In Nova Scotia, both the Human Rights Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations define harassment. The definitions are similar though slightly different wording is used in each.  The OHS Regulations refer to “a single significant occurrence or a course of repeated occurrences of objectionable or unwelcome conduct, comment or action in the workplace, including bullying, that, whether intended or not, degrades, intimidates or threatens…” and includes harassment based on a protected characteristic under the Human Rights Act, as well as sexual harassment. From this definition, we can see that the focus is on the person experiencing the conduct, comment, or action. That is, if the perpetrator of the action were to say that it was unintended or done in error, this does not justify or excuse the behaviour. The focus is on the person impacted who was degraded, intimidated or threatened by the behaviour.  The Human Rights Act definition uses slightly different language but amounts to substantially the same meaning and effect.

It depends! Each case needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the facts meet the threshold set out in the definition for harassment. Not knowing the answer to this question is why it is important to conduct an impartial investigation when complaints of harassment are filed. Once all the evidence is gathered and analyzed to understand the facts, the investigator then needs to consider whether the facts meet the definition of harassment as set out in the regulations. In other words, do the facts support that a finding that the incident was a single significant occurrence or a course of repeated occurrences of objectionable or unwelcome conduct, comment or action in the workplace, including bullying, that, whether intended or not, degraded, intimidated or threatened the individual who raised the complaint?

Nova Scotia’s current legislative scheme does not define ‘psychological harassment’ per se, however, in the new definition for ‘health & safety’ under the Occupational Health & Safety Act, it states at sub-section 3(r): “health and safety” includes both physical and psychological health and safety. Prior to this revised definition of ‘health and safety’ the law did not provide safeguards for psychological safety in the workplace. This revised definition results in an expansion of the scope of safety obligations for all workplace to include both physical and psychological duties. These obligations apply to everyone who has safety responsibilities in the workplace: employers, employees, contractors, suppliers, etc.  The Nova Scotian government has created guiding texts to assist with understanding the legislative changes. The term ‘psychological harassment’ is used within this text.¹ Prior to the introduction of laws that require employers to implement harassment policies, Nova Scotian occupational safety laws only provided protection from harm from physical violence. The implication is that harassment (including sexual) can cause psychological harms and employers are required to take steps to prevent and respond to allegations of harassment in their workplaces. The Nova Scotian Workers’ Compensation Act also recently introduced new provisions that came, that include the consideration of psychological injuries suffered at work. Essentially, what this means is that psychological injuries suffered at work due to harassment (including sexual) are now considered compensable injuries under workers compensation. ¹ See for example