Workplace Harassment is Serious Business

A mine worker in the Northwest Territories sexually harassed a female co-worker. The harassment lasted for a month. Some of the lowlights: the worker made sexual comments to the co-worker, tried to pull her into his room in the mine’s dormitory, made inappropriate comments to her and grabbed her from behind while squeezing her torso to get her breasts to move up and down. The worker was arrested and a court found him guilty of two crimes: assault and sexual assault. The court noted that the worker had ruined his co-worker’s working environment and ultimately forced her to quit, depriving her of what had been a productive and lengthy job history at the mine. The court said that it hoped that sentencing the worker to three months’ jail and one year of probation would discourage not only this worker but also other workers from taking advantage of their co-workers “to satisfy their sexual appetites” [R. v. Bouvier].