Guide Articles Archive

Important

This is not legal advice! What you are getting here is just general legal information. It is not a substitute for advice from an actual lawyer about your specific situation. If you need legal advice, we urge you to find a lawyer who can help you.

The CNESST is an agency of the Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale ministry. It gives benefits and supports to people who’ve been injured at work. These can include replacement of lost wages, health care (including rehabilitation, counselling, and medications), and, in certain situations, retraining.

Facts about the CNESST Occupational Health and Safety division

The CNESST functions like an insurance provider. Employers pay premiums to CNESST for the people who work for them. As a result, those people are entitled to benefits if they suffer a workplace injury.
About 3.8 million Quebec workers are covered by the CNESST. That represents 92% of the workforce.
Roughly 95,000 workers receive wage-replacement benefits for “occupational injuries” each year.
However, most successful claims are for physical injuries. When it comes to psychological injuries resulting from trauma or harassment, the vast majority of claims are rejected because it’s hard to prove they are occupational injuries.
Claims for psychological injuries total less than 5% of the CNESST compensation budget.
If your claim is rejected, you can appeal, but the process is complicated and takes a long time. About half of appeals about psychological injuries are successful.
Sources: CNESST Statistiques annuelle 2023; “Workers’ Compensation for Work-Related Mental Health Problems: An Overview of Quebec Law,” Jennifer Hava and Jason Stober, in Psychosocial Risks in Labour and Social Security Law; Compensation Guide for Quebec Workers

If you’ve been harmed by sexual harassment at work, you might think the CNESST will help you. For instance:

Maybe after you were harassed, you took time off work and so lost income.
Maybe the harassment damaged your mental health, and you ended up needing to spend money on medication for anxiety or depression.
Maybe the harassment had such an effect on you that you had to leave a male-dominated industry and ended up needing to retrain for a new type of work in a different field.

Those are the kinds of expenses—replacement of lost wages, medication costs, retraining costs—that the CNESST normally does reimburse.

And so it might sound like a good idea to file a claim with the CNESST.

But we need to warn you: The CNESST is very unlikely to assist you.

The CNESST gives you benefits and supports if you have suffered a physical injury at work (rare in cases of sexual harassment) or psychological injury (less rare in sexual harassment cases, but hard to prove). It will only help you if the harm you’ve suffered fits into one of those two categories.

Historically, the CNESST has mostly handled claims related to physical injuries suffered by workers in male-dominated industries like construction and manufacturing, and in uniform occupations like policing and firefighting. If you slip at work and break your ankle, or are struck by a falling object, or are injured in a fire or explosion: that is the kind of situation the CNESST was designed for and has a lot of experience handling.

The CNESST has less experience with mental health harms.

Realistically, it’s likely that if you make a claim as a result of sexual harassment, you’ll be turned down. If you want to pursue the claim after being denied, you’ll need to be prepared to go through an appeal process. Appealing can take a long time, and of the few appeals that are heard, many are denied.

There might be other forums—for example, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse or civil court—where you could have a better chance of success.

Important

The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse and what it does

The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) is an administrative body that deals with cases of discrimination under the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Discriminatory harassment, which includes sexual harassment, is prohibited under the charter.

The commission’s job is to resolve complaints. If your complaint falls within its jurisdiction, it will accept it for evaluation. Then it will encourage you to try to settle the complaint through mediation. If that isn’t successful, a further investigation may follow. After this, if the commission finds your complaint is supported by the evidence, it can recommend remedies. If the respondent doesn’t comply, your complaint could be referred to a court or to the Human Rights Tribunal. A commission lawyer may represent you before the tribunal free of charge. If the tribunal decides you were harassed, it may order the other party to make amends in some way.

Facts about the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse

In 2023-24, 2,200 complaints regarding human rights were made to the commission. Just under half of these resulted in files being opened.
In 2023-24, the commission considered 28 human rights complaints from people who said they had been discriminated against on the basis of sex, sexual orientation or gender expression in a work context. These made up 7% of all the new labour cases.
20% of complaints went to mediation in 2023-24; two-thirds were successfully resolved.
A quarter of cases at the commission are closed because they have missed a deadline, been abandoned, or settled outside the commission process.
More than 80% of complaints are processed in 15 months or less.
About 1% of complaints are heard by the Human Rights Tribunal.
Sources: CDPDJ 2023-24 annual report (French), Human Rights Tribunal 2024 annual report (French)

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

If you decide to file a complaint with the commission, here are a few things you may get out of the process:

It could be a chance to tell the harasser what they did is not okay.
You might get back money you lost because of the harassment—maybe you didn’t get a special project or a promotion, or were fired.
You might get your job back or get a reference for a new one.
You could request that your workplace make changes that would affect everyone there, not just you.
It is possible you might get some money to recognize the harm you suffered from the harassment.

How to make a complaint to the commission

You can file a complaint online. First, consult the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse website for detailed information about the process of applying and how complaints are dealt with.

You can file a complaint against anybody who is sexually harassing you at work—your employer, a co-worker, a supervisor, a customer, or a contractor. In your application, you can also name the company or organization you were or are working for. Even if your employer is not the one who’s harassing you, they have to protect you from sexual harassment and a harassing environment. See How to report sexual harassment to your employer.

Will the commission accept your application?

You should file your complaint as soon as possible. The commission will refuse your case if the harassment took place more than three years ago.
You can file a complaint with the commission if you work in Quebec or if the harassment happened in Quebec, but not if you work at a federally regulated workplace. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters.)
If you’re unionized, you must make your complaint through your union. See Working with your union. You’re covered if you are non-unionized, temporary or permanent, a volunteer, an intern, an independent contractor, a tourist, or undocumented.
Once the commission receives your complaint, it will be assessed within about four weeks. Fewer than 50% of complaints result in a file being opened.

Important

It is common for the commission to dismiss complaints. Your complaint could be dismissed because it was filed too late, because it’s outside of the tribunal’s jurisdiction, because it is already being handled in another forum, or because the commission believes you have no reasonable chance of succeeding. It’s important to be careful when you’re filling out your complaint, so it doesn’t end up just getting dismissed.

How mediation works

If the commission accepts your complaint, you and the respondent—the person your complaint is about—will be strongly encouraged to participate in mediation. This involves you and the respondent finding a solution to your complaint—something you both agree to.

The commission will assign you a mediator, who will first meet with you and the respondent separately to explain how the process works. Then they bring everyone together in a respectful, informal environment where you and the respondent can explain your point of view on what happened. The goal is to reach an agreement that satisfies both parties. You may bring a lawyer or other support person to this meeting, but they can only offer you advice, not advocate for you.

Mediators are experts in dispute resolution and human rights law who listen to you and the respondent and work with both of you to come to a settlement. They’re not supposed to pick a side, and they aren’t supposed to favour either you or the respondent. The purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

For more information

To learn more about what will happen during mediation, read the commission’s description of the process and its brochure on the subject.

Pros and cons of mediation

The mediation process is free.
You don’t need a lawyer to participate.
You are the one to decide what you will accept from the respondent to make up for the harm they caused.
Everything you say is considered confidential, or “without prejudice”—it can’t be used against you later.
There is no risk in participating in mediation. If it fails, your complaint could go on to the investigation stage.

Mediation doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You will likely not get everything you ask for—you have to be ready to compromise.

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

The harm to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
Lost wages.
The cost of counselling sessions you’ve needed and/or money to cover future counselling.

Besides money:

An apology.
A reference letter or a letter confirming your employment.
A change at the workplace, like including a sexual harassment section in the policies handbook.
Your employer having to take a course about preventing and dealing with sexual harassment.

What are you likely to get?

Details of settlements reached through mediation are private. However, we know that in a number of cases the agreement doesn’t involve money at all; instead, the respondents are ordered to do things like take human rights training or create a human rights policy that all managers have to be trained about.

Beyond mediation

If you and the respondent can’t come to an agreement through mediation, the next stage is investigation. First, the investigator reviews relevant documents and gathers information by interviewing the parties involved and any witnesses. You may have a lawyer or other supportive person assist you. At any time during this phase you and the respondent can choose to settle the complaint or close the case.

The investigator writes a report summarizing the evidence. They share this with you and the respondent and submit it to the complaints committee, which is made up of three commissioners.

If the committee finds that your complaint is supported by the evidence, it determines the appropriate remedy or remedies. These could include financial compensation and/or requiring the respondent to put an end to the behaviour. When a respondent doesn’t comply, the case could be referred to the courts or the Human Rights Tribunal for enforcement. If this occurs, the commission may represent you for free, though very few cases reach this point: in 2023-24, only 10 were determined by a court.

For more information

The commission’s website includes a section that outlines the investigation process.

Legal help

Having legal advice during the commission process could be helpful. Here are some places that offer free or lower-cost legal services:

You may be eligible for legal aid (Commission des services juridiques) if your income is low. In 2025, a single person’s gross income had to be under $29,300 to be able to access this service.
The Quebec Help and Information Center on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (GAIHST) supports people who have been subjected to sexual and/or psychological harassment at work. It can provide advice and, in certain circumstances, support or assistance with legal claims.
Justice Net is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.

For advice on hiring a lawyer, see How to find and work with a lawyer.

Important

The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission is an independent governmental agency that operates “at arm’s length” from the Nunavut and Northwest Territories governments. It gives benefits and supports to people who’ve been injured at work. These can include replacement of lost wages, health care (including rehabilitation, counselling, and medications), and, in extreme situations, retraining.

Facts about the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission

The WSCC functions like an insurance provider. Employers pay premiums to the WSCC for the people who work for them. As a result, those people are entitled to benefits if they suffer a workplace injury.
WCB coverage is mandatory for most employers. About 97% of Nunavut and Northwest Territories workers are covered by the WSCC, which handles claims in both jurisdictions.
In 2023, the WSCC accepted about 1,100 NWT claims.
The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal reviewed two decisions by the WSCC in 2023, reversing one and upholding the other.
Sources: Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2023, Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal Annual Report 2023, Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada

If you’ve been harmed by sexual harassment at work, you might think the WSCC will help you.

Maybe after you were harassed, you took time off work and so lost income.
Maybe the harassment damaged your mental health, and you ended up needing to spend money on medication for anxiety or depression.
Maybe the harassment had such an effect on you that you had to leave an industry and ended up needing to retrain for a new type of work in a different field.

Those are the kinds of expenses—replacement of lost wages, medication costs, retraining costs—that the WSCC often covers.

And it’s possible that if you make a claim for harm you experienced from being harassed it will be successful. The WSCC, which serves both Nunavut and Northwest Territories residents, is more likely than some other jurisdictions to approve this type of claim if you meet the conditions for coverage.

Important

Legally, if your employer is a WSCC member, they are required to report any injuries that occur in their workplace. But really most are unlikely to do this in sexual harassment cases, because they often deny the harassment occurred or that it caused real harm.

Important

If you want to apply for disability insurance through your workplace provider, the insurer may require you to apply to the WSCC first, and appeal if you are turned down

Pros and cons of going to the WSCC

It isn’t expensive to submit a claim.
WSCC benefits can be generous. Wage replacement is up to 90% of your net salary.
Representing yourself is possible when first making a claim. But if your claim is denied, appealing is more complicated. There may be some legal resources to help if you still want to represent yourself.

The WSCC doesn’t investigate or adjudicate whether you were sexually harassed. If you are looking for someone to tell you that you were sexually harassed, and to punish the harasser or your employer for allowing the harassment, the WSCC won’t give you that.
You can’t apply to the WSCC secretly. You must inform your employer of your injury as well as report it to the WSCC. That means your employer will have information about your private health circumstances.
Your employer will have the opportunity to dispute your claim and it’s very likely they will do this, in which case proving your case will be more difficult.
To make a claim, you must present a police report or similar objective proof.
You will need a psychologist to say that you’ve suffered an injury. If you don’t have easy access to someone who will do this, making a claim will be harder.

Psychiatric and psychological disorders claims

The WSCC awards benefits due to the injury you sustained, which in your case would be damaged mental health. While the WSCC will cover some claims for mental health harms, there are two things you need before that might happen, which makes the process challenging:

a police report or other outside confirmation of the incident or incidents
a diagnosis of a disorder described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5, including acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or an anxiety or depressive disorder

If you don’t have a police report, your employer’s verification could be sufficient, but many employers dispute claims.

The WSCC won’t cover every kind of mental stress that arises at work. If you develop a mental health condition caused by your employer making changes to your shifts or other working conditions, for example, or firing you, or due to interpersonal conflicts that don’t involve harassment, you aren’t eligible to file a claim.

How to make a WSCC application

First, you must inform your employer, then complete the Worker’s Report of Injury form. See What to Expect with Your Claim and the Claims Process Map on the agency’s website.

To file a claim with the WSCC, you must be employed in a business or industry that is covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act. About 97% of workers in the NWT are included under the act.

For more information

Contact the Workers’ Advisor Office for information and advice. Also, see the frequently asked questions page on that agency’s website.

Legal help

Representing yourself is possible when first making a claim. But if your claim is denied, appealing is more complicated. Here are some places that offer free or lower-cost legal services:

The Workers’ Advisor Office is an independent government agency that provides free and confidential services about workplace injuries and compensation to workers. This office can provide information, advice, and help with representation throughout the WSCC process.
The Legal Aid Commission has Outreach Legal Aid Clinics that provide legal information and advice. They do not provide legal representation.
JusticeNet is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
The Law Society of the Northwest Territories’ Find a Lawyer service may be able to help you locate a pro bono lawyer who specializes in employment law.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

For advice on hiring a lawyer, see How to find and work with a lawyer.

Important

The Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal and what it does

If you’ve been sexually harassed, you may be able file a formal complaint with the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal. One law that protects you from discrimination is Nunavut’s Human Rights Act. Sexual harassment under the act can constitute discrimination based on sex. The commission will review your complaint and assess whether it should be accepted.

When you think about filing a complaint, you might imagine a process that ends in an adjudicator definitively ruling that what happened to you was either right or wrong. But in reality, the tribunal emphasizes dispute resolution as a means of resolving complaints.

We’re not saying don’t make a complaint to the tribunal, but it’s extremely unlikely the outcome will be a public acknowledgement of the fact that you were harassed. If you think you would be satisfied with a private settlement, which could involve such things as money to compensate you for the harm you experienced, an apology, or a job reference, then having your complaint dealt with through a mediation process could be right for you.

Facts about the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal

Every year, about a dozen people file a complaint with the tribunal saying that they have been discriminated against or harassed.
Sexual harassment complaints are rare; men are most likely to make such a complaint.
More than 90% complaints to the tribunal are settled through mediation or in another forum.
It is challenging to reach the tribunal—it’s slow to respond to phone calls or emails.
It can take up to 18 months from the time a complaint is filed until the tribunal decides whether the complaint should be dismissed or go to mediation. It usually takes a month from the time the parties agree to mediate until they sign an agreement.

Why consider filing a complaint with the tribunal

If you decide to file a complaint with the tribunal, here are a few things you may get out of the process:

It’s a chance to tell the harasser what they did is not okay.
You might get an apology for the harassment.
You might get back money you lost because of the harassment—maybe you didn’t get a special project or a promotion, or were fired.
You might get a reference for a new job.
You could request that your workplace make changes that would affect everyone there, not just you, like improving their employee policies and training around sexual harassment.
It is possible to get some money to recognize the emotional harm you suffered from the harassment.

How to make a complaint to the tribunal

The tribunal recommends first reading the Human Rights Tribunal Rules of Procedure before you complete the notification form. In theory, you can contact the tribunal office for help with filling out the form, which can be filed by mail, email, fax or orally. Include any documents that support your claim. Be aware that getting a response to phone messages or emails can take a long time. The tribunal recommends getting legal advice, if possible. A brochure on the tribunal’s website outlines the complaint process.

Will the tribunal accept your complaint?

You have two years from when the harassment happened to file your complaint with the tribunal. If the harassment happened more than once, the deadline is two years from the last incident of harassment.
You can file a complaint with the tribunal if you work in Nunavut or if the harassment happened in Nunavut, but not if you work at a federally regulated workplace. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters.)
If you’re unionized, you can make your complaint through your union or to the tribunal. You’re covered if you’re temporary or permanent, an independent contractor, or undocumented.
If your complaint doesn’t fall under the Human Rights Act, you may be referred to another agency for help.

How mediation works

After you file, your notification will be sent to the respondent—the person your complaint is about—and they have several months to respond in writing to what you’ve said. At this point, if the tribunal believes you may have a valid case, you and the respondent will be encouraged to participate in mediation. If you agree you will be asked to sign a mediation agreement, which explains what the mediator will do and how the mediation is confidential. A tribunal member, independent mediator, or community elder will be assigned to your case.

The mediator is expected to behave neutrally: They’re not supposed to pick a side, and they aren’t supposed to favour either you or the respondent. They work with both sides to try to find a resolution that works for everyone. The aim is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Human Rights Act. Inuit cultural principles like respect, inclusiveness and reaching consensus are important elements of the process.

Most mediations happen by telephone or videoconference and start with the mediator speaking to you and the respondent separately. After that, they may bring both sides together or continue to work with each side individually. There is only a settlement if both sides agree—you can’t be forced to accept a settlement.

For more information

The tribunal’s website includes a document that describes the mediation process in detail.

Pros and cons of mediation

The mediation process is free.
You don’t need a lawyer to participate, though you are encouraged to have legal help at the notification stage.
You are the one to decide what you will accept from the respondent to make up for the harm they caused.
Everything you say is considered confidential, or “without prejudice”—it can’t be used against you later.

The settlement process doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You must sign an agreement to keep the terms of a settlement confidential.
You may not get everything you ask for—you have to be ready to compromise.

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

The harm to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
Lost wages.
The cost of counselling sessions you’ve needed and/or money to cover future counselling.

Besides money:

An apology.
A reference letter or a letter confirming your employment.
A change at the workplace, like including a sexual harassment section in the policies handbook.
Your employer having to take a course about preventing and dealing with sexual harassment.

What are you likely to get?

Details of settlements reached through mediation are private. However, we know that in a number of cases agreements don’t involve money at all; instead, the respondents agree to do things like take human rights training or create a human rights policy that all managers have to be trained about. Monetary awards are modest.

Where to get help with the process

Navigating the complaint process can be complicated and stressful. Here are some ways that you might get free or lower-cost advice:

You can call the tribunal to talk about your options. It is designed to help people file their complaint and protect human rights. The tribunal staff are trained to help you with the process. A Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal human rights officer may be available to help at 1-866-413-6478. However, the tribunal can be slow to respond to phone messages.
The Legal Services Board of Nunavut operates three legal aid clinics:
- Kivalliq Legal Services, Rankin Inlet (1-800-606-9400)
- Kitikmeot Law Centre, Cambridge Bay (1-866-240-4006)
- Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik Legal Services, Iqaluit (1-866-202-5593)

To apply for help from these clinics, call a location. Or you can email; you will be interviewed over the phone within a few days. These services are available to eligible applicants.

JusticeNet note that this link doesn’t work for me when it’s spelled solid is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

Important

Facts about the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission

The WSCC functions like an insurance provider. Employers pay premiums to the WSCC for the people who work for them. As a result, those people are entitled to benefits if they suffer a workplace injury.
WSCC coverage is mandatory for most employers. About 97% of Nunavut and Northwest Territories workers are covered by the WSCC, which handles claims in both jurisdictions.
In 2023, the WSCC accepted about 800 Nunavut claims.
In 2023 the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal reviewed two decisions by the WSCC, reversing one and upholding the other, which had denied a claim for mental stress due to bullying, harassment and other workplace events.
Sources: Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2023, Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal Annual Report 2023, Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada

If you’ve been harmed by sexual harassment at work, you might think the WSCC will help you.

Maybe after you were harassed, you took time off work and so lost income.
Maybe the harassment damaged your mental health, and you ended up needing to spend money on medication for anxiety or depression.
Maybe the harassment had such an effect on you that you had to leave an industry and ended up needing to retrain for a new type of work in a different field.

Those are the kinds of expenses—replacement of lost wages, medication costs, retraining costs—that the WSCC often covers.

Important

If you want to apply for disability insurance through your workplace provider, the insurer may require you to apply to the WSCC first, and appeal if you are turned down.

Pros and cons of going to the WSCC

It isn’t expensive to submit a claim.
WSCC benefits can be generous. Wage replacement is up to 90% of your net salary.
Representing yourself is possible when first making a claim. But if your claim is denied, appealing is more complicated. There may be some legal resources to help if you still want to represent yourself.

The WSCC doesn’t investigate or adjudicate whether you were sexually harassed. If you are looking for someone to tell you that you were sexually harassed, and to punish the harasser or your employer for allowing the harassment, the WSCC won’t give you that.
You can’t apply to the WSCC secretly. You must inform your employer of your injury as well as report it to the WSCC. That means your employer will have information about your private health circumstances.
Your employer will have the opportunity to dispute your claim and it’s very likely they will do this, in which case proving your case will be more difficult.
To make a claim, you must present a police report or similar objective proof.
You will need a psychologist to say that you’ve suffered an injury. If you don’t have easy access to someone who will do this, making a claim will be harder.

Psychiatric and psychological disorders claims

a police report or other outside confirmation of the incident or incidents
a diagnosis of a disorder described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5, including acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or an anxiety or depressive disorder

If you don’t have a police report, your employer’s verification could be sufficient, but many employers dispute claims.

How to make a WSCC application

First, you must inform your employer, then complete the Worker’s Report of Injury form. See What to Expect with Your Claim and the Claims Process Map on the agency’s website.

To file a claim with the WSCC, you must be employed in a business or industry that is covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act. About 97% of workers in Nunavut are included under the act.

For more information

Contact the Workers’ Advisor Office for information and advice. Also, see the frequently asked questions page on that agency’s website.

Legal help

Representing yourself is possible when first making a claim. But if your claim is denied, appealing is more complicated. Here are some places that offer free or lower-cost legal services:

The Workers’ Advisor Office is an independent government agency that provides free and confidential services about workplace injuries and compensation to workers. This office can provide information, advice, and help with representation to you throughout the WSCC process.
You may be able to find a lawyer though the Law Society of Nunavut, which maintains a list of lawyers by area of practice.
JusticeNet is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

For advice on hiring a lawyer, see How to find and work with a lawyer.

Important

The Alberta Human Rights Commission and what it does

If you’ve been sexually harassed, you may be able file a formal complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. One law that protects you from discrimination is the Alberta Human Rights Act. Sexual harassment under the act can constitute discrimination based on sex.

The commission will review your complaint and assess whether it should be accepted. Commission staff encourage parties to reach a settlement on their own (in a process called conciliation) or may investigate the issues. If the parties can’t resolve the matter and the commission staff recommend it for a hearing, the case will then go to the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal, the decision-making arm of the commission.

When you think about filing a complaint, you might imagine a process that ends in an adjudicator definitively ruling that what happened to you was either right or wrong. But in reality, that almost never happens. The greatest number of cases are settled through conciliation.

We’re not saying don’t make a complaint to the commission, but it’s very unlikely the outcome will be a public acknowledgement of the fact that you were harassed. If you think you would be satisfied with a private settlement, which could involve such things as money to compensate you for the harm you experienced, an apology or a job reference, then having your complaint dealt with in a conciliation process could be right for you.

Facts about the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunal

In 2022-23, 822 complaints were filed with the commission. Fifteen percent involved discrimination or harassment on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression.
Roughly 80% of complaints never reach the tribunal and just a handful get decided at a hearing; in 2022-23, only 32 were closed this way.
About 40% of the complaints closed in 2022-23 at the commission or tribunal stage were resolved through conciliation or private settlement; another 40% were dismissed or closed by the tribunal office; 17% were abandoned or withdrawn.
When the tribunal decides that someone was discriminated against or harassed, it sometimes gives them an award of money as compensation for lost wages and/or the hurt and loss of dignity that they experienced. There is technically no limit to the amount of money the tribunal might grant for hurt and loss of dignity, but in the past few years the biggest award has been $75,000.
Sources: Alberta Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2022-23, CanLII.

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

If you decide to file a complaint with the commission, here are a few things you may get out of the process:

It could be a chance to tell the harasser what they did is not okay.
You might get back money you lost because of the harassment—maybe you didn’t get a special project or a promotion, or were fired.
You might get a reference for a new job.
You could request that your workplace make changes that would affect everyone there, not just you, like improving employee policies and training around sexual harassment.
It is possible you might get some money to recognize the emotional harm you suffered from the harassment.

How to make a complaint to the commission

To start the process of filing a complaint, you should first complete this self-assessment to find out if your complaint is covered by the Alberta Human Rights Act. If it is, then it’s important that you carefully read the Human Rights Complaint Guide, which contains detailed instructions how to make your complaint. You can access the complaint form online or download and complete a PDF version.

Will the commission accept your complaint?

You have one year from when the harassment happened to file your complaint with the commission. If the harassment happened more than once, the deadline is one year from the last incident of harassment.
You can file a complaint with the commission if you work in Alberta or if the harassment happened in Alberta, but not if you work at a federally regulated workplace. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters.)
If you’re unionized, you must make your complaint through your union. See Working with your union. You’re covered if you’re non-unionized, temporary or permanent, an independent contractor, or undocumented.
After you submit your complaint, a human rights officer from an intake team decides whether the harassment you faced relates to a ground of discrimination under the act. This takes about three weeks. If they reject your complaint, you can request that the director of the commission reconsider your case; you must do this within 30 days.

How conciliation works

Usually you and the respondent—the person your complaint is about—will be strongly encouraged to participate in conciliation. This involves you and the respondent finding a solution to your complaint—something you both agree to.

The commission will assign you a conciliator, who will talk with you and the respondent about your complaint and perhaps gather more information before a conciliation meeting. You or your lawyer can provide information or show documents to a conciliator and request they keep it confidential from the other side.

Conciliators are human rights experts who listen to you and the respondent and work with both of you to come to a settlement. They are expected to behave neutrally: They’re not supposed to pick a side, and they aren’t supposed to favour either you or the respondent. Their goal is to try to reach a solution that both parties can agree to so your case doesn’t have to go to the tribunal. The purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Human Rights Act.

Conciliation meetings are conducted by videoconference and are scheduled for half a day. It can take a year and a half or more from the time your complaint is accepted for it to get to this meeting. Sixty days are allotted for the time between when a conciliator is appointed to when you reach an agreement. If conciliation is not successful, the director of the commission decides whether to dismiss your complaint or to refer it to the tribunal. Dismissed complaints can be appealed to the chief of the commission and tribunals for a review, but about three-quarters of these appeals are unsuccessful.

For more information

The Human Rights Commission’s website includes a detailed page about the conciliation process.

Pros and cons of conciliation

The conciliation process is free.
Many people participate in mediation without a lawyer.
You are the one to decide what you will accept from the respondent to make up for the harm they caused.
More creativity is possible in conciliation. For example, you can’t ask for an apology in a hearing.
Everything you say is considered confidential, or “without prejudice”—it can’t be used against you later.
There is no risk in participating in conciliation. If it fails, your complaint may still be referred to the tribunal, though the director can instead decide to dismiss it.

Conciliation doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You can’t share details of any settlement you reach—you must sign an agreement saying the outcome is confidential.
You will likely not get everything you ask for—you have to be ready to compromise.

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

The harm to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
Lost wages.
The cost of counselling sessions you’ve needed and/or money to cover future counselling.

Besides money:

An apology.
Your job back or a reference letter.
A change at the workplace, like including a sexual harassment section in the policies handbook.
Your employer having to take a course about preventing and dealing with sexual harassment.
A donation to a charity of your choice as a way of saying sorry.

What are you likely to get?

Details of settlements reached through conciliation are private. However, we know that in a number of cases the agreement doesn’t involve money at all; instead, the respondents are ordered to do things like take human rights training or create a human rights policy that all managers have to be trained about. See the commission’s remedy information sheet for more information.

The types of monetary awards for emotional harm when sexual harassment cases are decided by the tribunal are a guide. In recent years the highest award has been $75,000. Larger awards happen when the harassment was particularly bad and went on for a long time. Otherwise, $10,000 or $15,000 isn’t uncommon.

Beyond mediation

When a case has been referred to the tribunal, there will be another attempt to mediate the case. A tribunal member handles this process, which is called tribunal dispute resolution; the meeting is called a TDR conference. A third of complaints are closed this way; another third are closed because the parties come to a private settlement. Only about 20% are resolved through a hearing, which happens after TDR fails.

Pros and cons of your case being decided at a hearing

The tribunal has expertise in harassment. All it does is handle complaints of discrimination, including harassment.
The tribunal has the power to say that, yes, you were harassed, and that what happened to you was wrong.
The tribunal can order many different remedies. It can award you money. If you were fired or had to quit because of the harassment, it can order your employer to give you your job back. It can order your employer to make a donation to a charity or to provide anti-harassment training.

It can take years for a hearing to be held.
If you hire a lawyer to represent you, that will be expensive. If you don’t hire a lawyer, your chances of success are much lower.
People who represent themselves at the tribunal are less likely to have their complaints found justified.
Very few people end up being told by the tribunal that they were harassed and what happened to them was wrong—in the last three years, fewer than half a dozen.
Tribunal financial awards are fairly small. There is technically no limit to the amount of money the tribunal could award to you, but awards are generally well under $50,000. The amount of an award is affected by how severe the harassment was and how long it went on. And remember, with most tribunal cases, people don’t end up receiving any money at all.
If you choose the tribunal process, you may close the door to other legal options.
Even if the tribunal awards you money or other things, that doesn’t mean you will necessarily get them. It can be hard to force your employer or the harasser to give you everything the tribunal ordered.
Like in any legal process, your opponents will try to undermine your credibility and make you look bad. You could end up feeling disbelieved and unsupported.
Some psychologists believe it’s a bad idea for people who have experienced sexual harassment to get involved in any legal process. They say legal processes can slow down your ability to heal emotionally from what happened to you, because they keep you focused on the past. These experts believe that it can be healthier for the person who experienced harassment to put the past behind them and focus on their present and their future.

If your case goes ahead

The Human Rights Commission’s website has a page that outlines what to expect if the director of the commission refers your complaint to the tribunal process.

While theoretically it is possible to proceed with a complaint representing yourself, this is very challenging, time consuming, and potentially harmful to your mental health. Your chances of success are much greater with legal help.

Here are some places that offer free or lower-cost legal services:

Independent Legal Advice for Survivors of Sexual Violence, a project of the Elizabeth Fry Society, is based in Edmonton and also serves the communities of Stony Plain, Morinville, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Fort Saskatchewan, Ponoka, Camrose, Wetaskiwin, Red Deer, and Fort McMurray. You can receive up to four hours of free legal advice and can also attend legal clinics.
Justice Net is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
211 Alberta is a free and confidential 24/7 phone and text service that connects individuals to services in the province. You can call or text 2-1-1 to be connected with trained professionals to help find support services.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

Important

The Workers’ Compensation Board is an independent organization financed by employers that gives benefits and supports to people who’ve been injured at work. These can include replacement of lost wages, health care (including rehabilitation, counselling, and medications), and, in extreme situations, retraining.

Facts about the Workers’ Compensation Board

The WCB functions like an insurance provider. Employers pay premiums to the WCB for the people who work for them. As a result, those people are entitled to benefits if they suffer a workplace injury.
WCB coverage is mandatory for many employers. About 80% of Alberta workers are covered by the WCB.
Every year about 130,000 claims are filed with the WCB; 10% are ruled ineligible.
Fewer than 2% of claims are for a psychological injury; of those, about a third are made by first responders.
Sources: Workers’ Compensation Board annual reports, Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada

If you’ve been harmed by sexual harassment at work, you might think the WCB will help you.

Maybe after you were harassed, you took time off work and so lost income.
Maybe the harassment damaged your mental health, and you ended up needing to spend money on medication for anxiety or depression.
Maybe the harassment had such an effect on you that you had to leave an industry and ended up needing to retrain for a new type of work in a different field.

Those are the kinds of expenses—replacement of lost wages, medication costs, retraining costs—that the WCB often covers.

However, historically, the WCB has mostly handled claims related to physical injuries suffered by workers in male-dominated fields like construction, manufacturing, and uniform occupations like policing and firefighting. If you slip at work and break your ankle, or are struck by a falling object, or are injured in a fire or explosion: that is the kind of situation the WCB was designed for and has a lot of experience handling.

It has less experience with mental health harms, which it classifies as psychological injuries, and the turndown rates for these are very high. For these types of claims, the WCB requires you to prove that your workplace was the “predominant” cause of your injury, whereas proof for other claims is only that the workplace was a “substantial” cause. That higher standard, worker advocates say, is another reason, in addition to the established WCB culture, why so few harassment claims to the WCB are successful.

Though we’re not saying don’t bother applying for WCB benefits, you should be aware that it’s unlikely your claim will be successful. If you want to pursue the claim after being denied, you’ll need to be prepared to go through an appeal process. Appealing can take a long time, and, of the few appeals that are heard, many are denied.

Important

Legally, if your employer is a WCB member, they are required to report any injuries that occur in their workplace. But really most are unlikely to do this in sexual harassment cases, because they often deny the harassment occurred or that it caused real harm.

Important

If you want to apply for disability insurance through your workplace provider, the insurer may require you to apply to the WCB first, and appeal if you are turned down.

Pros and cons of going to the WCB

It isn’t expensive or very complicated.
WCB benefits can be generous. Wage replacement is up to 90% of your net salary.
Representing yourself is possible when first making a claim. But if your claim is denied, appealing is more complicated. There may be some legal resources to help if you still want to represent yourself.

The WCB doesn’t investigate or adjudicate whether you were sexually harassed. If you are looking for someone to tell you that you were sexually harassed, and to punish the harasser or your employer for allowing the harassment, the WCB won’t give you that.
The WCB has a high rate of denying mental stress or injury claims.
If the WCB rejects your claim and you appeal, the appeal process may be lengthy.
You can’t apply to the WCB secretly. You must notify your employer about your injury right away, which means they will have information about your private health circumstances.
Your employer will have the opportunity to dispute your claim. It’s very likely they will do this, in which case proving your case will be more difficult.
Your employer will be updated about any changes to your claim. That means they will continue to know about your personal health situation, even if you don’t work for them anymore.
To make a claim, you will need a medical professional to say that you’ve suffered an injury. If you don’t have easy access to a medical professional who will do this, making a claim will be harder.

Psychological injury claims

The WCB awards benefits due to the injury you sustained, which in your case would be damaged mental health. This requires a diagnosis of conditions described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5, like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, or anxiety.

Under WCB guidelines there are two categories of mental health injuries:

Chronic onset psychological injuries or stress develops over time from ongoing work-related stressors. Being repeatedly sexually harassed by a co-worker might lead to this type of injury. This harassment has to be the major, or predominant, cause of the harm.

Traumatic onset psychological injury or stress results from a specific traumatic event, such as harassment that includes physical violence, the threat of physical violence, or a life-threatening situation. The incident itself is the source of the trauma. These claims are often based on a single traumatic event, but the WCB can also consider multiple incidents if the cumulative impact is traumatic. Examples might be witnessing the death of or severe injury to a colleague or being physically threatened yourself at work. It’s not likely this type of claim fits your situation.

The WCB won’t cover every kind of mental stress that arises at work. If you develop a mental health condition caused by your employer making changes to your shifts or other working conditions, for example, or firing you, or due to interpersonal conflicts that don’t involve harassment, you aren’t eligible to file a claim.

How to make a WCB application

First, you must decide if filing a claim with the WCB is the right choice for you. If you do choose to go to the WCB, you’ll find more information about work-related mental stress injuries and the application process on the website. See also submitting a report. You can file the completed online form (Worker Report of Injury or Occupational Disease) electronically (follow the instructional video on the WCB website)

To file a claim with the WCB, you must be employed in a business or industry that is covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act. About 80% of workers in Alberta are included under the act

For more information

The WSB website includes a fact sheet answering frequently asked questions about psychological injury claims. There are also fact sheets specifically about how chronic onset and traumatic psychological injuries are defined, how decisions to accept claims are made, and what happens next if a claim goes ahead.

The Worker Handbook is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of the claim process, including how to appeal a WSB decision.

Legal help

Representing yourself is possible when first making a claim. But if your claim is denied, appealing is more complicated. Here are some places that offer free or lower-cost legal services:

The Advisor Office is an independent government agency that provides free and confidential services about workplace injuries and compensation to workers. This office can provide information, advice, and help with representation to you throughout the appeals process.
At the Women’s Centre of Calgary female volunteer lawyers offer free half-hour legal advice sessions.
Calgary Legal Guidance’s Sahwoo mohkaak tsi ma taas clinic provides Indigenous community members free legal advice on a variety of areas, including employment law. It may be able to offer free legal representation.
JusticeNet is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

For advice on hiring a lawyer, see How to find and work with a lawyer.

Important

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission and what it does

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission is the agency that receives and investigates human rights complaints regarding violations of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code. It helps people to mediate or settle their complaints. If a complaint can’t be resolved, the commission may refer the case to the Court of King’s Bench for a hearing. The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission and the Court of King’s Bench deal with discrimination cases. Sexual harassment is considered sex discrimination.

When you think about filing a complaint, you might imagine a process that ends in an adjudicator definitively ruling that what happened to you was either right or wrong. But in reality, that almost never happens. The majority of cases are settled through mediation, not by an adjudicator.

Facts about the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission

Every year about 500 people file a complaint with the commission. Just 20% of these are accepted, or formalized.
Roughly 10% of the people whose complaints are formalized say that they have been discriminated against or harassed on the basis of sex.
More than 60% of formalized human rights complaints are settled through mediation.
About 15% of formalized human rights complaints are settled by the Court of King’s Bench.
Sources: Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2023-24, CanLII

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

If you decide to file a complaint with the commission, here are a few things you may get out of the process:

It’s a chance to tell the harasser what they did is not okay.
You might get back money you lost because of the harassment—maybe you didn’t get a special project or a promotion, or were fired.
You might get a reference for a new job.
You could request that your workplace make changes that would affect everyone there, not just you, like improving its employee policies and training around sexual harassment.
It is possible you might get some money to recognize the emotional harm you suffered from the harassment.

How to make a complaint to the commission

To start the process of filing a complaint, you should first check the Am I in the right place? page of the commission’s website to see whether your complaint is covered by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code. If it is, then you must contact the commission’s office, which will put you in touch with an intake officer. The intake officer will assess whether your complaint can go forward. If so, you will be asked to complete an intake questionnaire, and the intake officer will draft a formal complaint.
You can file a complaint against anybody who is sexually harassing you at work—your employer, a co-worker, a supervisor, a customer, or a contractor. In your application, you can also name the company or organization you were or are working for. Even if your employer is not the one who’s harassing you, they have to protect you from sexual harassment and a harassing environment. See How to report sexual harassment to your employer.

Will the commission accept your complaint?

You have one year from when the harassment happened to file your complaint with the commission. If the harassment happened more than once, the deadline is one year from the last incident of harassment. In certain situations, the commission will accept late complaints if you can show there was a good reason for the delay.
The intake consultant may try to settle your issue through pre-complaint resolution before the complaint becomes formal. This approach is most likely if your complaint might be resolved quickly. This usually involves calling your employer and explaining the law, with the aim of resolving the case right away so that you can safely return to work.
You can file a complaint with the commission if you work in Saskatchewan or if the harassment happened in Saskatchewan, but not if you work at a federally regulated workplace. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters.)
You’re covered if you’re unionized or non-unionized, temporary or permanent, an independent contractor, or undocumented.
Your complaint may be delayed if you have filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board. See Should you apply for workers comp?

How mediation works

Sometimes complaints can be resolved before they have been accepted, or formalized. Otherwise, once you and the respondent—the person your complaint is about—have submitted your versions of events, a commission mediator will facilitate mediation. This process might involve in-person mediation; it can also be shuttle mediation by phone or correspondence. The goal is to try to reach a solution that both parties can agree to within 90 days. Close to half of complaints are resolved through this process.

Mediators are human rights experts who listen to you and the respondent and work with both of you to come to a settlement. They are expected to behave neutrally. They’re not supposed to pick a side, and they aren’t supposed to favour either you or the respondent or advise you to accept a settlement. The purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Human Rights Act.

Pros and cons of mediation

The mediation process is free.
Many people participate in mediation without a lawyer.
Mediation can be less stressful and simpler than a hearing. It doesn’t involve calling witnesses or testifying.
You are the one to decide what you will accept from the respondent to make up for the harm they caused.
More creativity is possible in mediation. For example, you can’t ask for an apology in a hearing.
Everything you say is considered confidential, or “without prejudice”—it can’t be used against you later.
There is no risk in participating in mediation. If it fails, your complaint will move to the investigation stage.

Mediation doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You will likely not get everything you ask for—you have to be ready to compromise.

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

The harm to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
Lost wages.
The cost of counselling sessions you’ve needed and/or money to cover future counselling.

Besides money:

An apology.
A reference letter or a letter confirming your employment.
A change at the workplace, like including a sexual harassment section in the policies handbook.
Your employer having to take a course about preventing and dealing with sexual harassment.

What are you likely to get?

Beyond mediation

If you and the respondent can’t come to an agreement through mediation in 90 days, the next phase is investigation. The investigator puts together an investigation plan, then interviews witnesses and examines evidence, which they can request the parties provide. They are starting fresh: They not allowed to know what was discussed or revealed in the mediation process. At any time during the investigation the parties can ask the investigator to mediate. This process may take six months or more.

In the end, the investigator presents a disclosure report outlining their findings, which is sent to you and the respondent. This report contains the investigator’s recommendation as to whether the complaint should be dismissed or continue to the Court of King’s Bench for a hearing. The final decision about what should happen is made by the chief commissioner, who can agree with the investigator’s recommendation or return the case to them for more review. It may take several months before the chief commissioner makes their decision.

Before a complaint goes to a hearing, there is one more attempt to resolve it through what’s called directed mediation. The respondent is asked to make a final offer; if the commission believes that it is reasonable, but you don’t accept it, the chief commissioner will dismiss the complaint. Otherwise, your case will go to the Court of King’s Bench for a hearing.

Pros and cons of your case being decided at a hearing

The court has expertise in harassment. All it does is handle complaints of discrimination, including harassment.
The court has the power to say that, yes, you were harassed, and that what happened to you was wrong.
The court can order many different remedies. It can award you money. If you were fired or had to quit because of the harassment, it can order your employer to give you your job back. It can order your employer to make a donation to a charity, or to provide anti-harassment training.

It can take years to get to court.
If you hire a lawyer to represent you, that will be expensive. If you don’t hire a lawyer, your chances of success are much lower.
People who represent themselves are less likely to have their complaints found justified.
Very few people end up being told by the court that they were harassed and what happened to them was wrong.
Financial awards for harm to dignity are small. The maximum amount possible is $20,000, but the average is several thousand dollars less. In many cases, people don’t end up receiving any money at all.
Even if the tribunal awards you money or other things, that doesn’t mean you will necessarily get them. It can be hard to force your employer or the harasser to give you everything the tribunal ordered.
Like in any legal process, your opponents will try to undermine your credibility and make you look bad. You could end up feeling disbelieved and unsupported.
Some psychologists believe it’s a bad idea for people who have experienced sexual harassment to get involved in any legal process. They say legal processes can slow down your ability to heal emotionally from what happened to you, because they keep you focused on the past. These experts believe that it can be healthier for the person who experienced harassment to put the past behind them and focus on their present and future.

If your case goes ahead

The commission staff are trained to help you with the process, and the commission’s counsel will argue the case in court and will call evidence and witnesses. You don’t need to have a lawyer or present your own evidence, though some complainants chose to.

Here are some places that offer free or lower-cost legal services:

Pro Bono Law Saskatchewan provides free legal services to low-income Saskatchewan residents through 13 clinics across the province. Clients receive up to one hour of free legal advice from a volunteer lawyer. In some situations, lawyers from this service will represent clients through the whole legal process.
Justice Net is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
211 Saskatchewan is a free and confidential 24/7 phone and text service that connects individuals to services in the province. You can call or text 2-1-1 to be connected with trained professionals to help find support services.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

Important

The Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board is an independent Saskatchewan government agency. It gives benefits and supports to people who’ve been injured at work. These can include replacement of lost wages, health care (including rehabilitation, counselling, and medications), and, in certain circumstances, retraining.

Facts about the Workers’ Compensation Board

The WCB functions like an insurance provider. Employers pay premiums to the WCB for the people who work for them. As a result, those people are entitled to benefits if they suffer a workplace injury.
Close to 75% of Saskatchewan workers are covered by the WCB.
Every year, about 25,000 WCB claims are filed by workers in Saskatchewan.
About 1% of accepted claims are for psychological injury.
Sources: Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board Annual Report 2023,Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board, Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, CTV News, CBC News

If you’ve been harmed by sexual harassment at work, you might think the WCB will help you.

Maybe after you were harassed, you took time off work and so lost income.
Maybe the harassment damaged your mental health, and you ended up needing to spend money on medication for anxiety or depression.
Maybe the harassment had such an effect on you that you had to leave an industry and ended up needing to retrain for a new type of work in a different field.

Those are the kinds of expenses—replacement of lost wages, medication costs, retraining costs—that the WCB often covers.

But if the injury is to your mental health, the WCB only offers benefits and supports when you have suffered “psychological injury,” which is very narrowly defined. Realistically, it’s extremely unlikely that if you apply for mental stress benefits, you’ll be successful. The WCB states that “workload or work-related interpersonal incidents may be considered [for coverage], but must show highly aggressive, threatening or discriminatory behaviour over an extended period of time.”

In the meantime, your options could include making a complaint to the Human Rights Commission or taking legal action.

Important

The Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission and what it does

The Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission is the agency where you can file a formal complaint saying you’ve been sexually harassed. One law that protects you from discrimination is the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Act. Sexual harassment under the act is a type of discrimination based on sex. If your complaint falls within the commission’s jurisdiction, it will accept it for processing.

When you think about filing a complaint, you might imagine a process that ends in an adjudicator definitively ruling that what happened to you was either right or wrong. But in reality, that almost never happens. The majority of cases are dismissed or settled through mediation, not by an adjudicator.

Facts about the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission

Between five and 15 people a year file a complaint with the commission saying that they have been discriminated against or harassed on the basis of sex.
The majority of complaints to the commission never get decided by adjudication. They are instead settled in mediation, abandoned, withdrawn, or dismissed. The Human Rights Commission panel of adjudicators rules on about five complaints of all types per year.
When the panel of adjudicators decides that someone was discriminated against or harassed, it sometimes gives them an award of money as compensation for financial losses that they suffered, and the hurt and loss of dignity that they experienced. There is technically no limit to the amount of money the commission can award, but it generally awards between $2,000 and $5,000 for emotional harm in cases of sexual harassment.
Sources: Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission annual reports, CanLII

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

If you decide to file a complaint with the commission, here are a few things you may get out of the process:

It could be a chance to tell the harasser what they did is not okay.
You might get back money you lost because of the harassment—maybe you didn’t get a special project or a promotion, or were fired.
You might get a reference for a new job.
You could request that your workplace make changes that would affect everyone there, not just you, like improving employee policies and training around sexual harassment.
It is possible you might get some money to recognize the emotional harm you suffered from the harassment.

How to make a complaint to the commission

First, review Filing a Complaint on the commission’s website. If your complaint seems to be the type the commission can respond to, then complete the form and submit it online. Your complaint will be reviewed, and the intake officer may contact you, likely online, to ask follow-up questions about the events and the effect the harassment had on you.

Will the commission accept your complaint?

You have one year from when the harassment happened to file your complaint with the commission. If the harassment happened more than once, the deadline is one year from the last incident of harassment.
You can file a complaint with the commission if you work in Newfoundland and Labrador or if the harassment happened in Newfoundland and Labrador, but not if you work at a federally regulated workplace. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters.)
You’re covered if you’re temporary or permanent, an independent contractor, or undocumented.
If your complaint doesn’t fall under the Human Rights Act, a human rights officer may refer you to another agency for help.

How mediation works

Once you have filed your complaint, the intake officer might attempt early, or pre-complaint, resolution. The respondent—the person your complaint is about—is not served with your complaint form and instead the human rights officer tries to resolve the case quickly through a phone call or a meeting. This is more likely to be proposed if you must have an ongoing relationship with the respondent.

If early resolution isn’t appropriate or is unsuccessful, your complaint will be served on the respondent, and the mediation process will begin. The human rights officer is an expert in dispute resolution and human rights law who listen to you and the respondent and work with both of you to come to a settlement. The purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Human Rights Act.

You and the respondent must sign an Agreement to Participate, which outlines the rules of mediation—like agreeing to be respectful and listen to the other person. The mediation can happen in person, by email, by phone or electronically, individually or together. The mediator is not supposed to pick a side, and they aren’t supposed to favour either you or the respondent.

Sometimes, though, the two parties can ask the mediator what they might do if they were deciding the case.

For more information

The commission’s website includes a detailed page about the mediation process.

Pros and cons of mediation

The mediation process is free.
Many people participate in mediation without a lawyer.
You are the one to decide what you will accept from the respondent to make up for the harm they caused.
More creativity is possible in mediation. For example, you can’t ask for an apology in a hearing.
Everything you say is considered confidential, or “without prejudice”—it can’t be used against you later.
There is no risk in participating in mediation. If it fails, your complaint may still be referred to investigation or to a hearing, though the executive director can instead decide to dismiss it.

Mediation doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You can’t share details of any settlement you reach—the outcome is confidential.
You will likely not get everything you ask for—you have to be ready to compromise.
If your complaint is settled through early resolution, financial compensation isn’t a possibility.

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

The harm to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
Lost wages.
The cost of counselling sessions you’ve needed and/or money to cover future counselling.

Besides money:

An apology.
A reference for a new job.
A change at the workplace, like moving the harasser or including a sexual harassment section in the policies handbook.
Your employer having to take a course about preventing and dealing with sexual harassment.

What are you likely to get?

Details of settlements reached through conciliation are private. However, we know that in a number of cases the agreement doesn’t involve money at all; instead, the respondents are ordered to do things like take human rights training or create a human rights policy that all managers have to be trained about. There is a cap of $5,000 on monetary awards for emotional harm when sexual harassment cases are decided at a hearing.

If mediation isn’t successful

When mediation fails, your case may be referred to investigation or to a hearing, but it’s possible to reach a settlement at every stage. If a hearing is scheduled, before it happens a commission-directed mediation process takes place; the mediator will be more actively involved, indicating the possible outcome of a hearing. However, sexual harassment complaints very seldom reach the hearing stage.

Where to get help with the process

Navigating the complaint process can be complicated and stressful. Here are some ways that you might get free or lower-cost advice:

You can call the commission. Its role is to help people file their complaint and protect human rights. The commission staff are trained to help you with the process.
Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador is a non-profit organization that offers legal information and support to people who experience sexual harassment. Its services include a lawyer referral service and a legal information line.
211 Newfoundland and Labrador is a free and confidential 24/7 phone and text service that connects individuals to services in the province. You can call or text 2-1-1 to be connected with trained professionals to help find support services.
JusticeNet is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

Important

WorkplaceNL is an independent Newfoundland and Labrador governmental agency. It gives benefits and supports to people who’ve been injured at work. These can include replacement of lost wages, health care (including rehabilitation, counselling, and medications), and, in extreme situations, retraining.

Facts about WorkplaceNL

WorkplaceNL functions like an insurance provider. Employers pay premiums to WorkplaceNL for the people who work for them. As a result, those people are entitled to benefits if they suffer a workplace injury.
More than 95% of Newfoundland and Labrador workers are covered by WorkplaceNL.
Every year, about 4,300 WorkplaceNL claims are filed. Most claims are for physical injuries.
WorkplaceNL accepts more than 90% of claims.
Sources: Workplace NL, Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, , WorkplaceNL Annual Performance Report 2023, WHSCRD Annual Performance Report 2022-23

If you’ve been harmed by sexual harassment at work, you might think WorkplaceNL will help you.

Maybe after you were harassed, you took time off work and so lost income.
Maybe the harassment damaged your mental health, and you ended up needing to spend money on medication for anxiety or depression.
Maybe the harassment had such an effect on you that you had to leave an industry and ended up needing to retrain for a new type of work in a different field.

Those are the kinds of expenses—replacement of lost wages, medication costs, retraining costs—that WorkplaceNL often covers.

However, historically, WorkplaceNL has mostly handled claims related to physical injuries suffered by workers in male-dominated fields like construction, manufacturing, and uniform occupations like policing and firefighting. If you slip at work and break your ankle, or are struck by a falling object, or are injured in a fire or explosion: that is the kind of situation WorkplaceNL was designed for and has a lot of experience handling.

But if the injury is to your mental health, WorkplaceNL coverage currently “does not include stress other than stress that is a reaction to a traumatic event or events.” The agency has been considering expanding its policy to include chronic stress from workplace violence and harassment, but as of early 2025, this had not happened. So realistically, unless or until this change occurs, there is little chance of a claim for harm due to sexual harassment would be successful.

Check the WorkplaceNL website regularly to see if the policy has changed.

In the meantime, your options could include making a complaint to the Human Rights Commission or taking legal action.

Important

The PEI Human Rights Commission and what it does

If you’ve been sexually harassed, you may be able to file a formal complaint with the PEI Human Rights Commission. One law that protects you from discrimination is the PEI Human Rights Act. Sexual harassment under the act can constitute discrimination based on sex. The commission will review your complaint and assess whether it should be accepted. If it is, commission staff encourage parties to reach a settlement through dispute resolution; if that’s not successful, they may investigate the issues. The commission staff may recommend a complaint for a hearing; when that happens, the case will then go to the PEI Human Rights Commission Panel.

When you think about filing a complaint, you might imagine a process that ends in a definitive ruling that what happened to you was either right or wrong. But in reality, that almost never happens. Complaints are much more likely to closed at the commission level than referred to the human rights panel for a decision

We’re not saying don’t make a complaint to the commission, but it’s very unlikely the outcome will be a public acknowledgement of the fact that you were harassed. If you think you would be satisfied with a private settlement, which could involve such things as money to compensate you for the harm you experienced, an apology, or a job reference, then participating in mediation process could be right for you.

Facts about the PEI Human Rights Commission

In 2023-24, 7% of complaints filed with the commission were by people saying that they have been sexually harassed.
The majority of complaints to the commission never get decided by the commission’s Human Rights Panel. In 2023-24, one complaint involving sexual harassment was referred to the panel.
About 25% to 30% of complaints are resolved through some type of settlement, including mediation.
Between 2013 and 2023, the panel only ruled on one complaint involving sexual harassment; it found in favour of the person who filed the complaint.
Sources: PEI Human Rights Commission, PEI Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2022-23.

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

If you decide to file a complaint with the commission, here are a few things you may get out of the process:

You might get back money you lost because of the harassment—maybe you didn’t get a special project or a promotion, or were fired.
You might get a reference for a new job.
You could request that your workplace make changes that would affect everyone there, not just you, like improving employee policies and training around sexual harassment.
It is possible you might get some money to recognize the emotional harm you suffered from the harassment.

How to make a complaint to the commission

To start the process of filing a complaint, first check the Am I in the Right Place page of the commission’s website to see if your complaint is covered by the PEI Human Rights Act or call the commission (902-368-4180)—staff can explain what the law is and how it might apply to your situation. If it seems that you have been discriminated against, then complete the complaint form, which is included in the Complaint Form and Guide document on the commission’s website. Once you’ve filed a complaint, a commission staff member might contact you for more information or to clarify what you’ve said on the form.

You can file an application against anybody who is sexually harassing you at work—your employer, a co-worker, a supervisor, a customer, or a contractor. In your application, you can also name the company or organization you were or are working for. Even if your employer is not the one who’s harassing you, they have to protect you from sexual harassment and a harassing environment. See How to report sexual harassment to your employer.

Will the commission accept your complaint?

You have one year from when the harassment happened to file your complaint with the commission. If the harassment happened more than once, the deadline is one year from the last incident of harassment.
You can file a complaint with the commission if you work in PEI or if the harassment happened in PEI, but not if you work at a federally regulated workplace. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters.)
You’re covered if you’re unionized or non-unionized, temporary or permanent, an independent contractor, or undocumented.
In 2023-24 about 30% of cases were dismissed by the commission without a finding of discrimination for reasons such as they’re not being in the commission’s jurisdiction or the deadline for filing had passed.

How mediation works

If both you and the respondent—the person your complaint is about—agree, you can take part in mediation to try to settle your complaint. This process might involve the mediator working with you and the respondent individually to assist you both to work toward a settlement by phone, email or in person. The mediator can also use a more formal, structured process. It is a way of encouraging the parties to settle their dispute without a formal investigation taking place, which could result in your complaint being dismissed.

Early settlement is encouraged but mediation can happen at any time before there’s a decision by the Human Rights Panel after a hearing.

For more information

To learn more about what will happen during mediation, read the commission’s description of mediation and settlement.

Pros and cons of mediation

The mediation process is free.
You don’t need a lawyer to participate.
You are the one to decide what you will accept from the respondent to make up for the harm they caused.
Everything you say is considered confidential, or “without prejudice”—it can’t be used against you later.
There is no risk in participating in mediation. If it fails, your complaint could go on to the investigation stage.

Mediation doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You will likely not get everything you ask for—you have to be ready to compromise.
Your complaint can be dismissed if you refuse what commission staff believe is a fair and reasonable settlement offer.

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

The harm to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
Lost wages.
The cost of counselling sessions you’ve needed and/or money to cover future counselling.

Besides money:

An apology.
A reference letter.
A change at the workplace, like including a sexual harassment section in the policies handbook
Your employer having to participate in an education session about preventing and dealing with sexual harassment.

What are you likely to get?

Details of mediated settlements are private. However, we know that in a number of cases agreements don’t involve money at all; instead, the respondents are ordered to do things like take human rights training or create a human rights policy that all managers would have to be trained about. Where there is a financial settlement for emotional harm, it is usually quite modest: an award above $10,000 is uncommon.

If early mediation isn’t successful

If you and the respondent aren’t able to reach a settlement, the respondent may ask the executive director to rule on whether the settlement offer they’ve made is fair and reasonable. When the executive director says it is, cases are closed. Otherwise, the file moves to the investigation stage. This involves your and the respondent’s documents being considered; witnesses could also be questioned. After investigation, a complaint might be referred to the panel, although this hardly ever happens with sexual harassment cases.

Where to get help with the process

Navigating the complaint process can be complicated and stressful. Here are some ways that you might get free or lower-cost advice:

You can contact the commission. Staff are trained to help you with the process.
RISE provides up to four hours of free legal advice and support to eligible people who have experienced sexual violence, intimate partner violence or workplace sexual harassment.
211 PEI is a free and confidential 24/7 phone and text service that connects individuals to services in the province. You can call or text 2-1-1 to be connected with trained professionals to help find support services.
JusticeNet is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

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The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse and what it does

Facts about the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

How to make a complaint to the commission

Will the commission accept your application?

How mediation works

For more information

Pros and cons of mediation

Pros

Cons

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

Besides money:

What are you likely to get?

Beyond mediation

For more information

Legal help

Facts about the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission

Pros and cons of going to the WSCC

Pros

Cons

Psychiatric and psychological disorders claims

How to make a WSCC application

For more information

Legal help

The Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal and what it does

Facts about the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal

Why consider filing a complaint with the tribunal

How to make a complaint to the tribunal

Will the tribunal accept your complaint?

How mediation works

For more information

Pros and cons of mediation

Pros

Cons

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

Besides money:

What are you likely to get?

Where to get help with the process

Facts about the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission

Pros and cons of going to the WSCC

Pros

Cons

Psychiatric and psychological disorders claims

How to make a WSCC application

For more information

Legal help

The Alberta Human Rights Commission and what it does

Facts about the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunal

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

How to make a complaint to the commission

Will the commission accept your complaint?

How conciliation works

For more information

Pros and cons of conciliation

Pros

Cons

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

Besides money:

What are you likely to get?

Beyond mediation

Pros and cons of your case being decided at a hearing

Pros

Cons

If your case goes ahead

Facts about the Workers’ Compensation Board

Pros and cons of going to the WCB

Pros

Cons

Psychological injury claims

How to make a WCB application

For more information

Legal help

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission and what it does

Facts about the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

How to make a complaint to the commission