The Rubin-Thomlinson Report Summary

The basis of the Rubin Thomlinson investigation into human resources practices at Toronto Community Housing Corporation was based on previously lodged complaints.  By no means was this an exhaustive examination of current hiring or firing practices at TCHC with the capability of identifying systemic issues. 

TCHC CEO Kevin Marshman stated in a News Release regarding the Rubin-Thomlinson report summary that "We addressed many of the concerns raised in this report by introducing a Workplace Harassment Program and a new Procedure for Staff Complaints in 2018." 

This may come as a surprise to many - including TCHC itself - but as a "Corporation" operating under the City of Toronto's umbrella they are subject to the City of Toronto's Human Rights and Anti-Harassment Policy.  "Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, every person has a right to equal treatment by the City of Toronto, its agencies [& corporations], boards and commission and its citizen advisory committees, with respect to services and facilities, accommodation, contracts and employment." 

It's even more surprising that there is evidence of (and TCHC admits) that they "blocked COTAPSA emails from its servers [since 2013] and refused to allow COTAPSA representatives to represent employees [since 2002] in grievance matters."  

Who is COTAPSA? 

COTAPSA is City of Toronto Administrative, Professional, Supervisory Association      

According to a footnote at the bottom of page 22 of the Rubin Thomlinson report summary "COTAPSA is a voluntary organization that represents the interests of non-unionized employees who work for the City of Toronto and specifically assists members by advising, advocating or acting on their behalf with respect to employment-related issues with their employers, such as terminations, human rights complaints, lost wages, and discipline," 

As a City of Toronto corporation TCHC should be advocating in the best interest of their employees.  That would include allowing them to communicate with and receive support from COTAPSA.   

Otherwise, it really shouldn't come as any great surprise that staff at Toronto Community Housing have "expressed a profound lack of faith and lack of trust" in their human resources department.  According to an article in the Globe and Mail Jennifer Bond the Director of Labour Relations didn't even have a formal interview let alone meet the previously outlined qualifications for the job posting.  

In the meantime, I can only hope that the report back to the TCHC Board of Directors in Q1 (the first quarter of) 2020 will occur during the public session of the board meeting.  I certainly can't wait to see how they fared in addressing the complete list of Rubin-Thomlinson recommendations.  At this point, I'd be satisfied with just seeing the complete list.