Addressing Workplace Harassment and Discrimination

A private member's bill, was introduced in the Legislative Assembly that proposed to amend the City of Toronto Act, 2006 (and the Municipal Act, 2001) to impose stricter penalties but it has failed to pass. In February 2023, Council asked the Integrity Commissioner to report back on this policy question. In reporting on this item, the Integrity Commissioner references the recommendations he submitted to Council in April 2022. Legislation to fill this gap needs to be comprehensive, fair and trauma-informed. The recommendations in this report are reinforced by the lessons learned in a recent investigation conducted by the Office the Integrity Commissioner. Among other things, the Integrity Commissioner recommends there should be mandatory training for Members of Council and a duty to report harassment and discrimination. The City of Toronto has always been at the forefront of promoting accountability and integrity in municipal government. Accordingly, if Council has authority to do so, the Integrity Commissioner recommends that Council adopt mandatory workplace anti-harassment/discrimination training for Members of Council, members' staff and members of local boards and impose a duty to report, without waiting for provincial legislation compelling this.

there should be a duty for Members of Council, their staff, and members of local boards to report harassment/discrimination in the workplace; c. an appropriate range of penalties should apply when someone has been found to have engaged in harassment/ discrimination in the workplace; d. remedial measures and supports should be available and the interests of complainants must be accommodated in a trauma-informed process; e. appropriate support and indemnification should be provided to Members of Council, their staff, and members of local boards; f. workplace harassment/discrimination complaints should be investigated in a fair, efficient and independent manner; and g. workplace harassment /discrimination cases should be heard, and have penalties, if any, imposed by a court or administrative tribunal. These cases should not be debated and decided at Council. 2. City Council forward this request to Premier Doug Ford, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Toronto Members of Provincial Parliament, Member of Provincial Parliament for Orléans, Stephen Blais, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for information. 3. City Council request the Integrity Commissioner to consult with the City Clerk, City Manager and City Solicitor and report back to Council about making workplace anti-harassment/discrimination training mandatory for Members of Council and Members of local boards under the City's codes of conduct and for Members' staff under the Human Resources Management and Ethical Framework for Members' Staff. 4. City Council request the Integrity Commissioner to consult with the City Chief People Officer about the design and delivery of mandatory workplace anti-harassment/discrimination training for Members of Council and their staff and Members of local boards. 5. City Council request the Integrity Commissioner to consult with the City Clerk, City Manager and City Solicitor and report back to Council about making it mandatory to report workplace harassment/ discrimination under the City's codes of conduct for Members of local boards and for Members of Council and Members' staff under the Human Resources Management and Ethical Framework for Members' Staff. 6. City Council request the Integrity Commissioner to consult with the City Clerk, City Manager and City Solicitor and report back to Council about having the Integrity Commissioner serve as the ethics executive for Members' staff under the Human Resources Management and Ethical Framework for Members' Staff. 7. City Council request the City Clerk, City Manager and City Solicitor to consult the Integrity Commissioner and report back to Council about updating and consolidating the Human Resources Management and Ethical Framework for Members' Staff to include the human resources policies specifically governing Members' Staff.