A Calgary MLA is speaking out about the private member’s bill he introduced in the Alberta Legislature earlier this week in an effort to address the issue of bullying in the workplace.
“Alberta is one of the few provinces that doesn’t actually recognize psychological harassment or bullying in the workplace,” Craig Coolahan, the NDP MLA for Calgary-Klein, told Corus Entertainment’s Alberta Morning News. “A constituent of mine in Calgary-Klein had come to me with a story in which she felt that she had been bullied for quite some time in her workplace and was really unable to get it resolved or get any action towards making it stop and making her situation at work better.”
On Wednesday, Coolahan introduced Bill 208, which he said would allow people to actually file bullying-related complaints with Alberta Occupational Health and Safety in order to have a third party investigate the allegations.
The MLA told Alberta Morning News he’s heard from Albertans who say they support his proposed legislation.
“They don’t want to see people bullied at work … this is really going to help their bottom line,” Coolahan said. “We’re talking less attrition, less turnover, much more engagement at work from their employees. Businesses really see this as helpful.”
-with files from iNews880’s Daniel Stilwell