QUESTION PERIOD — Treasury Board Secretariat
Workplace Harassment and Violence
November 27, 2025
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Yesterday, we saw members of the Can’t Buy My Silence movement, which is crusading against the misuse of non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, in certain workplaces, especially in cases of harassment and sexual or psychological violence, or abusive behaviour.
We know that this type of agreement effectively gags the victims or stops them from seeking help and support services, not to mention the services they need to get through such ordeals, while permanently protecting the abuser’s identity.
As an employer, does the Government of Canada use non-disclosure agreements in cases of workplace harassment or violence?
Generally speaking, confidentiality agreements are used in both the private and public sectors. I do not have specific information on the extent to which they are used in each sector. Indeed, by their very nature, I wouldn’t have access to these confidentiality agreements. However, these provisions exist in labour relations in both the public and private sectors.
I would say that the best way to communicate with victims in these cases, or with people who are victims of abusive situations, is definitely do so before signing these kinds of agreements. There’s never any obligation to sign them, and it is essential to have good information about the scope of confidentiality agreements that are suggested to settle these disputes in labour relations, both in the public and private sectors.
There may not be an obligation, but victims are often under a lot of pressure to sign those agreements, unfortunately.
I can see that you don’t have specific information about this, but can you at least tell us how many non-disclosure agreements the government has signed in human resource complaint cases, or can you get that kind of general information?
If that information exists, I’ll try to find it. I don’t know if it’s in a central registry, but whatever I manage to find out, I’ll share with you.
I think your question speaks to the importance of reminding people who are negotiating these kinds of agreements to ensure they are well aware of their scope.
