Investigative Services

Workplace Harassment & Violence

Harassment in the workplace stems from real and perceived behaviour among employees within the workplace. Harassment encompasses improper conduct by an individual, that is directed at and offensive to another individual in the workplace.

Workplace Harassment may occur directly within the organization itself or at any event or any location related to the organization. To be deemed Harassment, the burden of proof is in demonstrating that the employee/individual knew or ought reasonably to have known that their behaviour in the workplace would cause offence or harm to the recipient individual or team.

Workplace Harassment comprises objectionable act(s), comment(s) or display(s) that demean, belittle, or cause personal humiliation or embarrassment, and any act of intimidation or threat. It also includes harassment within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act (i.e. based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability and pardoned conviction). Workplace Harassment is typically a series of incidents but can be one severe incident which has a lasting impact on the recipient individual.

Disclosures of Wrongdoing

Disclosures of Wrongdoing in the Workplace are serious violations that go against the public interest and serve to disrupt the workplace.

Wrongdoing includes a wide range of violations of any Act of Parliament or any Act of legislature of the provinces, misusing public funds or public assets, and gross mismanagement in the workplace.

Essentially, Wrongdoing is doing something – or failing to do something – that creates a substantial and specific danger to the health, safety, or life of persons or to the environment, acts that seriously breach organizational codes or policies and/or knowing directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing.

Disclosures of Wrongdoing can involve Administrative Investigations, Audit Investigations, Misconduct Investigations, Fraud Investigations and can lead to criminal charges under Canada’s Criminal Code. Wrongdoing Investigations may require collaboration and cooperation from several units within an employee organization to ensure that all relevant particulars are captured including emails, documents, files, text messages, voice mail messages, and client and employee correspondence.

Wrongdoing Investigations tend to be longer in terms of level of effort, mainly due to the size, scope and severity of the disclosure involved.