“This brings the Legislature into the 21st Century.”
The Legislative Assembly Management Committee has passed a respectful workplace policy for the legislative assembly.
Sonia Furstenau, a member of that committee, said this policy is something that every type of organization has and now, so does the BC Legislature.
“[It’s] a comprehensive policy that outlines the expectation of behaviour in the context of creating a respectful workplace in the whole legislative assembly, so [it includes] everybody that works here, and provides a process for any kind of complaint to be brought to an independent office and to be resolved in a manner that maintains that respectful workplace,” said Furstenau.
Furstenau said this policy applies to all staff members, outside the chamber.
“Whether you are an MLA or a caucus staff member, or you work in the clerk’s office, or you work in Hansard, or you work in the mail department, this is an overarching umbrella policy that says, ‘here are the expectations of this workplace,’ and most workplaces already have this kind of policy.”
Proceedings in the chamber are governed by standing orders, which set out a separate set of rules for MLA’s in the chamber.
