Vancouver Park Board publicly accused of toxic workplace culture

Park Board accused of toxic workplace culture At a meeting of the Vancouver Park Board, an employee made serious allegations of workplace bullying and harassment

During Monday night’s park board meeting in Vancouver, a man who claimed he was an operations worker for the city did not hold back, making some serious allegations about workplace bullying and harassment.

“I’ve witnessed widespread fear of management. I’ve been subjected to racism in the workplace by supervisors. I’ve witnessed repeated violations of the city’s current bullying and harassment policies,” said Jose Raphael.

Raphael felt compelled to speak to commissioners when the board was discussing its new code of conduct policy, one of the items on the agenda. However, he was cut off mid-sentence by board chair Camil Dumont.

“Jose, I am just going to stop you for a second. What you’re describing sounds very serious and I’ve just been informed by our general manager, it’s clearly a human resources matter. And your presence here, may have repercussions for yourself and so on,” he said.

“I would suggest this may not be appropriate time to bring these items to the board. I would consider maybe even speaking to a staff member here and figuring out what the best course of action will be, because I think it’s important you be heard,” he added. .

Raphael agreed and finished by saying he’s witnessed a divide between city policies and operations.

“I hope whatever new policies do come, that it actually reflects the operations of the city,” he said.

WORKPLACE POLICY

Under section 3.1 in the city of Vancouver’s corporate policy for human rights and harassment, it states “An individual who believes he or she is being harassed … may consult an (Equal Employment Opportunity) advisor, who can assess whether the complaint falls under this policy and discuss possible courses of action.”

“What we don’t know, is if this employee actually tried to do the right thing and followed the policy or if he just chose to disregard it,” said Debby Carreau, human resources expert at

“If employees do speak out -- even if it's not the way an organization wants them to -- they still deserve the right to be heard and to be treated with respect,” she said.

Employment Lawyer, Sara Forte with Forte Workplace Law, says every employer in B.C. is mandated to have a bullying and harassment policy, and training on how to approach these sensitive issues.

“The first thing I tell workers who are suffering from bullying and harassment at work is to find their employer's policy. That policy needs to address what the expectations are. So, what is bullying and harassment, how to report it and then have an investigation protocol that will be followed,” said Forte.

Forte adds that workers also have the right to bring a complaint to the BC Human Rights Tribunal, if it relates to discrimination under prohibited grounds such as race or sex, among others.

CITY RESPONDS 

As for whether Rapheal’s concerns were addressed, the city of Vancouver’s Board of Parks and Recreation said in a statement that bullying and harassment is not tolerated.

“The City of Vancouver has two policies which address workplace harassment and bullying: the Respectful Workplace Policy and the Human Rights and Harassment Policy. Staff are informed of both policies and the process for making complaints during their orientation, and throughout the course of their employment, including through regular safety talks, crew talks, and through online resources," it read.

"While we cannot comment on any specific employee complaint due to privacy legislation, we can confirm that retaliation against staff for raising concerns of bullying or harassment in good faith is prohibited.”