A recent Alberta arbitration decision puts renewed focus on a familiar argument in workplace harassment cases: that conduct must be understood in light of the surrounding workplace culture.
Dans ce billet, nous vous présentons notre équipe actuelle d’enquêteurs bilingues, composée de Frédérick J. Doucet et de Frédérik Forget. Tous deux mènent leurs enquêtes en anglais et en français, une compétence essentielle chez Rubin Thomlinson puisque nous prenons des dossiers de partout au pays. Nous voulions donc vous donner un aperçu de ce qu’implique le fait de mener des enquêtes bilingues et de la façon dont ces deux professionnels ont développé les compétences linguistiques qui leur permettent de s’épanouir dans leur rôle.
In this blog, we want to introduce you to our current team of bilingual investigators: Frédérick J. Doucet and Frédérik Forget. Both these investigators conduct investigations in English and in French, which is an important skill at Rubin Thomlinson given that we work across the country. We wanted to share with you what being a bilingual investigator entails and how these two investigators developed language capabilities that allow them to be successful in their roles.
Québec case law often goes unnoticed in the rest of Canada and remains inaccessible to most workplace investigators across the country, primarily due to linguistic reasons. This situation is quite unfortunate since Québec courts, tribunals, and adjudicators render interesting and innovative decisions every year in various areas of interest, including human rights and labour law.
La jurisprudence québécoise passe souvent inaperçue dans les autres provinces canadiennes et demeure inaccessible pour la grande majorité des enquêteurs et enquêteuses en milieu de travail du pays, et ce, pour des raisons principalement linguistiques. Cette situation est malheureuse, puisque chaque année, les tribunaux québécois rendent des décisions intéressantes et innovatrices dans plusieurs domaines d’intérêt, dont en droits de la personne et en droit du travail.
Slurs, name-calling, swearing, yelling, taunting, eye rolling, profane jokes and innuendos, sexual harassment, violence to property or person: these are easily recognized as the types of behaviours which run afoul of workplace codes of conduct and anti-harassment policies.
Language discrimination is a harmful reality in many workplaces, and employers need to be proactive in not only preventing it, but in celebrating and promoting language diversity. In a world where 281 million people live in countries other than where they were born, and with a record number of Canadians (13%) reporting a first language other than English or French, this issue is more important than ever. The rise of controversial new voice-altering technology, which perpetuates existing hierarchies about who speaks English with the “right” accent and who does not, adds to this urgency.
Follow us:
Rubin Thomlinson LLP
Tel: (416) 847-1814 | Fax: (416) 847-1815
Privacy Statement | Terms and Conditions
Copyright © 2026
