Foundation takes community well-being to heart

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation takes to heart the well-being of its community. That's why we're introducing new, proactive, modern policies that will help ensure the well-being of all our members.

Policy on the prevention of harassment and violence

In order to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all members of the community, we are implementing a brand new zero tolerance policy regarding harassment and violence in the workplace and at activities organized by the Foundation.

Under this policy, we will, among other things, prevent harassment through education and training and encourage employees and community members to report any situation that constitutes or may constitute harassment or violence. An accessible and effective complaints mechanism will also be put in place, allowing a Foundation stakeholder who believes he or she has suffered harassment to exercise their rights confidentially and without fear of reprisal.

This is one of the ways the Foundation is innovating for the benefit of all the valued members of our community.

Mental Health Policy

Recognizing the reality of mental health issues in our society and in academia, the Foundation is also innovating its practices with the adoption of a comprehensive mental health prevention and support policy for Scholars.

We recognize that our Scholars are under considerable pressure to perform and that they face emotional challenges when producing leading-edge research, conducting fieldwork, writing, responding to critiques, and coping with other institutional stresses. The individual experiences of Scholars can also make them more vulnerable to mental health challenges and affect their well-being and ability to perform to their full potential.

In order to break the silence and loneliness of community members facing such challenges, we intend to create an open dialogue around mental health issues. The first step towards this goal was the creation of a committee on community wellness composed of current and alumni Scholars. The committee has provided input on both of the policies announced today and will continue to collaborate with the Foundation to suggest other support initiatives.

We will also support the mental health of our Scholars through the following actions:

• Creating and maintaining a library of mental health resources that will be available on the Foundation's website;
• Providing mental health training to Foundation employees who have other employees or Scholars under their responsibility;
• Providing insurance coverage to active Scholars in order to help defray the costs of professional mental health services, when they feel the need to use such services.

The Foundation aims to fully implement the mental health policy by January 2019. Active Scholars can expect to receive more detailed information about the insurance plan soon.

In sum, as the Foundation embarks on an unprecedented period of renewal focused on Inclusive Excellence and Engaged Leadership, these new policies represent a positive step in our commitment to supporting the well-being of our community members.