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Workplace Violence and Harassment (Bill 168)
Resources (Ontario)

It took the tragic murder of a nurse at the Ontario hospital where she worked, by her former intimate partner, and the wide-ranging recommendations of an inquest, to get the Ontario government to recognize violence and harassment as workplace hazards.

Ontario has enacted protection against Workplace Violence, including bullying, harassment and domestic violence.

The new legislation took effect June 15, 2010. It requires ALL Ontario workplaces to:
  1. Carry out a risk assessment, including risk of violence and harassment (including domestic violence)
  2. Prepare a workplace program and policy to prevent violence and deal with incidents if they arise.
  3. To put procedures in place to investigate and resolve allegations of violence or harassment.

Workplace violence and harassment now fall under the purview of the workplace Joint Health and Safety Committee. This gives unions and employers shared responsibility for ensuring a violence-free workplace.

Please contact me to arrange training on the new requirements and the components of an essential toolkit to meet these obligations. My contact information is available here.

There are a number of resources available to help workplace partners with the new requirements.

LINKS

  1. The Ontario Ministry of Labour has a guide to the new law: Workplace Violence and Harassment: Understanding the Law
  2. The Ministry also has a number of resources designed to help employers develop their risk assessment and policies. Click here to see the Ministry's new resources.
  3. OPSEU has developed a guide for its union activists. You can download it from this site.
  4. The Ontario Safety Association for Community and Healthcare also has a number of handouts available on their site (click here), as well as a manual, available as a PDF here.
  5. The Education Safety Association of Ontario has a number of resources and handouts, some focused on the education sector and others more general.
  6. Nova Scotia has had anti-violence legislation in place for sometime. This site has some excellent materials.