Industry veterans worry victims have no recourse
One Ottawa restaurant owner called it a “kick in the ass,” while another questioned the effectiveness of workplace policies after a prominent local chef admitted to sexually harassing women on Wednesday.
Celebrity chef Matthew Carmichael, 46, apologized after admitting to sexually harassing an unspecified number of women with inappropriate comments. In a statement, he said he has attended drug and alcohol rehab, and stepped back from the operations of his popular downtown restaurants, which include Riviera, Datsun and two El Camino locations.
Rumours about Carmichael had circulated in the restaurant industry for months, said Ivan Gedz, coowner and manager of Centretown restaurant Union Local 613. But those on the outside — who heard about the news second- or thirdhand — found it difficult to speak up without concrete evidence.
For the people on the inside, Gedz said “bullying tactics” can silence survivors and those intimate with the situation.
“It’s really brought to light how easily these things can be hushed up, how scared people can be,” Gedz said. “When somebody has the (celebrity) persona of Carmichael, I think people are very afraid to speak out.
“There’s nowhere for them to turn to. That may be the problem, the biggest problem, that they don’t have anywhere (to go) or feel they have any allies in this situation.”
Many independent restaurants in Ottawa don’t have the funds for a human resources department, said Gedz, and survivors of workplace harassment or violence are often pointed to the Ontario Labour Relations Board or Social Justice Tribunals Ontario. But Gedz feels those complaint mechanisms are not effective enough.
“I know people who have called the labour board … and heard numerous accounts from the labour board that these people have no recourse. As far as I’m concerned, nobody thinks the labour board has any teeth whatsoever.”
Adam Vettorel, the chef and coowner at North and Navy, said a harassment policy is already mandated by the Ministry of Labour — his is taped to the wall of his restaurant — but that it might not be prominent or useful enough.
“Clearly, there are the resources around (complaining), but for whatever reason women don’t feel comfortable coming forward,” Vettorel said.
“Those resources maybe aren’t enough or are not even the right tool at all to address the problem. Obviously, in this case they didn’t help the victims at the time they were being victimized.”
Vettorel hopes this does not tarnish the restaurant industry as a whole, and said there are still safe, welcoming places to work in Ottawa.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to hire somebody if they came from another kitchen, if all they said was, ‘I didn’t like the environment there.’ I think it’s important the rest of the industry makes it known that it’s not all like that, that not every kitchen is super-negative and the ‘bro chef’ culture doesn’t exist in every kitchen.”
Caroline Gosselin, co-owner of ByWard Market restaurants E18hteen and Sidedoor, said it’s management’s responsibility to guide workers and not perpetuate harmful behaviour and misconduct.
“In the restaurant environment … I don’t accept drugs, alcohol or sexual conduct at all in any of my places,” she said. “Whatever I can do to correct it, or take care so it doesn’t transpire, is something I feel very passionate about.”
Blair Crew, a University of Ottawa professor who specializes in sexual assault law, said many of these harassment complaints are settled with “gag orders” or nondisclosure agreements before they can make it to the final adjudication stage.
“I think an awful lot of them are settled in the mediation process,” Crew said. “There may be a letter of apology, an agreement to put into place more anti-sexualharassment policies, financial compensation paid, letters of reference given.”
The problem, Crew said, is the pre-hearing settlements mean fewer decisions are publicized because a non-disclosure agreement — which employers will often ask for to preserve reputation — is often consented to.
“There are a lot of cases where we never find out what happens to them,” he said. “One thing is, I do think it contributes to an appearance that these are much less common in society than they are. It does hide how common human rights complaints of this nature might be.”
In light of the news, Grayson McDiarmid, a sommelier and restaurant manager and his wife, Anne-Marie McDiarmid, have created a Facebook page called Safe Restaurant Ottawa with a list of eateries “committed to a harassment-free work environment who need great people.”
Gedz said it’s a “kick in the ass that things that have gone on in the past can’t continue to go on, that workers can’t continue to be exploited physically, sexually or monetarily.”
The Carmichael case is a wakeup call to the industry for an issue that has gone on for far too long, Gedz said.
“It blows my mind the stuff that is still gotten away with in our industry, and not just the physical and sexual harassment, but how people get intimidated and abused. I would really like restaurant owners to realize they can’t get away with it.”