issue 09 / volume 41

But he never made a pass at me...

» Sexual harassment laws in Canada

een Life & Style Editor
ae “i lifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

 

[: no secret that there are
sexual harassment laws in

of burger-flipping jobs there’s a
training video ora sub-section
in a manual explaining that
unwanted sexual advances have
no place at the job site. But is
that really all that the laws say?
Recently a friend of
mine, who was working ina
commercial pastry kitchen
that supplied several major
restaurants in the downtown
area, was having some trouble
with her new head chef. He
was being derogatory towards
women and there was clear
preferential treatment of

boys, or men,
; comments about a person’s

: physical appearance (for

: example, whether or not they

: are attractive),” and “.. saying

: or doing something because

: you think a person does not fit
sex-role stereotypes.” Put into

: the male employees. When
: I told her to go to human
Brittney MacDonald : resources (HR) and file a sexual
: harassment claim, I was met
: with, “.. but he never made a

: pass at me...”

If you look up the law, it

: clearly states that in Canada
Canada. Even for the most basic : sexual harassment doesn’t
: just cover unwanted sexual

: advances.

According to the Ontario

Human Rights Commission, :
: sexual harassment also includes :
“.. using rude or insulting
: language or making comments
: that stereotype girls, women,

6

... Making

: layman’s terms, this means any
: discrimination in the workplace
: based on gender constitutes

: sexual harassment.

Here is where the water gets

a little murky.

My friend had been to HR

and had filed complaint after
: complaint about the head chef's :
: behaviour. Despite explaining
: the issue in great detail to

: several of the company’s HR

: representatives, at no point

was the extent of the law

: about sexual harassment ever
: explained or brought up.

So you might now be

: wondering why the company’s
: HR never informed my friend
: that she could file a sexual
harassment claim.

To put it very bluntly, the

: HR representatives work for
: the same people that everyone
: else in the company works for.

: Had my friend filed a sexual

: harassment claim, HR would

: have had to eventually report

: the claim to the Ministry

: of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills

: Training (responsible for

: labour), who would have come
: down on the company. By not

informing people about the

: extent of the law, they are saving
: the company time and money. 1 :
: know it sounds cynical, but HR:
: isoftentimes an intermediary  :
: between a large company and its
: employees, with the employees’ :
: interest being secondary.
: Therefore, the safest course :
: of action is to know the law
: yourself.

If you are confused or are

: unsure if your own workplace

: situation is conforming to

: the sexual harassment laws,

: talk toa union representative.
Unlike HR departments, union

life & style // 17

it

any
discrimination
in the workplace
based on gender
constitutes
sexual
harassment.”

representatives are there to

: act as intermediaries between

: employees and their unions—

; meaning neither the company

; nor your employer’s interests

: area factor. If your workplace

: doesn’t havea union, talk to the
: ministry; they offer free legal

: advice and if necessary, will

: send an informed representative
> to negotiate on your behalf.

 

Truly outrageous!

» Nostalgia cartoons take over Netflix

Brittney MacDonald
m Life & Style Editor

ie NM lifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

 

ith the Teenage Mutant

Ninja Turtles movie and
rumours of an upcoming Jem
and the Holograms revival,
it’s clear that people just can’t
seem to get enough of classic
cartoons. And nobody has
picked up on this better than
Netflix.

Netflix has been updating
its catalogue of ‘80s to ‘90s
cartoons, branching out from
the X-Men TV series from
1992, to include the likes of
Batman: The Animated Series
and Scooby-Doo. So then let’s
take a look at a few of the newer
additions to see if any tickle
your nostalgia bone.

My Little Pony: No, I’m not
talking about the new MLP that
features anorexic ponies and a
fandom of creepy 40-year-old
men, but the MEP of old! It’s
nice to see all my favourites
back again in their squishable,
huggable glory. Netflix hasn’t
uploaded the short-lived ‘80s
television show, but what they
have done is gain the rights to
the movies. So if you're looking
for a super girly trot down

MLP movie from the late ‘gos to
the early 2000s is available.
Batman: The Animated
Series: | might be admitting my
age a bit when I say I grew up on

 

this show. Let’s be honest, many
: of you might not have even been :
: born in 1992. But that doesn’t
: change the fact that this series is :
: quintessential for any superhero
: fan. Aside from it being Batman, :
: this cartoon was one of DC’s first :
: Major moves into animation,

: and the lore developed in this

: series has stuck. Many of the

: ideas and characters developed
: in Batman: The Animated Series
: have had a serious impact
memory lane, pretty much every : on the artists and writers of

: today’s comics and cartoons,
: meaning that the character

: development and aesthetic

: stylization synonymous with
: Batman (dark, brooding etc.)
* became such because of this

series. Admittedly it gets pretty
terrible towards the later

: seasons, when it becomes a little

too soft narrative-wise and the

: art budget gets cut, but the early

seasons are well-worth a look.
Garfield and Friends: Now

: this cartoon is old even for

> me, but I’m not sure if I could

: name anyone who isn’t familiar
: with this lasagna-lover. So far
Netflix has only uploaded a

: single season of 16 episodes that
: ran from 1988-89. Though this
: series still runs in syndicate on
: major networks such as YTV

: and Teletoon, it’s nice to be

: able to marathon the entire

: first season. The episodes are

* just that, episodic, so there’s no

overarching plots to concentrate

: on. Jim Davis originally
: developed Garfield for the funny :
: pages of the paper, and none of
: that charm is lost in this classic
: cartoon. I even enjoyed the
random trips to Orson’s Farm!

Jem and the Holograms:

: I would be remiss if I didn’t

: mention this one. Though I

: never experienced the glory of
Jem through television when I

; was younger (it aired before I

: was born), I did have two older
: sisters to hand the gauntlet and
: VHS tapes down. Filled with

: catchy pop music and crazy ‘80s
: fashion, Jem and the Holograms
: is probably one of the biggest

* cartoons of its era. It’s fallen to

Illutrated Collage

the wayside recently, relegated

: to late-night airings on Teletoon

Retro instead of the mainstream

: coverage that X-Men, Batman,

: and Garfield got. To be fair,

this series does deal with some

: pretty heavy issues such as drug
: abuse, theft, abandonment,

: and death. It also seems to bea

: pattern with the major networks
: that specifically female-

: orientated cartoons aren't

: ever picked up for broadcast

: syndication, but let’s avoid that
: feminist rant for now. All you

: need to know about this show

: is it’s truly outrageous, anda

: movie based on the series might
: be in the works.