Workplace Violence & Harassment in Canada: Laws & Bill C-65

Workplace violence and harassment can involve threats, bullying, sexual harassment or physical assault. A national survey of 4,878 respondents 1, run by researchers from Western University, the University of Toronto and the Canadian Labour Congress, found that 71.4% had experienced at least one form of workplace harassment or violence during the two years preceding the survey. The survey ran in 2020–2021 and the report was published in 2022; its recruited sample was not representative of the Canadian workforce.

Since January 1, 2021, federally regulated employers carry specific prevention, training and resolution duties under Bill C-65 and the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, and every province and territory imposes its own requirements. This guide covers the definitions, the four types of workplace violence, the law in all 14 jurisdictions, and how training works.

What is workplace harassment and violence?

Part II of the Canada Labour Code 2 (the Code) sets the federal definition. Under the Code, harassment and violence means “any action, conduct or comment, including of a sexual nature, that can reasonably be expected to cause offence, humiliation or other physical or psychological injury or illness to an employee, including any prescribed action, conduct or comment.” Provincial and territorial definitions differ.

This includes sexual harassment, sexual violence and domestic violence that affects the workplace. The following is a non-exhaustive list:

• aggressive or threatening behaviour, including verbal threats or abuse
• physical assault
• spreading malicious rumours or gossip about an individual or a group
• socially excluding or isolating someone
• damaging, hiding or stealing someone’s personal belongings or work equipment
• persistently criticizing, undermining, belittling, demeaning or ridiculing someone
• swearing at someone or using inappropriate language toward them

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) 3 explains that work-related incidents can also happen away from the usual worksite. Context matters: reasonable, fair management actions 4, such as assigning work or evaluating performance, are not automatically harassment.

Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act 29, for example, defines workplace violence and workplace harassment separately. Workplace harassment means “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace, including virtually through the use of information and communications technology, that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.” The definition also covers workplace sexual harassment. Workplace violence means the exercise of physical force against a worker that causes or could cause physical injury, an attempt to exercise such force, or a statement or behaviour that a worker can reasonably interpret as a threat of such force.

What are the four types of workplace violence?

A four-type classification used by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 5 distinguishes situations by the relationship between the person responsible and the workplace. These categories help identify risks; they do not replace Canadian legal definitions.

1. Type 1: Criminal intent. This type of violence is committed by individuals who have no legitimate connection to the workplace and who may be motivated by robbery or other criminal activity. Examples include armed robbery.
2. Type 2: Customer/Client. This type of violence is committed by customers, clients, patients, or students. Examples include verbal abuse, physical assault, and sexual harassment.
3. Type 3: Co-Worker. This type of violence is committed by current or former employees 49. Examples include bullying, harassment, threats, and physical assault.
4. Type 4: Personal Relationship. This type of violence is committed by individuals with a personal relationship with an employee, such as a domestic partner or family member. Examples include stalking, physical assault, and homicide.

What are the effects of workplace violence and harassment?

Violence and harassment can harm both the person targeted and the people around them. Potential consequences include:

• Physical harm: injuries from assaults and, in severe incidents, death.
• Psychological harm: fear, anxiety, sleep difficulties and loss of confidence.
• Effects on work: difficulty concentrating, lower morale and reduced productivity.
• Organizational harm: absenteeism, turnover, recruitment costs and damage to trust.

These effects are described in CCOHS guidance on violence 3 and workplace bullying 4. Prevention needs to address behaviour and working conditions before harm occurs.

What does federal law require for workplace violence and harassment?

The federal rules sit in Part II of the Canada Labour Code and apply to federally regulated workplaces 50, including industries such as banking, telecommunications and interprovincial transportation. The Code requires employers to prevent and protect against harassment and violence in the work place, respond to occurrences and offer support to affected employees (s.125(1)(z.16) 6). Paragraph (z.161) covers employee training, including supervisors and managers; paragraph (z.162) requires the employer to undergo training.

The detailed duties live in the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations (SOR/2020-130) 7. Under the Regulations, employers must:

• Assess the workplace. Jointly assess risks with the applicable partner: the policy committee or, where there is none, the workplace committee or health and safety representative (section 5 8).
• Establish a prevention policy. Jointly develop and make available a policy covering prevention, reporting, emergency procedures and the resolution process (section 10 9).
• Provide training. Jointly develop or identify training that addresses the workplace’s culture, conditions, activities and prevention policy (section 12 10).
• Respond through the prescribed process. Receive notices of occurrences and apply the resolution requirements in sections 15–32.

How occurrences are resolved

The resolution process has three routes with different conditions. Under section 23 11, the employer or designated recipient, the principal party and, if contacted, the responding party must make every reasonable effort toward negotiated resolution; those efforts must begin within 45 days after notice is provided. Conciliation is available when both parties agree to it and to the person facilitating it (section 24 12). An unresolved occurrence must be investigated if the principal party requests it, subject to the regulation’s conditions; an investigation stops if the occurrence is resolved through negotiated resolution or conciliation before the report is delivered (section 25 13).

After an investigator’s report, the employer and workplace committee or representative jointly determine which recommendations to implement, and the employer must implement all recommendations they select (section 31 14).

Penalties

Under Part IV of the Canada Labour Code, administrative monetary penalties may apply to designated violations. Section 270(2) 15 sets a statutory maximum of $250,000 per violation, while the penalty that actually applies depends on the relevant regulations and the circumstances.

How often do the federal regulations require training, and what must it cover?

Employees must be trained within three months of starting and at least once every three years after that, as well as after any update to the training or a move to a new role with an increased or specific risk (s.12(4) 10). Employers must also take the training themselves every three years (s.12(6)), and the designated recipient must receive the training before assuming their duties and at least once every three years after that (s.12(5)).

The training must be tailored to the workplace and cover the employer's prevention policy, the relationship between harassment and violence and the prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act, and how to recognize, minimize, prevent and respond to harassment and violence (s.12(2) 10).

What is Bill C-65?

Bill C-65 16 is the federal law that rebuilt Canada’s harassment and violence regime for federally regulated workplaces. It received royal assent on October 25, 2018, and its relevant amendments to Part II of the Canada Labour Code came into force on January 1, 2021 17. That is the same day the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations (SOR/2020-130) took effect, and they spell out the employer duties described above. Bill C-65 also extended protections to parliamentary workplaces.

These federal rules do not displace the provincial or territorial laws that apply to other workplaces.

What do the provinces and territories require for workplace violence and harassment?

Every jurisdiction in Canada now imposes violence or harassment duties on employers. Ontario made them explicit early: Bill 168 added workplace violence and harassment rules to the Occupational Health and Safety Act on June 15, 2010 28. Outside federally regulated workplaces, these provincial and territorial rules are the ones that apply. The table below shows where each jurisdiction sets out its requirements and what they cover. The linked instruments set out their scope and exceptions.

Workplace violence and harassment laws across Canada

In Quebec, CNESST’s explanation of the modernized prevention regime 48 covers psychosocial risks in prevention programs or action plans. Domestic or family violence protection also applies when the employer knows, or should reasonably know, that a worker is exposed.

What training do workers need on workplace violence and harassment?

Workplace violence and harassment training is a program designed to educate employees and employers on the risks and impacts of workplace violence and harassment, as well as strategies for prevention and response.

The eSafetyFirst course covers definitions, legislation, company and worker responsibilities, prevention, incident response and reporting. An employer must connect that knowledge to the risks, reporting contacts and procedures at its own workplace.

Who is responsible for training workers on workplace violence and harassment?

Employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. This includes protecting employees from workplace violence and harassment. Employers must take reasonable steps to prevent workplace violence and harassment, and to respond effectively when incidents do occur.

One of the key steps that employers can take to prevent workplace violence and harassment is to provide their employees with appropriate training. This training should cover the risks and impacts of workplace violence and harassment, prevention strategies, incident reporting and response procedures, and available resources and support for victims.

Does Canadian law require training on workplace violence and harassment?

Yes. Applicable federal, provincial and territorial laws require employers to provide information, instruction or training on workplace violence or harassment. The precise duties and scope vary. Federally regulated employers must train employees, including supervisors and managers, and must also undergo training themselves.

Under the Canada Labour Code 6 and section 12 of the federal regulations 10, the training duty rests with the employer, and the training must be specific to the workplace. Completing a general course does not replace the employer’s workplace-specific instruction.

Who must be trained on workplace violence and harassment?

Workplace violence and harassment training is recommended for everyone exposed to workplace risks. Legal training obligations vary by jurisdiction, worker status and workplace conditions, so employers should assess the requirements that apply to employees, supervisors, temporary workers, contractors, interns and other people working at their premises.

Training must reflect the applicable law and actual work. Risk is not limited to one occupation. CCOHS identifies public contact, handling valuables, enforcement, care work, isolation and mobile work 3 among relevant risk factors. Examples include:

• Healthcare: interactions with patients, families and visitors.
• Retail and hospitality: cash handling and late-night customer contact increase exposure.
• Education: staff deal with student and parent interactions every day.
• Transportation: drivers often work alone with the public.
• Law enforcement and security: workers have direct exposure to volatile situations.
• Social services: community work brings staff into contact with clients in crisis.

This list illustrates risk settings. It does not exempt other workplaces from prevention or training duties.

Can the training be done online?

Yes, workplace violence and harassment training can be completed fully online. The course is theory-based, with no practical component to schedule. eSafetyFirst's program has two modules: the first covers the definitions, legislation and prevention methods, and the second covers how to respond to violent incidents and file a report. It takes about 1 hour in total, with two tests. You can start and stop anytime, from any device.

Employers using it to meet the federal training duty should pair it with their own workplace-specific elements. Section 12(2) 10 requires training specific to the workplace’s culture, conditions and activities, including the employer’s prevention policy.

What does the eSafetyFirst program cover?

Workplace violence and harassment training should prepare workers to recognize, prevent and respond to incidents. The eSafetyFirst course covers these topics across its two modules:

• Definitions and the law: what workplace violence and harassment are, and the legislation that governs them (Module 1).
• Responsibilities: what companies and workers are each responsible for (Module 1).
• Prevention methods: the essential measures used to prevent workplace violence (Module 1).
• Responding to incidents: how to respond properly to a violent incident at work (Module 2).
• Reporting: how to file a report when an incident occurs (Module 2).

Use your workplace’s policy alongside the training so you know whom to contact, how to get assistance and which reporting procedure to follow.

When does the law require retraining on workplace violence and harassment?

The legislation cited in this guide sets employer retraining duties, not an expiry date for a training certificate. The eSafetyFirst Workplace Violence & Harassment certificate carries a printed expiry of three years from completion; that term is separate from an employer’s legal retraining obligations.

For federally regulated workplaces, section 12 10 requires employee training within three months of starting employment and at least once every three years thereafter. Earlier training is required following a training update or assignment to a new activity or role with an increased or specific risk of harassment and violence. The employer must also undergo training at least every three years.

Provincial and territorial duties must be checked separately. For example, Ontario requires at least annual review of the workplace harassment program 29; that is a program-review requirement, not a universal annual certificate expiry. A certificate that has not expired does not remove the need to address new risks or changed procedures.

Key takeaways

Every province and territory now places prevention duties on employers, and Bill C-65, together with the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, was the turning point at the federal level, adding a mandatory training cycle and a structured process for resolving occurrences. For employers and workers alike, training is an important component of workplace prevention: it gives everyone a shared understanding of what counts as violence and harassment, what the law requires, and how to respond and report when an incident happens.