Yeah, great great Q.
You’re referring to new Section 125(1)(z.163) of the OHS Regs. that requires an employer to “ensure that the person designated by the employer to receive complaints relating to occurrences of harassment and violence has knowledge, training and experience in issues relating to harassment and violence and has knowledge of relevant legislation” (emphasis added)
That requirement echoes the definition of “qualified person,” i.e., one who with respect to a specified duty (in this case, receiving harassment complaints) is qualified to perform that duty safely and properly “because of his knowledge, training and experience.” But the new definition does NOT use “qualified person.” The reason: Just being able to receive violence and harassment complaints properly and safely is NOT enough.The new requirement is designed to ensure that the person who does receive those complaints has SPECIFIC training, knowledge and experience in harassment and knows about the OHS Regs. including the new Bill C-65 provisions.
In other words, employers can no longer just designate their all-purpose or smartest guy/gal to receive complaints. They need a person to have a specific background in violence and harassment. If there’s nobody on staff with those credentials, the employer will have to rely on an outside third party to perform the function.
This is a really important point and I don’t think we emphasized it enough in covering C-65. I’ll circle back and do that going forward. Thx for the Q and I hope the answer helps. Glenn
