The province says that over the past year within its government, they have seen an overall 34 per cent decrease in misconduct investigations.

Ministers Cathy Cox and Reg Helwer say they believe the slight increase in sexual harassment complaints and investigations is due to a heightened sense of awareness and a decrease in tolerance for sexual harassment in the workplace.

“We are hopeful the sustained number of reported instances of harassment for 2019-20 is a sign that employees continue to feel safe coming forward with concerns,” Civil Service, and Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Cathy Cox said.

In the 2019-2020 season, there were 417 allegations of harassment or bullying, sexual harassment and other forms of misconduct received. The ministers say this includes attempted fraud or conflict of interest.

Of the 417 allegations, 291 investigations were conducted. The province says they substantiated 288 of the alligations.

“We want employees to know that we take complaints of harassment and sexual harassment very seriously, and will not tolerate this type of behaviour in the workplace," Cox says.

The province says it received 25 sexual harassment complaints in the past year and verified 20 of those. Of the 20 substantiated instances,  two required mediation, 10 resulted in instances of disciplinary action,  and 10 instances required further training or education.

“The Manitoba government is committed to ensuring that our employees work in a respectful workplace free from all forms of harassment,” Central Services Minister Helwer says. “We continue taking steps to create a strong culture of accountability and transparency within the civil service.”

Additionally, the Manitoban report states they found:
•    a 34 per cent decrease in the total number of investigations related to sexual harassment, harassment and bullying and other forms of misconduct (down to 291 in 2019-20 from 440 in 2018-19);
•    a nine per cent increase in the number of investigations specific to sexual harassment (up to 24 in 2019-20 from 22 in 2018-19); and
•    a five per cent increase in the number of substantiated allegations of sexual harassment (up to 20 in 2019-20 from 19 in 2018-19).

The province says they are updating its online Respectful Workplace and Harassment Prevention training. Once the update is complete,  all government employees will need to complete the training each year. Previously, it was only required to do once. 

The Government of Manitoba says they have been working since 2018 to promote a safe working environment, noting that through this initiative they decided to begin reporting respectful workplace statistics annually. 

The province says they are also now implementing the following measures to support respect in the workplace:
•    a revised respectful workplace policy, which includes valuable feedback from employees;
•    a government-wide employee sexual harassment awareness campaign;
•    reassignment of staff to support policy implementation, and provide training and support;
•    a new Code of Conduct to strengthen the overall ethical framework and environment within government, which includes a process for disclosing inappropriate conduct with anonymous disclosures;
•    measuring and reporting on objectives related to strengthening respect and advancing reconciliation and inclusion in public service workplaces as part of Manitoba Measuring Progress, Manitoba’s balanced scorecard dashboard; and
•    new and enhanced training opportunities including the launch of a virtual version of the respectful workplace classroom workshop and a learning series on anti-racism and discrimination.

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