OTTAWA—The Liberal government is proposing tougher federal labour laws that would enact stronger protections against sexual harassment and for the first time cover Parliament Hill staff like interns and aides to MPs and senators.

Under a new bill, if an employer — whether MPs, senators, federal departments, agencies, or bosses in federally-regulated sectors like banking, telecommunications or transport - does not establish clear policies to prevent workplace sexual harassment and to address complaints impartially, they could be fined or publicly named and shamed.

Employment and Social Development Minister Patty Hajdu tabled Bill C65 Tuesday, saying it will cover “the full range of unacceptable behaviours, from teasing and bullying all the way to sexual harassment and physical and sexual violence.”

It does not outline penalties for harassers, leaving the range of sanctions for bad behaviour up to the employer. Hajdu said that’s the way the labour code works: “Ultimately the employer is responsible for the workplace safety of their organization.”

Yet an employer who fails to meet their new statutory obligations could be penalized under the Canada Labour Code, and in some cases ordered fired from the workplace.

For most employees, their last resort for redress is an appeal to the Federal Court. But an MP, minister or senator cannot be sued or fired for breaches of the code. Hajdu said they could face “significant sanctions” nevertheless.

The bill proposes that a negative Labour Relations Board decision about an MP or senator could be publicly tabled by the government in Parliament. Hajdu said a Speaker “will be compelled to table that, those findings. So, it will be a public document that will be accessible and I would argue quite detrimental to people who don’t choose to take the legislation seriously.”

Hajdu said the bill is a “critical first step” in addressing gaps in workplace laws and policies that deal with sexual violence and sexual harassment including on Parliament Hill, a workplace she described as “ripe for harassment and sexual violence.”

Parliament Hill, she said, has all the markers of what research shows is a risky environment for women and men: male-dominated, a “distinctive power imbalance” where people with very little power work alongside people who have a lot, and where the work is heavily focused on “service.”

The bill doesn’t cover MP-to-MP behaviour, which is addressed by House of Commons procedures.

Yet in many ways it’s long overdue.

The bill will provide stronger protections for the RCMP and civilian employees of the military — two federal workplaces where sexual harassment and bullying have been exhaustively documented. However uniformed members of the Canadian Armed Forces will be exempt as they are legally not employees of the government, departmental officials said.

The minister says the aim is to extend protection beyond office walls, after work, at other workplace events. “The legislation will address the kinds of bullying and harassment that we know doesn't necessarily happen in a 9-to-5 regime in the office,” said Hajdu. “Oftentimes, harassment and bullying take place in other spaces and we want to make sure that people are protected in the workplace. So sometimes incidents happen after work,” said Hajdu. “That doesn't mean it’s still not workplace harassment.”

Union officials for the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) flagged concerns that some federal employers have already tried unsuccessfully to weaken the interpretation of 2009 regulations against sexual violence in the workplace, and they predicted a similar fight when it comes to sexual harassment.

Right now, physical and psychological violence are barred under the Canada Labour Code’s occupational health and safety standards. But sexual harassment comes under a separate section on labour standards, a “weaker” regime, that also does not apply to the public service nor to employees on the Hill, said Hajdu. Bill C65 would create a more comprehensive regime.

Parliamentary employees — meaning House of Commons and senate employees, political staff of MPs and senators, workers at the parliamentary library, the Commons and Senate ethics watchdog offices, parliamentary budget office, and the Parliamentary Protective Services — currently do not have access to complaint processes under the Canada Labour Code, which can ultimately lead to investigations, prosecutions and sanctions by the minister of labour. Their only recourse is to go to a chief human resources officer responsible to the Speakers of the Commons and Senate.

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Bill C65 would change all that by amending the code and the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act. It would expressly state that all public- and private-sector employers in federally regulated industries have an obligation to prevent, investigate and resolve complaints of sexual harassment as well as sexual violence, and it sets out steps that must be followed.

Chris Aylward, PSAC national cxecutive vice-president, said after 25 years of fighting for protections for Parliament Hill workers, the union welcomed reforms but it is “disappointing” that the bill stops short of outlining sanctions for offenders.

“In the context of allegations of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and around the world, I am surprised that the federal government would table a bill on sexual harassment and violence which fails to provide a remedy for victims,” said Aylward. “The government must give teeth to this legislation by outline clear repercussions for the perpetrator and including a personal and systemic remedy for victims.”