remains in line with provincial legislation, provides greater clarity and addresses gaps that have been identified,” TJ Karwandy, director of human resource services, said in his report presented during the April 11 regular city council meeting.
City hall last reviewed this policy in 2018, and since then, there have been minor adjustments in legislation around harassment, he remarked. Most recently, the provincial government updated the Saskatchewan Employment Act in December 2021 to clarify the definition of sexual harassment.
There are no major changes to the overall intent of the policy or process, Karwandy continued. The amendments fall into three categories: required updates to align with legislation, clarification of existing terminology and process, and housekeeping matters.
Besides aligning the policy with provincial legislation, amendments for clarification include changes to the purpose section to simplify what is considered harassment, defining additional terms — such as bad faith, bona fide, burden of proof and prima facie — and including the pre-screening of complaints directly in the process.
Furthermore, the definitions of discriminatory harassment, personal harassment and sexual harassment have been reworded to align with what’s in the Saskatchewan Employment Act. Meanwhile, clarifications have been made noting that parties will be informed of the results of an investigation but not the action taken as a result.
Housekeeping amendments include listing the definitions in alphabetical order and making minor formatting and grammar updates, he added.
According to the policy, bad faith is defined as a “formal harassment complaint motivated by ill-will, malice, personal animosity or a lack of fairness or impartiality. It includes a complaint that is intentionally, knowingly and negligently untrue without reasonable and probable grounds.”
Bona fide is defined as “real, actual and genuine. A bona fide complaint is one made in good faith having sufficient weight or sufficiently serious grounds.”
Burden of proof is where the complainant must provide “reliable evidence that harassment occurred. This is important in the initial assessment phase. Human Resources will not investigate a complaint that does not meet the necessary criteria.”
Prima facie is defined as “a fact presumed to be true unless disproved by some evidence to the contrary.”
The director of HR will assess all formal harassment complaints to determine whether the complaint is bona fide and that it falls within the prima facie definition of harassment, the policy says. The assessment may include collecting readily available evidence that may support or negate the need for an investigation.
“Pre-screening does not provide definitive investigation findings; rather, it is simply an examination of the facts to ensure a complainant’s concerns are directed to the right process,” the policy notes. “Where the director of HR conducts a pre-screening and is not satisfied with the assessment, a harassment investigation will not be conducted. Alternate processes may be explored.”
The director of HR is expected to inform the parties of the results of an investigation within five days, adds the policy.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, April 25.
