An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act)

Honourable colleagues, I rise to speak briefly on behalf of the members of the Senate Subcommittee on Human Resources and to bring you a message of hope and optimism. The Senate, as an employer that will be subject to Bill C-65 once it is given Royal Assent, will lead the way in compliance.

The subcommittee heard from experts, union representatives and Senate staff at hearings in May and June as a proactive means of creating a workplace free of psychological or sexual harassment of any kind. Committee members recommended that all Senate employees take mandatory, customized training on the prevention of harassment and violence in the Senate.

The report recommended that senators and anyone with supervisory or managerial responsibilities within the Senate administration attend mandatory training on the prevention of harassment in the workplace by December 31, 2018. The report also recommended that senators’ staff and all employees of the Senate administration attend the mandatory training by March 31, 2019.

Members of the committee are determined that the Senate will fully abide by Bill C-65 when it is given Royal Assent.

Dear colleagues, I want to emphasize the importance of the trust that all Senate and senators’ employees put in the committee’s work, as well as the trust that the members of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration showed us by voting unanimously in favour of the subcommittee’s recommendations. That shows a lot of sensitivity and good faith. There is room for hope since the Senate intends to be and to remain an employer that cares about preventing harassment and it has the realistic objective of implementing a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to harassment of any kind. I am confident that we will meet that objective.

Thank you for your support, honourable senators. I am hopeful for the future.