CSJ Didn’t Give Employer Chance to Answer Lack of Harassment Policy Exclusion

Starting in 2019, employers had to specify what they do to ensure a nondiscriminatory and harassment-free workplace to qualify for the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program. A faith-based university excluded from participation on the basis of the new criterion claimed the decision was procedurally unfair and in violation of its Charter rights. The federal court agreed with the first contention, noting that the CSJ officer didn’t provide the university a chance to provide ‘relevant evidence to the decision maker’ about its compliance with the requirement. And since that settled the case, the court had no need to address the weightier Charter question [Redeemer University College v. Canada (Employment, Workforce Development and Labour), 2021 FC 686 (CanLII), June 29, 2021].