Abstract
This paper asks if the law in Nova Scotia adequately reflects the accepted notion that every employee has the right to a workplace free from sexual harassment. Nova Scotia trails most other Canadian jurisdictions in its exclusion of psychological violence and mental health hazards from occupational health and safety legislation. This paper begins by canvassing current legal remedies available to victims of workplace sexual harassment. Concluding that current human rights, tort, and contact frameworks do not sufficiently protect employees, it argues that Nova Scotia’s Occupational Health and Safety Act must be amended to include sexual harassment and other forms of psychological violence. Furthermore, it calls on the incumbent government to act. To provide recommendations to improve Nova Scotia’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, frameworks adopted by other jurisdictions and a proposed bill tabled in the Nova Scotia legislature are reviewed. The paper further argues that Occupational Health and Safety tools can be leveraged to limit the prevalence of sexual harassment at work.
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Recommended Citation
Sydney Hull, "From Protection to Prevention: The Case for Incorporating Anti-Sexual Harassment Provisions into Nova Scotia’s Occupational Health and Safety Legislation" (2022) 31 Dal J Leg Stud 1.