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Today is:
Sun, 19 - May, 2013:
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This day in 1993...
Supreme Court of Canada says mentally challenged deserve same services
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In 1979, Janice Berg was accepted into the master's program in the School of Family and Nutritional Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Despite a history of controllable, recurrent depression, she studied hard enough to keep her grades above average. But one day in 1981, she wrote "I am dead" on a school's washroom mirror, then attempted to jump through a plate-glass window when RCMP officers appeared in the hallway. Two years later, an instructor refused Berg a "rating sheet," one of the criteria she needed to apply for a hospital internship. About the same time, Berg found herself refused a key to the school's new facilities for after-hours work, without a doctor's note. She complained to the B.C. Human Rights Council, which found the university liable for discrimination against Berg due to her mental disability. The B.C. Supreme Court and the B.C. Court of Appeal both overturned that decision. But on May 19, 1993, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of Berg. The court said that denying Berg a "service customarily available to the public" amounted to discrimination under B.C.'s Human Rights Act. The court added that it did not want to unduly restrict what "public" meant under human rights protection. They said it was not the purpose of legislation to admit people into a program and then deny them access that makes their admission meaningful.
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| Making sense of complex issues
Educational highlights for workplace leaders
At the end of the session, supervisors and managers will:
 Have a clear understanding of Harassment, reasonable accommodation and discrimination
Feel more confident to find solutions to what seems like complex and potentially expensive problems
Discover effective, simple and practical methods for addressing workplace human rights issues
Overview
There are so many legal requirements regarding workplace human rights and yet managers and supervisors are often at a loss to deal with them effectively. While reducing legal liability is important, the real payoff comes from creating a workplace where basic human rights are respected with simple, understandable and agreed-upon practices. In this customized session your supervisors and managers will get a chance to discuss their concerns and fears about tackling what is often seen as a sensitive issue.
Using thought-provoking and fun exercises, they will learn that workplace human rights issues aren’t as complex as they seem. They will find out what must be done, to avoid costly liability, employee turn-over and employee/customer dissatisfaction. At the end of the session, your workplace leaders will feel more confident to address issues as they arise, instead of waiting until they become unmanageable, or very costly.
Workplace leaders. Everyone who supervises people needs to know their legal obligations, on behalf of their employer. If they don’t, they risk an internal or external workplace human rights complaint. Of course, there is also the risk of bad publicity and bad customer relations. Human rights legislation deems most supervisors to represent management – even those with limited authority. Your workplace leaders will benefit from a better understanding of the issues, and they will feel more confident to tackle most issues before they become a big, messy and expensive, deal. For those with more complexity, they will know to seek advice from within their workplace instead of letting things get worse.
"You were able to bring our management group up to speed on important issues that they otherwise might not have considered and you did so in a way that caught people’s attention. Our managers went back to their respective workplaces better informed and better prepared. I also appreciate the method of your presentations. Your examples were very current and you were able to utilize the electronic response system we were using to get their direct feedback. It was very informative and worked well with our group. I also appreciate that you are able to use humour and also able to get your message across without “preaching”. Your style and manner in addressing the issues within the room were very effective and we felt much more prepared to understand and be mindful of the risks in these extremely important areas of our business after your presentation."
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Peter Blake, C.A.
Chief Executive Officer
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated
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| Effective methods to support workplace leaders
Educational highlights for workplace leaders
At the end of the session, supervisors and managers will:
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Know what is and is not Harassment
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Understand the legal requirements to identify and deal with Harassment
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Learn practical and understandable methods to prevent simple problems turning into big, expensive & time-consuming Harassment cases |
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Discover simple techniques to keep a Harassment-free workplace in the minds of their employees |
Overview
This session is all about Harassment. Despite all the years of education and supposedly understanding about Harassment, Harassment is still alive and unwell in most Canadian workplaces. Canadian courts and tribunals are putting more and more restrictions on the behaviours of employees and managers, and yet most workplace leaders aren’t aware of the greater expectations. And now “psychological Harassment” is becoming a requirement in certain Canadian jurisdictions, with others to follow. In this customized session your supervisors and managers will get a chance to discuss their concerns and fears about what is and what is not Harassment. Using thought-provoking and fun exercises, they will learn that workplace Harassment isn’t as complex as it seems. They will find out what must be done, to avoid costly liability, employee turn-over and employee/customer dissatisfaction. At the end of the session, your workplace leaders will feel more confident to address Harassment issues as they arise, instead of waiting until they become unmanageable, or very costly.
Workplace leaders. Your supervisors don’t need to be experts in workplace Harassment, but they need to know enough to give them confidence to address it when they see it. Everyone who supervises people needs to know their legal obligations, on behalf of their employer. If they don’t, they risk an internal or external workplace human rights complaint, due to Harassment. Of course, there is also the risk of bad publicity and bad customer relations. Human rights legislation deems most supervisors to represent management – even those with limited authority. Your workplace leaders will benefit from a better understanding of Harassment, and they will feel more confident to tackle most issues of Harassment before they become a big, messy and expensive, deal. When Harassment issues get more complex, they will know to seek advice from within their workplace instead of letting things get worse.
"It is very rare to find someone with the right combination of knowledge and experience and that something extra that makes people want to listen, learn and participate. We feel very lucky to have found Stephen, who makes Harassment Awareness training informative, useful, and yes...fun!
Stephen consistently gets rave reviews from all of the participants and is a pleasure to work with. We wouldn’t think of using anyone else."
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Anna Grolle BA, CGA
Director of Corporate Operations & HR
Cactus Club Cafe
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| Going beyond the laws
Educational highlights for workplace leaders
At the end of the session, supervisors and managers will:
Identify respectful and disrespectful workplace behaviours
Discover the wavy line between disrespect and Harassment
Learn to communicate with others for better workplace results
Find effective ways to change behaviours before they become a problem
Overview
This session includes the legal aspects of Harassment, but goes beyond, to tackle many issues that can disrupt the workplace. Some behaviour is considered Harassment. Others include aspects of bullying. Others still are just inappropriate and no one knows what category to put them into. Regardless, most of the problems come down to problems with communication. Not just how we communicate with one another, but how supervisors and managers communicate what is acceptable and what is not. In this customized session your supervisors and managers will learn ways of creating a respectful work environment.
Using thought-provoking and fun exercises, they will learn that a respectful workplace is not difficult to achieve. In fact, with a bit of work, it can be very easy. They will find out what must be done, to avoid costly liability, employee turn-over and employee/customer dissatisfaction. At the end of the session, your workplace leaders will feel more confident to address a variety of issues, including Harassment and just plain disrespectful behaviour.
Workplace leaders. This session may also be done with employees and workplace leaders together, so that issues can be raised and addressed effectively. Sometimes the male-dominated workplaces are the most difficult, because us men have been socialized a bit differently and the norm of a male-dominated workplace is not always respectful. Those who attend will discuss issues head-on, and find ways to address problems of disrespect, even when it seems such behaviour has “thrived” for years.
Of course, the education of the legal issues of Harassment will also benefit those who attend. Everyone who supervises people needs to know their legal obligations, on behalf of their employer. If they don’t, they risk an internal or external workplace human rights complaint, due to Harassment. Of course, there is also the risk of bad publicity and bad customer relations. Your workplace leaders will benefit from a better understanding of Harassment and all forms of disrespectful behaviours, and they will feel more confident to tackle most issues before they become a big, messy and expensive, deal. When any issues of respect get more complex, they will know to seek advice from within their workplace instead of letting things get worse.
"Your sessions have greatly assisted our Fire Officer candidates as they gain a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in dealing with workplace issues such as Harassment and other forms of discrimination. Their learning of your knowledge of the law and the practical side of workplace issues is a benefit to our department as we require our Fire Officers to effectively deal with workplace issues before they get out of hand. Our Fire Officer candidates have continually commented to me about your ability to provide clear and concise information in a meaningful and enlightened manner. They have also commented on your entertaining method of keeping them interested and engaged during lectures and your overall commitment to their learning and understanding of the topic under discussion."
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Robert Chapman,
Division Chief,
Training and Development
Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services
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Stephen Hammond, B.A., LL.B., CSP, is a lawyer turned workplace and community human rights speaker and educator. His Bachelor of Arts in political studies is from the University of Manitoba and his Bachelor of Laws degree is from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. Stephen is the author of Managing Human Rights at Work: 101 practical tips to prevent human rights disasters and Steps in the Rights Direction: 365 human rights celebrations and tragedies that inspired Canada and the world.
Stephen is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and the International Federation for Professional Speakers. In 2008 Stephen was one of only 5 Canadians to receive the designation of CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) which is the “most prestigious earned designation for platform excellence” by the International Federation. Fewer than 10% of the Federation members hold this designation including just 43 Canadians.
Stephen offers Continuing Education: If you want to give your supervisors and managers support after they leave the training session, see what our Continuing Education Program has to offer. No more leaving them on their own after t he training is over.
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