DISCRIMINATION Illegal Discrimination. The Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, marital status, family status, mental or physical disability, pardoned conviction or sexual orientation. Discrimination on the basis of childbirth or pregnancy is discrimination based on sex. Harassment on any of these grounds is an unlawful discriminatory practice that may give rise to a complaint of harassment under the terms of this policy. Personal Harassment Disrespectful behaviour, called personal harassment, and sometimes referred to as psychological harassment or bullying, also comes under the scope of this policy. It involves inappropriate behaviour that demeans or embarrasses a person, but that is not based on one of the prohibited grounds for discrimination mentioned above. Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment means any conduct, comment, gesture or contact of a sexual nature that is likely to cause offence or humiliation to someone, or might, on reasonable grounds, be perceived by an employee as placing a condition of a sexual nature on his or her employment or on any opportunity for training or promotion or, in the case of independent contractors, on any mandate or contract for goods and services. Sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and any other unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when: • Submission to such behaviour or refusal by the person being harassed adversely affects, explicitly or implicitly, the job or the conditions of employment of that person, or, in the case of independent contractors, adversely affects, explicitly or implicitly, the performance of services or the delivery of goods to the NFB or the conditions of performance of those services or the delivery of goods by that contractor; or • The purpose or effect of such behaviour is to impair an employee’s performance at work or to create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
