Month: March 2018

Canada is heading into uncharted territory. Just over a year ago, the federal government set July 1, 2018 as the deadline for cannabis legalization. Since then, we’ve had front-row seats to the green rush. With a dedicated Cannabis practice, Navigator has been following developments in the cannabis industry, with an eye to how government, entrepreneurs, activists, medical professionals, law enforcement, and Canadians are planning for the end of prohibition.

Since November 2016, we have been tracking Canadians’ feelings about legalization in Canada’s only tracking poll dedicated to Cannabis. In January 2017, we launched the first season of Legalized. In our first season, we followed the announcement of legalization through its study by the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation and the announcement of its recommendations. But we were just getting started.

By request, and popular demand, we’re pleased to announce the return of Legalized for its second season on March 26, 2018.

Which means you have less than two weeks to binge on the first season, as we’ll be picking things up where we left off last year.

Over the past 17 months, we have heard the excitement and concerns of Canadians. We watched as provincial government introduced legislation about cannabis retail and as the cannabis industry expanded across the country.

In season 2 of Legalized we’ll speak with Aaron Salz, head of Stoic Advisory to discover how Canada is quietly becoming the top exporter of medical cannabis. What does that look like? What are other countries borrowing from Canada’s model? What does this mean for Canadian exports?

We’ll explore the economic impacts inside our own borders. Is the end of prohibition proving to be a boon for small towns that have been hit hard by the decline in manufacturing?

And what can we expect of entrepreneurs seeking to build cannabis lifestyle brands? How can these pioneers build modern cannabis businesses that eschew the traditional “stoner” aesthetic? How do they plan to shed stereotypes about cannabis consumption?

As businesses and entrepreneurs professionalize the industry, how will they manage public opinion, which hasn’t yet fully embraced legalization? In our Cannabis in Canada report, we have watched support for legalization slowly decrease from a high of 46% to a low of 42% over the last 18 months. Similarly, we have seen opposition to legalization rise from a low of 33% to a high of 38% in that same period.

What will it take for Canadians to feel comfortable that law enforcement have the tools they need to tackle impaired driving and youth access? We’ll dig into these concerns in our new season of Legalized.

Last season, we spoke with the Hon. Anne McLellan, head of the federal government’s Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation, about the findings and recommendations of the Task Force. In season 2, we’ll check-in with her again about Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, to see if the legislation lines up with the findings of the Task Force, and the degree to which it will produce a safe environment for Canadians and cannabis consumers.

While the bill has passed votes in the House and is now being debated in the Senate, issues remain among activists and opposition parties. We’ll speak with one Member of Parliament—Tracey Ramsey—who has voiced her concerns with the government’s legalization plan. We’ll explore how —in her view—the legislation has created confusion about what’s legal vs. what’s not,  and it will fail to equip law-enforcement with the tools needed to accurately test for cannabis-impaired driving.

Similarly, we’ll hear from activists and advocates, such as Jonathan Zaid from Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana, that the federal government’s approach to legalization will place undue burden on medical patients. A refusal by the federal government to exempt medical cannabis from its $1-per-gram excise tax and HST/GST will create a situation in which medical cannabis is the only prescribed drug that is not exempt from taxation. What impact will this have?

There are a host of issues that still need to be addressed by all levels of government about legalization. Despite these, we have already seen the incredible economic impact the cannabis industry can have on Canada. The expansion of medical and recreational cannabis businesses has been unprecedented and full legalization could bring even more growth.

As we explore these questions, we hope you’ll subscribe to our second season of Legalized, wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcast, Google Play, SoundCloud). We’ve been lucky enough to speak with industry professionals, medical experts, MPs, activists, and advocates about what legalization means for Canada and Canadians. And we can’t wait to share their perspective with you.

New episodes are released every week, starting on March 26, 2018.

To subscribe to one of our podcast feeds, click here: 

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Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: The Public’s Perspective

Download the report here: Report on Public’s Perspective of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

We are in the midst of a transformative moment for the workplace; the beginning of a cultural zeitgeist that approaches harassment and misconduct in a professional environment in a profoundly different way than it ever has before. It is difficult to watch television, open a magazine, or read a newspaper without being inundated with stories of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace. The shocking fall of Harvey Weinstein was only the beginning, as the #metoo and #timesup phenomena have swept the globe with ever-increasing momentum.

It is a moment that has set into motion significant change and will, hopefully, have lasting effects on the way that people interact with each other in the workplace. It also brings with it major implications for organizations, and the public’s expectations of their processes and procedures in the face of these types of high-profile challenges.

While many organizations have taken steps to shape the culture of their workplaces to be positive, inclusive and free from harassment, it is naive to think that employers can, in all cases, control the behaviour of employees as there will always be those who engage in behaviour that contravenes the values of the organization.

What can be controlled, however, is the preparation for and the management of these challenges when they arise.

Public and media expectations of an organization’s response have evolved and grown, and are under more acute scrutiny now than ever before. There is little public sympathy for a slow or indecisive response when allegations surface regarding inappropriate behaviour within an organization. Organizations that are perceived to be delaying or protecting wayward employees are at an increasing risk of receiving significant negative attention on social and traditional media, harming their long-term reputation. They also risk lasting harm to their workplace culture and employee morale, and put themselves at substantial risk in both the court of public opinion and a court of law.

However, there has been speculation that the expectations of media are out-of-line with that of the public. Leaders of organizations have wrestled with questions of morality, and the importance of protecting their organization. The absence of data meant that organizations were acting blindly, taking or delaying action based on instinct rather than taking an evidence based approach.

At Navigator, we believe in always taking a research-guided approach to solve challenges. When managing issues that capture the public attention, it is critical that organizations understand the expectations of the public.

With this in mind, to better understand how Canadians perceive these issues and how they prefer to see them addressed, Navigator undertook a major national survey that investigates the attitudes and beliefs of the public. The survey examines a number of issues, and uses a specialized approach to understand whether some of the received wisdom that exists on the issue is correct.

The results provide a comprehensive and fascinating understanding of the landscape, and should be used as a tool for organizations to understand how to create a safe environment internally, to manage its approach to challenges, and to protect itself from reputational damage should an issue emerge.

It is vital that leaders of organizations understand and manage this issue, for the good of their employees and for the protection of the organization. This survey is a vital and valuable tool in that understanding.

Methodology

The survey was conducted among a national proportionate sample of 2000 Canadians.

The study was conducted using an online methodology and was undertaken from February 12 to 20, 2018. Respondents were able to complete the survey in the language of their choice: English or French.

Quotas were instituted for region, age and gender to ensure that the sample reflects the characteristics of the Canadian population based on recent Statistics Canada data. Further, weights were applied to ensure that the educational level of respondents reflects Statistics Canada data.

Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Understanding of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

The legal definition of sexual harassment is defined in legislation differently across jurisdictions, but those definitions rarely align with public perceptions of sexual harassment. For instance, in Ontario, which is the province in Canada with the most wide-ranging definition of sexual harassment, the legislation describes sexual harassment as “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.”

This wide-ranging definition leads to significant confusion when used in real-world situations. Situations involving harassment, for example, often involve the harasser being unaware of how their actions are perceived. The past year has provided many examples of this; rarely, it seemed, did a statement from an accused not include an explanation that they did not understand their behaviour to be harassment at the time. Such confusion can be deeply challenging for organizations attempting to appropriately and fairly adjudicate such situations.

This confusion is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that the public’s understanding of sexual harassment varies greatly. When asked to self-assess their understanding of sexual harassment in the workplace, 66% of Canadians describe themselves as having a good understanding; only 7% describe themselves as having a poor understanding.

However, when asked to describe whether an action is sexual harassment or not, views are far from aligned on a number of issues.

Perceived Seriousness and Prevalence of the Issue in Canada

During the media frenzy of the #metoo moment, prominent commentators have questioned whether the intensity of public concern is aligned with that of journalists.

When asked, 82% of Canadians describe the issue as a serious or very serious issue, with only 18% believing it is not serious.

Notably, more women (88%) than men (74%) feel it was a serious or very serious issue.

To understand the intensity of Canadians’ belief that sexual harassment is a serious issue, Navigator asked those participants to rate a variety of well-known but unrelated issues. Sexual harassment in the workplace ranks along other hot-topic issues, including the signing of NAFTA, the legalization of cannabis, and volatility in the stock market.

Further, two-thirds of Canadians express the belief that all or most Canadian companies struggled with issues of sexual harassment.

Often, when managing public affairs issues, companies must overcome narrative challenges. If a pattern of behaviour that is unacceptable in the eyes of the public becomes evident, a company’s credibility is tarnished and their ability to counter public criticism is limited. It is with this in mind that Navigator sought the opinions of Canadians on their assessment of industry. Navigator tested more than 18 different sectors for their credibility on this issue.

Participants believe that organizations in the entertainment industry, hospitality industry, and in the media are most likely to be hotbeds for sexual harassment.

 

Prevalence of the Issue in the Workplaces of Respondents and Evaluations of Current Employers

It is vital that leaders of organizations create a safe space for employees. Not only does creating such an environment help the organization thrive, but it allows leaders to deal with issues openly and rapidly, preventing them from sustaining public criticism. A surprisingly high proportion of employed Canadians – 2 in 5 – feel that sexual harassment is a serious problem in their own workplace.

40% of Canadians say there is some or a lot of sexual harassment in their workplace.

When tested on a variety of issues, Canadians expressed ambivalence about the internal policies of their own organizations. Many feel that their organization has simply not done an adequate job, while fewer than a quarter answered that their organization was doing a “very good job” on a variety of metrics. Those metrics included whether the company has in place appropriate policies, whether they provide a safe culture, and whether they
do an appropriate job of informing employees.

Incidence of Personally Experiencing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

The prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace is another metric that was tested in the survey. Approximately 24% of Canadians reported that they had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. Women are considerably more likely than men to report that they have been victims of harassment.

Problematically, of those who report that they have been sexually harassed in the workplace, nearly 2 in 5 report that the sexual harassment stemmed from a person who had direct influence over their career.

Perceptions of Management

When it comes to how Canadians perceive the management of the issue, the opinion of Canadians is more nuanced. For instance, while 71% of Canadians feel that it has taken far too long for the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace to be taken seriously, when asked if they believe the pendulum had swung too far, 54% agree with only 18% disagreeing.

This question once again demonstrates a gender disparity:

Takeaways for Organizations 

It is evident that Canadians believe that sexual harassment is an issue, and one that must be dealt with appropriately by organizations. Their expectations and beliefs regarding how organizations must behave will define whether those organizations will survive public criticism.

Organizations must not wait for the challenges to come to them: they must be prepared to manage and deal with issues as they come, and they must act to prevent issues from emerging by creating a safe work environment in the first place.

It is vital that leaders of organizations take steps to create this safe work environment, both to maintain a healthy organization and to prevent themselves from sustaining reputational damage.

Download the report here: Report on Public’s Perspective of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace