NC-268 - Harassment

The Respondent found that the Alleged Harasser had not engaged in harassment towards the Appellant contrary to section 2.1 of the Code of Conduct. The Respondent found that the Alleged Harasser’s conduct was not improper or offensive when he met with the Appellant to discuss the conclusion of the Appellant’s Recruit Field Training, including notifying the Appellant that he would be going through the Employment Requirements process with possible termination.  

The Appellant appealed the decision, arguing that the decision was clearly unreasonable because no harassment investigation took place and that the Respondent ignored evidence in his findings. Further, the Appellant alleged discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA).

The ERC found that the Appellant was precluded from raising a new argument under the CHRA as it was not in the interests of justice to do so. The Appellant had not shown: that the necessary evidence to determine the issue was before the Chairperson; that he was likely to succeed; or explained why he had not alleged discrimination prior to the decision being made.

The ERC found that the Respondent’s decision not to mandate a harassment investigation was not clearly unreasonable as the Appellant and Alleged Harasser were given a chance to provide a response prior to the decision being made. Further, the witness the Appellant identified would not be able to offer crucial evidence. Additionally, the Appellant did not identify any gaps in the evidence or missing documentation.

Finally, the ERC found that the decision was not clearly unreasonable because the evidence supported the findings of the Respondent and the Appellant did not identify any specific errors in the Decision. The ERC concluded that there were no clear and overriding errors in the decision. 

The ERC recommends that the Commissioner deny the appeal.