“In the early hours of Wednesday, August 18, outside workers employed by Halifax Regional Municipality were directed by management to take down shelters and to remove, box, label and store personal belongings. This occurred at municipal properties including Peace and Friendship Park, the old Halifax library, the Commons, and other sites,” says Chetwynd.

“This was initiated by management under a shroud of secrecy. Workers and the union were not given advance notice,” adds Chetwynd.

“Prior to August 18, HRM management had assured our members that a directive to remove shelters would not happen again. So, workers were shocked when they were given these directives again on Wednesday,” says Chetwynd.

“Also, they faced unsafe conditions throughout the day, without adequate training. Many have told us that they’re traumatized by the events and they’re struggling to understand why their employer would insert them in the middle of such a controversial, ill-planned and unsafe situation,” says Chetwynd.

“We are advising our members on their right to refuse unsafe work and we have reached out to HRM management, including CAO Jacques Dube,” says Chetwynd. “We asked that our members be removed from unsafe conditions and immediately be escorted to safety. Management has not responded, and we feel this is a clear indication of the municipality’s position on worker safety.”

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KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – On May 9, 1992, 26 miners lost their lives in the Westray Mine located in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, when a buildup of methane gas and coal dust ignited and caused an explosion. Prior to the explosion, several safety concerns had been raised by employees, union officials and government inspectors. This incident resulted in changes to legislation regarding how to establish the criminal liability of corporations for workplace deaths and injuries.

The Westray Bill or Bill C-45 was federal legislation that amended the Canadian Criminal Code and became law on March 31, 2004. The Bill (introduced in 2003) established new legal duties for workplace health and safety and imposed serious penalties for violations that result in injuries or death. The Bill provided new rules for attributing criminal liability to organizations, including corporations, their representatives and those who direct the work of others.

Since the Bill came into force there have been fewer than 30 charges across the country. Every year, almost 1000 workers die in a workplace accident in Canada.

We have been trying to ensure more criminal investigations happen at workplaces and to see the Westray Bill enforced to a greater extent.

If that law is not being used, and the test of that law is hard to meet, then it needs a second look. Police are almost always the first on the scene of a workplace fatality or accident with serious injuries. The question is, who has the responsibility when they arrive on scene of a workplace death when it comes to negligence and worker protection?

If the police are called to the scene of a fatality, they start a criminal investigation to determine if foul play was involved. If it is, they track down the culprits, lay criminal charges and the case goes to court.

When the police land on the steps of an employer when a worker dies at work, why don’t they do the same thing?

More often than not, the case is referred to the Occupational Health and Safety division within the Department of Labour and Advanced Education, and cannot lead to criminal charges under the Westray Law as only the police or crown can do that.

Sadly, provincial investigation under the provincial health and safety legislation brings a fine, not jail time. It has been seventeen years since the Westray Law came into force and we ask why aren’t the police using the Westray legislation to investigate every workplace death or serious injury as a crime until the evidence says otherwise?

Changing workplace safety will only happen about when bosses learn “kill a worker – go to jail”. Otherwise, fines are just a slap on the wrist, viewed as the cost of doing business.

Danny Cavanagh is president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour

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KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Nova Scotia is the only jurisdiction in Canada that neither has legislation nor plans to introduce legislation to outlaw bullying and psychological harassment in the workplace. 

Some 20 people gathered outside Province House this afternoon to demand that the Liberal government take steps to fix this. Today is Wear Pink Day, a national day of action against bullying, and the protesters were all wearing pink shirts.

The action was organized by Equity Watch, an organization that fights bullying, and discrimination in the workplace. 

At the Nova Scotia Advocate we are often approached by people who have suffered because of abuse by co-workers, managers and employers. 

In this province an employee who faces harassment and bullying at work has virtually no recourse. Harassment and bullying are not prohibited grounds according to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. And the Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act also does not cover psychological violence in the workplace. 

Annette Harpell has experienced both psychological abuse at work and the total lack of legal protection here in Nova Scotia.

Harpell was terrorized by a female co-worker while working at a Lawtons store in Antigonish. 

“Dealing with how I was being treated took a great toll on my health. And I repeatedly went to my managers for months and months, but they failed to see the seriousness of the issue. And they failed to do anything about it,” Harpell told the crowd.

As the bullying continued her health deteriorated, and she went on sick leave. That’s when management told her she was terminated.

“I was totally devastated,” said Harpell.

In June last year, the Nova Scotia Labour Board dismissed Harpell’s complaint that she was psychologically abused at her job and said it was up to the provincial government to change the law to cover such a situation. 

Last fall the NDP MLA Tammy Martin proposed a private member’s bill to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Tammy Martin had to step away from her MLA position for health reasons, but her colleague Susan LeBlanc, speaking at the rally, committed to press again during this winter sitting. Progressive Conservative MLA Brian Comer, who also spoke briefly, pledged the support of his caucus,  

Without the support of the Liberals though the legislation will not go anywhere.  

Harpell is fervently hoping that the government will pay attention.

“I want to see every employee go to work safely and enjoy their day and know that if they have any concerns, that there is a system in which they can report those concerns, and something is going to be done immediately,” she said.

See also: NDP proposes legislation against bullying and harassment in the workplace

Check out the Equity Watch Facebook page. Email equitywatchns@gmail.com

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KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – There have been 12 rockfalls at the Donkin coal mine in Cape Breton in the span of three years. The most recent rockfall happened on February 14, the one before that occurred on February 2nd. 

That’s way too many rockfalls, says Danny Cavanagh, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour. Cavanagh worries that neither the mine owner nor the Nova Scotia Department of Labour are dealing effectively with the safety issues.

At the Donkin mine rockfalls sometimes results in the mine being shut down, but not always. People were working underground when the latest incident occurred.

That too is a matter of concern for Cavanagh.

“The inspectors do their best, but at the end of the day the company is responsible for the safety of the workers there. And the department has to hold them accountable for that safety. And that means the mine should be shut down every time there’s an incident,” says Cavanagh.

Cavanagh is writing yet another letter to the Ministers of the departments of Labour and Mines and Energy, urging them to take the rockfalls more seriously.

See also: Safety record of Donkin Mine operator causes concerns

There have been concerns about safety for as long as the mine has been operative. 

In 2017 some miners told reporters that they felt they were being targeted for layoffs because they had spoken out about safety concerns.

And in February 2016 the Nova Scotia Advocate ran a story about the shaky safety record of US mines run by coal magnate Chris Cline, who also owned the Donkin mine before he died last year in a helicopter crash. 

Get a union in there, Bobby Burchell, at the time the Canadian representative for the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) told the Nova Scotia Advocate.

“Mining accidents do happen, it’s part of the job,” Burchell said.  “But there is much that can be avoided. When the workers are protected by a union then they can speak their mind when they are working in unsafe conditions. They have somebody there who can protect them.”

There is still no union at Donkin, just as there is no union in any mine operated by the Cline Group.

In August 2017, CBC journalist Frances Willick reported that documents obtained by CBC News under freedom of information laws show a history of repeated infractions at the Donkin coal mine, some of which could endanger the lives of workers. Rescue equipment was found to be missing or not functioning. Daily checks to ensure that air quality monitoring technology was working were not being done. Walls were insufficiently secured.  

Not a record that inspires confidence.

“How long do we continue to go back there over and over again, telling us that it’s fixed this time when clearly it’s not being fixed adequately. It’s just a matter of time before somebody is seriously injured or killed,” says Cavanagh.

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KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Nova Scotia is the only jurisdiction in Canada that neither has legislation nor has publicly announced the intention of introducing legislation to outlaw bullying and psychological harassment in the workplace.  

Annette Harpell, a resident of Antigonish, was fired from Lawtons Drugs (owned by Sobeys) nearly a year ago.  On June 19, the Nova Scotia Labour Board dismissed her complaint that she was psychologically abused at her job and said it was up to the provincial government to change the law to cover such a situation. 

Today, an employee who faces harassment and bullying at work has virtually no recourse.  Harassment and bullying are not prohibited grounds according to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act.  And the Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act also does not cover psychological violence in the workplace. 

 “The situation is surreal and desperate,” says Equity Watch’s Larry Haiven, professor emeritus at the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University. He has taught and researched labour policy for more than 30 years.  

“The law is supposed to protect employees from work hazards. The scientific literature shows that humiliation, harassment, intimidation and other forms of abuse are harmful like physical injuries. If a box fell on Ms Harpell’s head, she would be covered. But here she is not. Nova Scotia is half a century behind the times,” says Larry Haiven.  

Harpell relates how she was terrorized by a female co-worker. Not only did the co-worker refuse to talk to her, to address her or to work with her, the co-worker also shredded Harpell’s work and hid it in the garbage can. This forced Harpell to do the work again.  

No one at Lawtons corrected the bully and management seemed scared to take her on. When corporate human resources finally intervened, it made the situation worse;  senior management would not listen to Harpell. Finally Lawtons simply fired her. Talk about shooting the messenger!

As Harpell notes:  “We employees in Nova Scotia need legislation regarding workplace bullying.  … It is our right to work in a healthy and safe environment, and be protected from all forms of workplace abuse.” 

On Friday, at Province House, the opposition NDP Provincial Caucus proposed a private member’s bill to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

As NDP Labour and Advanced Education Spokesperson Tammy Martin said, “No one should have to worry that they will lose their job because they experience bullying or harassment at work. Our province is behind the rest of the country when it comes to workplace harm of this kind and I hope all parties will support addressing this gap in the Act.”

Judy Haiven is on the steering committee of Equity Watch, a Halifax-based organization which fights bullying, racism and discrimination in the workplace. You can reach her at equitywatchns@gmail.com

With a special thanks to our generous donors who make publication of the Nova Scotia Advocate possible.

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