Minutes of the 68^th meeting of the Service-Wide Committee on Occupational Health and Safety held on May 20, 2021

1. Adoption of Agenda
   
   The agenda was adopted.
2. Laboratories Canada Update
   
   

   Anya Lisowski, Director General, Strategic Engagement and Change Management Sector, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) provided an overview of Laboratories Canada emphasizing the importance the team is placing on employee consultation, focus on the long-term vision and plan of the project and the elimination or mitigation of barriers to science and technology. The project has identified several locations in the National Capital Region as well as elsewhere in the regions that require updating.

   A. Lisowski indicated that there have been 60 planning meetings with the implicated science-based departments, over 50 governance committee meetings, over 80 working group consultations and over 40 functional programming workshops with at least 300 total participants including scientists and real property experts. She stated that the focus of these meetings is to translate the scientific requirements into space requirements and identify any opportunities for co-location of resources while also ensuring that the science and scientists are the primary drivers of the decision-making process.

   A. Lisowski advised that the plan is to design spaces that promote collaboration through equipment sharing, modernized information management and technology systems, and to either mitigate or break down the barriers to science and technology. To this end, she advised that the science-based departments and agencies have been classified into hubs based upon complementary fields of interest. A. Lisowski stated that the anticipated benefits to the employees will be facilities with modern, accessible and multipurpose workspaces that make collaboration easier, greater opportunities to do more leading-edge science, access to expertise and resources from across departments and agencies, as well as systems that make it easier to collaborate with external partners, including academia.
   
   A. Lisowski advised that there has been engagement with the employees currently focused on site selection, however there will also be union engagement at the national and local level as well as change management training at the executive and management levels some of whom are sponsors for activities, working closely with different levels of the organization and are encouraged to work with the bargaining agents as part of the process.
   
   A. Lisowski noted that the project is still in its early stages, as the facilities are not yet designed, nor are there contracts in place for design or construction. A. Lisowski commented that the project has created opportunities for strategy advancements including a repeatable laboratory design framework which will enable future projects to meet needs rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach and has incorporated existing projects into its framework, such as the Royalmount project in Montreal, Quebec. She indicated that Laboratories Canada has assisted in the COVID-19 response through that facility as it will be able to help produce vaccine for clinical trials and prepare vials for individual doses once vaccines are approved in Canada.
   
   A. Lisowski stated that there are approximately 2500 employees who are or will be impacted by this initiative, either as current employees who will benefit from the improved facilities and are contributing to their conceptualization, or future employees whose positions will need to be created to fill particular laboratory requirements.

   The Committee was pleased with the presentation, emphasizing its appreciation that the affected employees and bargaining agents are being engaged as well as providing this update to SWOHS at such an early stage. F. Murphy questioned whether organizations outside the government are being engaged with the potential of co-facilitation, to which A. Lisowski responded that they are working with academia as well as the private sector to arrange partnerships. The Committee questioned if any of the affected employees will be relocating to a different geographic area. At this point, A. Lisowski stated that the majority of the positions will be relocated to a new facility that will most likely be in the same city or region as their current position. It is anticipated that for those few positions that are not in the same city or region, there is currently a commitment to find other positions for them in their line of work.

3. Workplace Violence and Harassment – Health Canada Investigators Roster
   
   Alain Contant, Director, Employee Assistance Services (EAS) and Jeremy Ames, Director, COVID-19 Mental Health response, Employee Assistance Services (EAS), Health Canada, provided an update on the Health Canada Harassment/Violence Investigations services as well as their Risk Assessment and Implementation Plan tool. J. Ames indicated that EAS provides wellness services across the federal public service, but identified a gap around investigations, indicating that investigations are part of a wellness service continuum, in alignment with EAS’ existing activities related to team building, Informal Conflict Management (ICM), restoration of the workplace, etc. He emphasized that the goal remains to resolve the harassment or violence issue and then attempt to restore the workplace afterwards.
   
   J. Ames stated that there is a list of EAS practitioners which they reviewed to determine if any of the existing practitioners identified that they held investigative qualifications, whereby ten (10) potential investigation providers were identified as well as other investigators who had gone through the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s (CCOHS) screening process. Of the practitioners EAS identified, they applied the Statement of Work and Investigator Assessment Tool created by SWOHS to evaluate the practitioners. J. Ames advised that they also developed a process to coordinate investigations with other departments and that since April 1, 2021, EAS has assisted with providing investigators on eight (8) incidents for other departments with a commitment from nine (9) small to medium departments to have EAS coordinate their HVP investigative services.
   
   J. Ames mentioned that other departments have been approaching EAS for support on implementation of the new Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations (WPHVPR) as the employer is required to conduct a workplace assessment, develop and implement preventative measures that mitigate the risk of harassment and violence in the workplace, develop an implementation plan for ongoing preventative measures and implement the preventative measures. Therefore, EAS created a Harassment and Violence Risk Assessment Tool that integrates all of these elements. He advised that this tool is a living document with the aim to ensure objectivity by using data from the Public Service Employee Survey and other internal statistics to create a risk matrix. The matrix also considers the Mental Health strategy, including the 13 psycho-social factors as well as the likelihood of an occurrence and the impact should it occur. J. Ames noted that the tool will be shared shortly with the Competent Person Sub-Committee in order to solicit feedback. He stated that the idea is to build internal capacity within departments for them to complete the risk assessment in a meaningful way by providing training on how to complete the assessment and how to use it on an ongoing basis.

   The Committee was pleased with the presentation however it was also identified that diversity and inclusion continues to be a challenge regarding investigations. J. Ames indicated that for this reason, they like to have a conversation with the requester to help identify which investigator is best aligned to the diversity factors that may be in play in the incident. The Committee also noted that there is a risk using a risk matrix in that the low likelihood/low impact risks tend to be overlooked, whereas the intent of the regulations is to eliminate or mitigate all hazards regardless of the likelihood. The Committee expressed interest in having the tool presented to the community of practice as there are large organizations that are also seeking answers to various related questions, as well as having the co-chairs present to provide feedback from the bargaining agent perspective which will ensure that everyone receives the same message at the same time.

4. Update from the Sub-Committees:

   1. OHS Training/Learning Sub-Committee
      
      A. Peart reported that the Sub-Committee has been working with Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) on educational materials, specifically responding to a request around drafting additional scenarios. Although the meetings are sporadic, A. Peart indicated that there is a lot of work being completed, the bulk of which is by CSPS and asked if any Committee members would like to participate in the Sub-Committee
      
      
   2. Competent Persons Sub-Committee
      
      A. Peart advised that the Sub-Committee is requesting a revised mandate to align to the new WPHVPR vs Part XX mandate. This revised mandated would include providing support to the designated recipient in relation to domestic violence incidents. She stated that this expanded mandate would also engender a name change: Harassment and Violence Prevention (HVP) Tools Working Group. A. Peart clarified that this mandate would include providing and updating existing tools related to HVP, as well as the creation of a risk assessment tool. She provided the workplan suggested by the HVP Tools Working Group, and C. Seeton clarified that all materials developed will be brought to SWOHS prior to dissemination.
      
      

      The Committee supported the expanded mandate and name change.

   3. Legalization of Cannabis Sub-Committee
      
      A. Peart advised that the Canadian Standards Association has posted the Z1008 standard; the Sub-Committee will need to be advised so that work can continue.

5. Standing Items

   1. Asbestos
      
      Nil report.
      
      
   2. Harassment
      
      

      A Committee member asked questions related to the toolkit received from CSPS when a new harassment case is sent to the respondent in an incident. M. Gosselin advised he will have a conversation with the Committee member to determine if it is an Employer level issue or a process issue.

   3. Legionella
      
      

      Nil report.

6. Round table
   
   C. Seeton suggested that the Committee reach out to PSPC to ask they attend SWOHS so that the Committee and the HVP Tools Working Group could be involved in the process of a revised National Master Standing Offer (NMSO).
   
   C. Zovatto and A. Peart advised they participated in a meeting with regard to potential changes to the Canada Labour Code with respect to mental health and expressed a concern about the number of changes in the area and how that may impact the mental health of OHS practitioners.
   
   A. Peart also suggested that PSPC provide another presentation in the fall to identify information that can be shared with departments and agencies regarding building systems and the return to workspaces.
   
   

   The Committee Advisor reminded the Committee Members to register for the NJC E-filing service.

Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for July 22, 2021.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 11:22 a.m.