City officials vow to make detailed harassment data available to public
City of Edmonton officials are now promising to release detailed workplace harassment data for all city branches by mid-January, after first arguing the information was too sensitive to release publicly.
The data, gathered as part of the 2016 employee engagement survey, is expected to paint a clear picture of where harassment, discrimination and bullying are at their worst — broken down by city branch and gender — forcing all managers to take complaints seriously.
According to an internal memo sent to all employees, city officials have also immediately suspended their internal harassment complaints process and appointed an external St. Albert-based mediator to take all employee concerns.
Paula Drouin, a mediator with 20 years of experience in workplace conflict, will be taking all calls and determining which ones need to go to a third-party investigator.
“Anybody can call me. It absolutely stays with me,” said Drouin in an interview Sunday.
Even if a caller doesn’t want or need an immediate investigation into their situation, Drouin will be using their stories to better understand the issues, trends and solutions.
Edmonton is preparing to reopen debate around its Percent For Art policy and at least one councillor wants a new focus on buying local.
“I’m hugely in favour of hiring local artists first,” said Coun. Jon Dziadyk, weighing in on the sometimes controversial program Saturday.
“We can be proud to celebrate our own heritage and our own creative people. We don’t have to go for what’s flashy in another city.”
The City of Edmonton currently puts one per cent of eligible construction costs on new projects toward public art located near those civic projects. That money has built well-known pieces such as the Talus Dome, the silver balls near the Quesnell Bridge.
But the program is ready for its second five-year review. The Edmonton Arts Council will be running open houses and an online survey to gather residents’ opinions starting next month.
They’re hoping an updated approach will be part of a new 10-year Art of Living (civic art and culture) plan for 2018 or early 2019. An update is heading to city council’s executive committee Tuesday.
Dziadyk said he also questions the amount of money put into signature art pieces.
“One per cent often seems high,” especially on large projects, he said. “Sometimes it’s possible to do more with less. I’m interested to see what differences in art proposals would come through if there was less money in the account.”
Sanjay Shahani, executive director at the arts council, said he expects consultation to focus on how public art can be used for “placemaking,” or the attempt to create unique spaces in the city that local residents are proud of.
Two art council projects won an Edmonton Urban Design award for the way they did this. The bohemian waxwings in Michael Phair Park and Tsa Tsa Ke K’e in Rogers Place are transformational. The way they’re positioned, lit and designed changes utilitarian space into a place that’s inviting.