Complaint dismissed because employer satisfied its obligation to stop harassment

A mechanic filed a harassment complaint alleging, among other things, that he was the victim of a single instance of serious conduct when a co-worker said to him: "Esti de nègre, je te jure je vais te tuer". Although the plaintiff called the police, no criminal charges were pressed against the co-worker. The court noted that racist language and dead threats are unacceptable in society at large, let alone in the workplace. This event, which was immediately brought to the attention of the employer by the plaintiff, constitutes harassment. However, the evidence showed that the Vice-President of Operations was proactive and that investigated the matter without delay by meeting the co-worker as soon as the police left. This intervention, combined with the verbal warning given to the co-worker was successful, as the harassment ceased permanently. The employer having respected its legal obligation to stop the harassment, the complaint was dismissed.

Chaperon et Montréal Auto Prix inc.
2021EXPT-2027, 2021 QCTAT 4355, j.a. Marie-Claude Pilon