Guide Articles Archive

If you’ve decided to report sexual harassment to your employer, this guide is for you. Here’s everything you need to know.

We’ll start with some background.

What is the OHSA, who does it protect, and what does it require from employers?

Tip

OHSA is usually pronounced oh-shah, even though it’s not spelled that way. It rhymes with Scotia.

In Ontario, there are two laws that offer you protection from sexual harassment at work.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) is all about safety in workplaces. It’s the law in Ontario that protects workers from all sorts of hazards at work, including violence and harassment. Under the OHSA, your employer is required to have a policy saying how it prevents, deals with, and investigates sexual harassment and workplace violence.

The Ontario Human Rights Code says that sexual harassment is against the law. It protects people from discrimination and harassment based on specific grounds, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Under the code, your employer is required to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace.

The OHSA and the Human Rights Code work together to protect you from sexual harassment.

Your employer has responsibilities under both these laws.

Does the OHSA apply in your situation?

The OHSA relates to the actions and behaviour of people in your workplace, including your boss, co-workers, contractors, customers, and clients.

The OHSA covers most workers. That includes:

employees
anyone who gets paid for providing services (including independent contractors)
people who aren’t paid but are part of a work placement program (like a co-op job, job shadowing, a research project, fieldwork, or an internship)

Who in Ontario is not covered by the OHSA?

The OHSA doesn’t apply to federally regulated workplaces such as post offices, banks, radio and TV operations, and airlines and airports. People in those industries are protected by the Canada Labour Code.
The OHSA doesn’t apply to volunteers. (But that doesn’t mean volunteers can’t report sexual harassment; they absolutely can. It just means the employer may not be obligated to carry out a full investigation.)

If you aren’t sure if the OHSA applies to you, you can ask the Office of the Worker Adviser or the Health and Safety Contact Centre (1-877-202-0008) of the Ministry of Labour.

Does the OHSA cover sexual harassment related to your work that’s happening outside the workplace?

Yes! Employers are responsible for protecting you against workplace sexual harassment even if it happens outside of the workplace, if it is related to your work.

If you’re sexually harassed at a work event, while you’re working at home or online, while you’re travelling for your job, or, in some circumstances, even if a co-worker harasses you in a social setting outside of work hours, your employer is responsible for taking steps to ensure your safety.

What does the OHSA require from an employer?

The OHSA requires employers to make it clear that sexual harassment will not be tolerated and to have a plan for responding to reports. If someone makes a complaint, the OHSA requires employers to conduct an investigation and take steps to make the workplace safe.

The OHSA also requires the employer to have sexual harassment policies and programs.

The workplace policy says how your employer will prevent or reduce the risk of workplace harassment and violence. It also says how complaints can be made and how the employer will investigate complaints. The program is the more detailed plan of how the policy is put into practice. It says how to report workplace harassment and violence and describes the process for responding to complaints.

Workplaces with six or more employees must put the policies in writing and give copies to everyone at the workplace. Smaller workplaces still must have a policy and provide training to employees.

If there is no workplace program/policy at your workplace, or if your employer isn’t following it, you can report that to the Ministry of Labour Health and Safety Contact Centre (1-877-202-0008).

See a sample of a workplace harassment policy and a program.

Okay. Now you know the basics.

Now we’ll tell you how to actually report.

Getting ready to report

The first thing you should do is try to get a copy of your workplace sexual harassment policy. It will tell you how you’re supposed to report, how quickly you should do that, and what’s supposed to happen once you do.

It may tell you to try talking directly with the harasser first.
It may name people or positions you’re supposed to report to.
It may give a deadline for how quickly you need to report.

Don’t worry too much about following the exact procedures. As long as you go to a person in a position of authority and tell them you are formally reporting sexual harassment, that should be enough to get things started.

It’s pretty common for employers to handle reports badly. You might report to someone, and they might think you’re just venting or asking for advice. So it’s important to say as clearly as possible that you are making a formal report of sexual harassment. It’s also pretty common for people to not know what they’re supposed to do next. So if nothing seems to happen after you report, you might want to follow up to make sure someone is taking action.

Important

Some people think that HR is supposed to be on their side. That’s not really true. A good HR person will want the workplace to be safe and will know they have a responsibility to act on your complaint. But their responsibility is really to your employer, not to you. They should help you, but they are not your friend or advocate.

You may feel like you are causing a problem for your employer by reporting. But that’s not really what’s happening. When you report sexual harassment, you’re bringing a problem to your employer’s attention. You didn’t create it; you’re just reporting it.

It might help to think about it the same way you’d think about reporting a gas leak or a piece of broken equipment. It’s a safety issue.

Where to get help and advice

If you belong to a union, there will be a collective agreement that outlines the contract between the union and employer. You can think of your union as an advocate for safe and healthy workplaces. Its job includes protecting members from things like abuse, harassment, and discrimination. If your employer is not following the collective agreement, your union can make a complaint, called a grievance. See Working with your union.

If you’re non-unionized and you believe your employer has punished you for complaining about harassment or has threatened to do that, the Office of the Worker Adviser can help. This Ontario-government-funded body serves non-unionized workers whose employers have contravened the OSHA.

How to report

Once you’ve picked to whom you’re going to report, make an appointment with them. Try not to just drop by: it’s better if you have their full attention. If you don’t know what to say when you make the appointment, you can just tell them you want to talk about a workplace problem.

You should report verbally and, ideally, face-to-face, not just in writing. Bring something you’ve written and leave it with them. This can be a good idea if you’re worried there are things you may forget to say, or if you think they may mishear or misunderstand you. Keep a written record of what you report, when you report, and to whom you report. A written complaint can also be used as evidence if there is ever a dispute over whether you did actually report the harassment and when.

What happens after you report

After you report, your employer should assign someone to investigate.

The investigator can be someone from within the workplace or outside it.
They are supposed to be objective. Not on your side or the harasser’s side.
They are supposed to follow the employer’s workplace harassment policy.
They are supposed to understand the OHSA.

The investigation is supposed to start quickly and finish in 90 days or less. Some investigations may only take a day, while others may take months.

If the investigation costs any money (like, for a translator if you need one), your employer is supposed to pay for it. You should not have to pay any costs related to the investigation.

The investigator’s job is to decide whether what happened to you qualifies as sexual harassment under the OHSA definition. To do that, they will talk with you, the person who harassed you, and anybody who witnessed it.

Important

To do their work, the investigator needs to ask the harasser about what they did. That means the harasser will know you reported them.

The investigator should keep you informed about the timing and progress of their investigation, but they usually won’t tell you details. You won’t be allowed to be there when other people are interviewed, you won’t be able to see notes or transcripts from the interviews, and you’re not entitled to see the full investigation report.

How to prepare to be interviewed

The investigator should invite you to a meeting, where they will ask you to tell your story. They will ask for details (what happened, where, when, etc.), whether there were witnesses, and if you have any documents or other evidence. They may also ask how the harasser has behaved to you since then.

There may be other people there. If your workplace has a Joint Health and Safety Committee, its worker representative will be there. If there is a health and safety rep, they will be there. There may be someone there solely to take notes.

Tip

People at the meeting may behave formally and seriously, even if they know you from outside the investigation. You may feel like that means they are mad at you or don’t believe you. But that’s not necessarily the case. They may just be trying to be respectful.

It’s rare for an investigator to be challenging or aggressive. Normally they are just trying to gather information and make sure they understand what you’re saying. It’s normal for them to ask you a lot of questions and write down everything you say.

Here are steps you can take to prepare for the meeting:

If there’s anything about the meeting that doesn’t work for you—for example, its location or timing—you can ask for an alternative. You can also ask to bring a support person with you. If you require accommodations at the meeting—for example, a translator—you should ask for them.
If you haven’t already, you should write down all the important events in the order they happened. Try to include as much detail as possible, including dates, times, names of people who were present, what was said or done, and where it happened. See Document everything. Bring a copy of this document with you to the meeting.
Collect copies or printouts of any documents related to the harassment. This might include printouts of emails, screenshots of text messages, your phone call log, or anything else you think is relevant.

How to handle yourself during the interview

Remember that you haven’t done anything wrong, and you are not on trial.
You can take your time when answering questions. If you’re not sure you understand a question, ask for it to be repeated or rephrased.
It is always okay for you to ask for a short break.
It is okay for you to take notes.
It’s totally fine for you to ask about the investigator’s process and timeline.
It’s totally fine for you to tell the investigator about any concerns you have.
It’s a good idea to tell the investigator if you’re worried about confidentiality, especially if you’re afraid the harasser will get other people to gang up on you for reporting them.

Things that can go wrong and how to handle them

What if my employer ignores my report?

This is really common. Roughly 50% of sexual harassment reports get ignored. If that happens to you, you can:

Call the Ministry of Labour Health and Safety Contact Centre (1-877-202-0008). If they agree that your situation is covered by OHSA, they may order your employer to investigate.
Contact your union if you have one.
Contact your workplace health and safety rep.

What if the investigator seems biased?

The investigator is supposed to be fair and unbiased. But they aren’t always. If you’re concerned that the investigator is biased, you can contact the Ministry of Labour. If they agree, they have the power to order a new investigation.

What if the investigation is taking a really long time or I’m not getting any updates?

If that happens, you can contact the Ministry of Labour, and they can order your employer to conduct a new or better investigation. Or you can contact your union or workplace health and safety rep.

What if people at work are gossiping about me and the investigation?

This isn’t supposed to happen. Investigators are only allowed to share information about the investigation if it will help them do their work, protect other workers, or if the law says it must be shared. (For example, if criminal charges have been laid, the investigator might have to share information with the police.)

The investigator is supposed to instruct anyone involved with the investigation to not talk about it. But it’s actually very common for people to gossip about the investigation. And sometimes it can be really bad. Sometimes, other people decide to support the harasser, and start treating you badly.

If that happens, you should tell your employer. They are supposed to protect you against any harassment that might happen as a result of your report. Or you can report it to the Ministry of Labour.

What if I get punished for reporting?

Getting punished for reporting is extremely common. About a third of people who report say that in the end they got punished. So, yeah, if you think it’s happening to you, it probably is. We’re really sorry.

What can happen is people end up sympathizing with the harasser and blaming you for reporting them. They decide you’re a troublemaker or a problem or a drama queen. That makes them like you less, and so they start treating you badly. They might schedule you for fewer shifts, stop helping you with your work, or decide to not recommend you for a promotion or raise or other opportunity.

These are called reprisals, and they’re so common and so awful, we wrote an entire guide about them. See Getting punished for complaining and how to protect yourself. Please read it. We want you to be able to protect yourself.

What happens once the investigation is over?

The investigation report tells the employer if sexual harassment occurred and recommends actions to ensure workplace safety. If the harasser is an employee, the investigator may suggest firing, transferring, suspending, or reprimanding them. They may also recommend workplace changes, such as shift adjustments, policy updates, or education.

Your employer must provide a written summary of the investigation results to both you and the harasser, usually within 10 days. This summary is not the full report and may only state whether your allegations were substantiated.

Employers aren’t required to follow the investigator’s recommendations or consult you on their decisions. If they punish the harasser, they may not inform you.

Your employer may address the issue differently, such as changing your work situation with your consent, offering dispute resolution, or negotiating compensation. Settlement agreements often include non-disclosure clauses.

What to do if you’re not happy with the outcome

If your employer chooses to do nothing about the harassment, they aren’t meeting their responsibilities under the OHSA and the Human Rights Act. Here are some things you might do. First, though, consider consulting a lawyer or contacting the Human Rights Legal Support Centre.

The Ministry of Labour can fine your employer or order them to take steps to comply with the OHSA. It will not give you any type of financial award or take over the sexual harassment investigation.
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario hears cases where there’s been a violation of the Human Rights Code. The tribunal can award damages. See How to decide whether to file a human rights complaint.
You may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against your employer. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do). You must start a civil suit within two years of the harassment.
Your union, if you have one, might decide to bring a grievance against your employer for the way they failed to handle your report. See Working with your union.
If your work environment has gotten worse, it may seem poisoned, creating intolerable employment conditions. You may be able to claim constructive dismissal. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do). You can either file a complaint of constructive dismissal with the Ministry of Labour or in a civil lawsuit.

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 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.

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 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 Canadian Human Rights Commission and Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and what they do

The Canadian Human Rights Commission deals with discrimination cases. One law that protects you from discrimination is the Canadian Human Rights Act. If you are a federally regulated worker, you can file a formal complaint with the commission saying you’ve been sexually harassed. Sexual harassment under the act is discrimination based on sex.

Your first step is to figure out if the Canadian Human Rights Commission is the right place to start, or if you should go to the human rights body where you live. The commission only deals with cases that happen in federally regulated workplaces. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters). All other workplaces are handled by the commission or tribunal in your province or territory. Some people think that they can choose between the two or that the provincial commission can be appealed to the federal one—that is not how it works.

The commission helps people to mediate cases or it looks into the case and recommends it to Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for a hearing. If your case goes to the tribunal, the hearing will be less formal than in a court.

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. In 2022-23, roughly 100 complaints were accepted by the commission; however, there was only one complaint of sexual harassment decided by a board of inquiry. The same year, a dozen cases were settled through the dispute resolution process.

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 a dispute resolution process could be right for you.

Facts about the Canadian Human Rights Commission

In 2023, the commission accepted about 650 complaints from people who said they had been discriminated against or harassed at work or while getting services from a federally regulated company or a government body.
Twenty percent of complaints to the commission are based on discrimination on the basis of sex.
Of all complaints dealt with by the commission in 2023, 26% were settled in mediation, 16% were dismissed, and 15% were referred to the tribunal for a hearing. The remainder were not moved forward for reasons like being filed too late or having to be dealt with through a union grievance.
About 10% of the 59 cases the tribunal ruled on or decided in 2023 involved sexual harassment.
Sources: Canadian Human Rights Commission 2023 Annual Report, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 2023 Annual Report.

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 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, such as improving their employee policies and training around sexual harassment.
It is possible to get some money to recognize the emotional harm you

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 you’re a federally regulated worker and so covered by the Canadian Human Rights Act. You can also learn whether your complaint can be considered by the commission. If it is, complete the online complaint form. You should receive an email confirming the receipt of your complaint within three business days.

Will the commission accept your complaint?

You must be a federally regulated worker to make a complaint to the commission. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters.)
You have one year from when the harassment happened to file your application. If the harassment happened more than once, the deadline is one year from the last incident of harassment.
Receiving a confirmation email after you submit your complaint form does not necessarily mean it has been accepted. You should receive another email within several weeks that will tell you what will happen next; this could say that the harassment you faced doesn’t relate to a ground of discrimination under the act. In that case, your application will not proceed.
The commission might decide that your complaint would be better dealt with through another process, like filing a grievance with your union.

How mediation works

While both you and the respondent—the person your complaint is about—will be encouraged to participate in mediation, no one can be forced to do this. It involves you and the respondent finding a solution to your complaint—something you both agree to.

The commission will assign you a mediator. How quickly you reach the mediation stage depends on things like how severe the discrimination was and how long it went on.

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. Their goal is to try to reach a solution that both parties can approve. The purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Human Rights Act.

Early on, information will likely be exchanged by email or phone. Formal mediation meetings are almost always done remotely by videoconference; most sessions are scheduled for half a day.

You and the respondent have four months to complete the mediation process. At the end, if you have reached an agreement, you will both sign a settlement agreement. This must be approved by the commission.

For more information

See step four on the commission’s About the Process page for the section on mediation.

Pros and cons of mediation

The mediation process is free.
You don’t need a lawyer to participate in mediation.
You are the one to decide what you will accept from the respondent to make up for the harm they caused.
Reaching a settlement through mediation is faster than a hearing, which could take years to happen.
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.

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 mediated settlements are private. We do know that in a number of cases the 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 have to be trained about. When money is involved, the types of monetary awards when sexual harassment cases are decided by the tribunal are a guide. In 2023 there were three tribunal decisions that involved sexual harassment; the awards for pain and suffering were between $9,000 and $12,000; there is a cap of $20,000 for such awards.

Beyond mediation

If you and the respondent don’t participate in mediation or the process isn’t successful, a human rights officer reviews and assesses your complaint. This involves carefully considering all the related documents as well as requesting more information and interviewing witnesses, if necessary. At the end of this process, they write a report that recommends what happens next. This can take six months.

You and the respondent then write your responses to the report. The report and your responses are considered by the commission, which decides what will happen to your complaint. This can involve it being dismissed, sent to conciliation, or referred to the tribunal for a hearing. This occurs about 15% of the time. For more information, see steps five and six on the commission’s About the Process page.

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 or compensate you for lost wages.
If you go to civil court instead of the tribunal, you might end up having to pay the other party’s legal costs if you lose your case. With the tribunal process that can’t happen. You will never end up needing to pay the other party’s legal costs.

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, as about half the people whose cases are referred to the tribunal don’t, 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 for pain and suffering due to sexual harassment are capped at $20,000 and most awards are lower. The amount of an award is affected by how severe the harassment was and how long it went on. And remember, in many tribunal 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 their future.

If your case goes ahead

The tribunal’s website includes a guide that covers all the steps involved when a complaint reaches that level.

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 ways for find legal help, including some free or low-cost services:

The commission staff provide free help and support to people throughout the process. The level of help the commission staff will be able to give you is decided on a case-by-case basis.
The 211 service in your province or territory can lead you to programs that offer support to people making a legal claim. 211 is a free and confidential 24/7 phone and text service that connects you with trained professionals who can help you find support resources, including legal help. Search online for 211 plus the name of your jurisdiction—for example, 211NB.
Read the “best ways to find a lawyer” section of How to find and work with a lawyer. Note that legal aid is only available to low-income individuals.
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.

Important

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.

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 British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and what it does

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal is an administrative tribunal that deals with discrimination cases where you can file a formal complaint saying you’ve been sexually harassed. One law that protects you from discrimination is the British Columbia Human Rights Code. Sexual harassment under the code is discrimination based on sex. If your application falls within the commission’s jurisdiction, it will accept it.

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. Only 1% of complaints are resolved after a hearing. 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 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 mediated could be right for you.

Facts about the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal

Every year about 2,500 people file a complaint with the tribunal. Close to half of the complaints are dismissed at the screening stage.
About 15% of people who file complaints at the tribunal say they have been discriminated against or harassed on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity or expression.
After a complaint is filed with the tribunal, it takes a year or more for it to be screened. It can take the tribunal several more months to decide whether the complaint should be dismissed or make other preliminary decisions. If both parties agree to participate in mediation, it typically takes four months or more to schedule the mediation.
Of complaints that are mediated, more than 60% are resolved.
In 2023-24, the tribunal made six decisions on complaints of sex-based discrimination. Five of those complaints were successful.
Sources: British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal Annual Report 2023-24, BC Human Rights Tribunal, BC Human Rights Clinic

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 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, 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 tribunal

To file a complaint for yourself you must complete Form 1.1. The tribunal’s website contains answers to frequently asked questions about the process. You’ll also find a video on the BC Human Rights Clinic’s website that offers detailed information about how to file a complaint

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 tribunal accept your application?

You have one year from when the harassment happened to file your application with the tribunal.
You can file a complaint with the tribunal if you work in BC or if the harassment happened in BC, 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.
Even if the harassment happened outside BC, the tribunal may take your case if you work for a BC-regulated employer and you’re based in BC—for example, if the harassment happened while you were on a business trip outside of the province.
You will be notified within 60 days whether the tribunal will accept your complaint.
After you submit your complaint, the tribunal might decide that the harassment you faced doesn’t relate to a ground of discrimination under the code. In that case, your application will not proceed.

How mediation works

While both you and the respondent—the person your complaint is about—will be encouraged to participate in mediation, no one can be forced to do this. If you agree to the process, the tribunal will assign you a mediator. 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. Their goal is to try to reach a solution that both parties can approve so your case doesn’t have to go to a hearing. The purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Human Rights Act.

The mediator will not tell you what to do but they can explain the strengths and weaknesses of your case and what the tribunal might decide if your case goes to a hearing. However, if both you and the respondent agree, you can allow the mediator to decide your case.

Mediation may occur in person or by telephone; if you live outside Victoria or Vancouver, it’s likely your meeting will be by phone.

For more information

The tribunal’s website includes a page with answers to frequently asked questions about the mediation process and another about preparing for mediation. On the BC Human Rights Clinic’s site you’ll find a fact sheet on mediation.

Pros and cons of mediation

The mediation process is free.
Many people participate in mediation without a lawyer, although it’s quite likely the respondent will have one.
Mediation can be less stressful and simpler than a hearing. It doesn’t involve gathering evidence, 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.
Reaching a settlement through mediation is faster than a hearing, which could take years to happen.
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, the complaint process continues.

Mediation doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You may not be able share details of any mediated settlement you reach—the outcome is often 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.

What are you likely to get?

Details of mediated settlements are private. We do know that in a number of cases the 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 have to be trained about. When money is involved, the types of monetary awards when sexual harassment cases are decided at hearings are a guide. A chart on the BC Human Rights Clinic site lists the result of hearings that involved workplace sexual harassment. In addition to compensation for lost wages, recent financial awards for injury to dignity ranged from $15,000 to $100,000. However, there aren’t very many big awards, and they happen when the harassment was particularly bad and went on for a long time.

Beyond mediation

If mediation is not successful then there are a number of steps that you must take in order to move toward a hearing. The first thing you must do is disclose all the documents you have that relate to your case—see Document everything. After this stage, the tribunal has the power to dismiss your complaint, although this uncommon.

The BC Human Rights Clinic site contains detailed information about what to expect next if mediation fails.

The tribunal may schedule a case conference where all parties discuss the hearing and try to simplify what comes next. It can be scheduled anytime leading up to the hearing. The case conference includes you (if you’re self- or partially self-representing), the respondents, any lawyers involved, and a case manager or registrar from the BCHRT. Most case conferences are run by case managers. Case conferences usually happen by phone.

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 or compensate you for lost wages.
If you go to civil court instead of the tribunal, you might end up having to pay the other party’s legal costs if you lose your case. With the tribunal process that can’t happen. You will never end up needing to pay the other party’s legal costs.

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, generally well under $30,000. 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.
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

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:

The BC Human Rights Clinic provides free legal advice on human rights cases in some situations. If you have a complaint that has been accepted by the tribunal and need legal help, apply within 30 days of receiving notification. The clinic might be able to help you at the mediation or the hearing, depending on your circumstances. What the clinic will be able to give you is decided on a case-by-case basis. The clinic also has an inquiry line that you can call for general information about the Human Rights Code and the tribunal process, and a comprehensive listing of other sources of legal help.
Stand Informed provides up to three hours of free legal advice to people who have been sexually assaulted.
You can contact Access Pro Bono for up to 30 minutes of free legal advice if you have a low to modest income. The lawyers can provide advice on how to navigate the tribunal process. Access Pro Bono also offers a lawyer referral service.
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 of more people in your family and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
211 British Columbia 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 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Adjudication Panel and what they do

If you’ve been sexually harassed, you may be able file a formal complaint with the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission. One law that protects you from discrimination is the NWT’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. Commission staff encourage parties to reach a settlement through dispute resolution; if that’s not successful, they may investigate the issues. If the commission staff recommends a complaint for a hearing, the case will then go to the Human Rights Adjudication Panel (HRAP).

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 last time the HRAP ruled on a case involving sexual harassment was 2008. The commission emphasizes dispute resolution as a means of resolving complaints.

We’re not saying don’t make a complaint to the commission, 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 in a mediation process could be right for you.

Facts about the NWT Human Rights Commission and HRAP

Of the 26 new complaints to the commission in 2023-24, one involved discrimination on the basis of sex.
The majority of complaints to the commission never get decided by the HRAP. In 2023-24, the panel issued no interim or final decisions; in 2022-23 it issued six decisions, none of which involved workplace sexual harassment. Roughly 65% of complaints are resolved through mediation. Most of the remainder are dismissed or withdrawn.
It can take two years or more for complaints to be heard by the HRAP.
Sources: NWT Human Rights Commission 2023-24 Annual Report, NWT Human Rights Adjudication Panel.

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

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 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 commission

The first step is a conversation with a human rights officer, who will listen to your story and help you fill out the complaint form. The executive director will review your complaint to see if it meets the criteria of discrimination. The complaint process and instructions are outlined on the commission’s website.

Will the commission accept your complaint?

You have two years from when the harassment happened to file your complaint with the commission. 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 commission if you work in the Northwest Territories or if the harassment happened in the Northwest Territories, 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.
If your complaint doesn’t fall under the Human Rights Act, you may be referred to another agency for help.

How dispute resolution works

If the executive director accepts your complaint, it will be sent to the respondent—the person your complaint is about—and they will then have a chance to discuss it with the human rights officer. At this stage a facilitator will be assigned to try to resolve your complaint through mediation.

The facilitator will set up individual meetings with you and the respondent in which everyone can share information and state their key issues, then will schedule a resolution conference. This could take place in person in Yellowknife or by telephone or video conference. Getting to this stage takes about six months.

Facilitators 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 adjudication panel. The purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Human Rights Act.

For more information

The commission’s website includes a brochure about the restorative dispute resolution process.

Pros and cons of dispute resolution

The dispute resolution 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.
Reaching a settlement is faster than a hearing and more likely to happen than reaching the hearing stage.
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 go on to the investigation stage.

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 dispute resolution 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. The types of monetary awards for emotional harm when cases are decided by the HRAP are a guide. In recent years these have been between $5,000 and $10,000, though none have involved sexual harassment.

If dispute resolution isn’t successful

Complaints that aren’t resolved in dispute resolution may then go to the investigation stage. This involves a human rights officer—not the same person as the mediator—speaking to people who might have relevant information and your providing the investigator with evidence about the harassment you experienced. See Document everything. The investigator does not check whether what they are told is correct—they take the information at face value. They then draft an investigation report.

You and the respondent can read the draft report and suggest changes. The final report is given to the executive director, who decides whether to dismiss the case or refer it to the panel for adjudication. Sexual harassment cases very seldom reach this point.

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 to talk about your options. It is designed to help people file their complaint and protect human rights. The commission staff are trained to help you with the process.
The Legal Aid Commission provides legal aid and legal aid outreach clinics to people who can’t afford a lawyer. You can contact Legal Aid by calling 1-867-767-9361 or 1-844-835-8050 toll-free.
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 for families of three or more, 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

WorkSafeBC is an independent B.C. provincial agency 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 help getting back to work.

Facts about WorkSafeBC

WorkSafeBC functions like an insurance provider. Employers pay premiums to WorkSafe for the people who work for them. As a result, those people are entitled to benefits if they suffer a workplace injury.
About 95% of B.C. workers are covered by WorkSafeBC.
Every year, about 145,000 to 150,000 workers in B.C. file a WorkSafeBC claim. WorkSafeBC approves more than 90% of those claims.
However, most claims are for physical injuries. Fewer than 2% of injury claims are for psychological injury only. A total of 2,200 of these claims were approved in 2023.
In 2022 1,500 mental disorder claims were disallowed.
Mental disorder claims made by workers such as correctional officers, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, emergency-response dispatchers, health-care personnel and other first responders are approved almost all the time.
Sources: WorkSafeBC Annual Report 2023, WorkSafeBC Facts & Figures, Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada

If you’ve been harmed by sexual harassment at work, you might think the WorkSafeBC 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 WorkSafeBC often covers.

However, historically, WorkSafeBC 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 WorkSafeBC was designed for and has a lot of experience handling. It has less experience with mental health claims, which it classifies as psychological injuries and the turndown rates for these are very high.

Though we’re not saying don’t bother applying for WorkSafeBC benefits, you should be aware that it’s likely your claim will not 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 WorkSafeBC 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 WorkSafeBC first, and appeal if you are turned down.

Pros and cons of going to WorkSafeBC

It isn’t expensive or very complicated.
WorkSafeBC benefits can be generous. Wage replacement is up to 90% of your net salary.
You submit your claim directly to WorkSafeBC. No need to wait for your employer to investigate.
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.

WorkSafeBC 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, WorkSafeBC won’t give you that.
WorkSafeBC has a high rate of denying mental disorder claims.
If WorkSafeBC rejects your claim and you appeal, the appeal process may be lengthy.
You can’t apply to WorkSafeBC secretly. Your employer will know about your claim, 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.

Mental disorder claims

WorkSafeBC awards benefits due to the injury you sustained, which in your case would be damaged mental health. There are two types of psychological injuries that WorkSafeBC covers:

“A significant work-related stressor, or a cumulative series of significant work-related stressors, arising out of and in the course of employment.” Being repeatedly sexually harassed by a co-worker might lead to this type of injury.

“A reaction to one or more traumatic events arising out of and in the course of employment.” 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.

WorkSafeBC won’t cover every kind of mental disorder 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 WorkSafeBC application

First, you must decide if filing a claim with the WCB is the right choice for you. If you choose to go to WorkSafeBC to report injury arising from sexual harassment or sexual assault, you must call Teleclaim at 1-604-231-8888 or 1-888-967-5377. You will then be provided with specific assistance.

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 95% of workers in B.C. are included under the act.

For more information

The WorkSafeBC website includes a fact sheet answering frequently asked questions about mental health condition claims as well as a page describing what’s involved in qualifying and the possible benefits of a successful claim.

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’ Advisers Office is a branch of the Ministry of Labour that provides free and confidential services about workplace injuries and compensation to non-unionized workers. This office can provide information and advice throughout the WorkSafeBC process. In some cases, it can help with representation during appeals. It also has an extensive network of supports for injured workers and may be able to direct you to other organizations that can help.
The Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS), which serves low- to middle-income people, may be able to help if your appeal to the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal is unsuccessful. To start the process, complete the online intake form.
Access Pro Bono has a free lawyer referral service for low- or modest-income individuals who are not eligible for legal aid. Its Everyone Legal Clinic can connect you with an articling student for low-cost assistance.
The Law Students’ Legal Advice Program assists low-income individuals who live in the Greater Vancouver Area. It can provide you with advice on WorkSafeBC matters.
The Respect at Work Legal Clinic, a project of the Migrant Workers Centre, provides free legal advice to newcomers to Canada (regardless of status) about WorkSafeBC claims.
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 Yukon Human Rights Commission and what it does

The Yukon Human Rights Commission is the agency that receives and investigates complaints about violations of the Yukon Human Rights Act. Sexual harassment under the act can constitute discrimination based on sex. The commission helps people to mediate or settle their complaints. If a complaint can’t be resolved, depending on the evidence, it may go to a hearing at the Yukon Human Rights Panel of Adjudicators. The Yukon Human Rights Commission and the YHRPA both deal with discrimination cases but are separate from one another.

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 Yukon Human Rights Commission

Every year, about 10 to 15 people file a complaint with the commission saying they have been discriminated against or harassed on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression.
About half the roughly 100 complaints made to the commission each year are accepted.
Complaints accepted by the commission almost never get decided by the YHRPA. They are either settled in mediation, abandoned, withdrawn, or dismissed.
The complaint process on average takes about two and half years.
Sources: Yukon Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2023-24, Yukon Human Rights Commission.

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, such as 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 commission

First, review Human Rights Complaints and Am I in the Right Place? on the commission’s website. When you contact the commission, you will be given the chance to make an appointment with a staff member to discuss your situation; they can explain the human rights law in Yukon but cannot give you legal advice.

To file a complaint you must complete a human rights complaint form, which is available online; you can also request a copy by phone or in person at the commission’s office in Whitehorse. Your complaint is then reviewed by the director, who decides whether it falls under the commission’s jurisdiction. About half of all complaints are accepted.

Will the commission accept your complaint?

You have 18 months from when the harassment happened to file your complaint with the commission. If the harassment happened more than once, the deadline is 18 months from the last incident of harassment.
You can file a complaint with the commission if you work in Yukon or if the harassment happened in Yukon, 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 may have to make your complaint through your union. You’re covered if you’re non-unionized, temporary or permanent, an independent contractor, or undocumented.
Before your complaint can be accepted, you must already have pursued all other ways to resolve it.
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 a complaint has been accepted, the respondent—the person your complaint is about—will be asked whether they are interested in settling the matter; this is known as informal resolution. If they are, a commission staff member can recommend ways to do this and facilitates the process of you and the respondent coming to an agreement. You are not required to meet the respondent face to face.

Staff members 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 Yukon Human Rights Act’s intent is to remediate, not punish—the purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the act. About a third to a quarter of all complaints are resolved at this point. No one can be forced to agree to settlement terms.

Pros and cons of mediation

Participating in the settlement 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.
Reaching a settlement is faster than a hearing and more likely to happen than getting to the stage.
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, you still may have the option of a hearing. However, this is unlikely to happen.

The settlement process doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You may not be able to share details of any settlement you reach if what you agreed to includes a confidentiality clause, which most do.
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:

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 are almost always 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 have to be trained about. When money is involved, awards for emotional harm are seldom more than $5,000.

If informal resolution isn’t successful

If you or the respondent doesn’t choose to participate in informal resolution or the process isn’t successful, then your complaint will be investigated. Once the investigation is complete, the investigator prepares a report that is given to both parties, who submit a response. The report and the submissions are reviewed by the commission members at a hearing. If they believe a settlement could still be possible, they give you and the respondent a set amount of time to find a solution. Complaints that still aren’t resolved may be referred to the Panel of Adjudication but can be settled before a hearing occurs. If this happens, commission members can act as mediators and suggest terms of a settlement.

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. It is designed to help people file their complaint and protect human rights. The commission staff are trained to help you with the process.
The commission runs an automated chatbot called Spot. Spot helps you document your experiences of harassment or discrimination, either for yourself or to share with the commission as part of your complaint.
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 for families of three or more, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
211 Yukon 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.

What is the OHSA, who does it protect, and what does it require from employers?

Does the OHSA apply in your situation?

Who in Ontario is not covered by the OHSA?

Does the OHSA cover sexual harassment related to your work that’s happening outside the workplace?

What does the OHSA require from an employer?

Getting ready to report

Where to get help and advice

How to report

What happens after you report

How to prepare to be interviewed

How to handle yourself during the interview

Things that can go wrong and how to handle them

What if my employer ignores my report?

What if the investigator seems biased?

What if the investigation is taking a really long time or I’m not getting any updates?

What if people at work are gossiping about me and the investigation?

What if I get punished for reporting?

What happens once the investigation is over?

What to do if you’re not happy with the outcome

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 Canadian Human Rights Commission and Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and what they do

Facts about the Canadian Human Rights Commission

Why consider filing a complaint with the commission

How to make a complaint to the commission

Will the commission 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?

Beyond mediation

Pros and cons of your case being decided at a hearing

Pros

Cons

If your case goes ahead

Facts about the CNESST Occupational Health and Safety division

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