"The most common compliance issues I see in any workplace are those related to workplace safety and payroll. Some workplaces may not know all the safety laws they need to follow, so employees could be working unsafely or in an unsafe environment. Another issue is that overtime laws in Canada change depending on the industry, so some companies schedule their employees for more hours than they're legally allowed to work."

"When performing site evaluations, I always look for safety hazards. This could be a number of things, such as objects blocking fire exits, employees not wearing the proper PPE, or damaged equipment in use. I generally use a checklist to perform site evaluations to ensure I don't miss anything."

"In my previous role, I created a whistleblower protection program. It encourages employees who notice any misconduct to come forward anonymously and tell me about it so I can take disciplinary action. Employees were always able to do this, but having a program in place that promotes anonymity encouraged more employees to come forward and act on their rights."

"When I notice employees violating company policies, I will take them aside privately and let them know. They may just not know about the regulations. I will keep an eye on them to see if they continue to break the rules or not. If they do, I will give them a written warning and escalate the issue to their supervisor."

"The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety is always releasing new e-courses about health and safety regulations in Canada. I complete those courses in my spare time. For example, I recently finished the harassment and violence prevention for managers course. It taught me more about my responsibility of preventing harassment in the workplace."

"I know you are a relatively new company and never had a compliance manager before, so I would start by introducing myself and my role to everyone. I will be working with the entire company, so it's important that everyone can recognize me. I would then focus my time on cross-referencing your existing policies with federal and provincial laws to ensure they are compliant. This will allow me to see what new policies I need to create or adapt."

"Whenever I have a health and safety meeting with the company, I always reiterate that anyone can come forward to anonymously report any violations they notice. Outside of meetings, I try to talk to as many employees as possible to build relationships with them. I also post signs around the workplace about workers' rights so they know they won't get in trouble for reporting violations."

"I would describe my management style as authoritative. It may sound harsh to some, but if employees don't follow my regulations, someone could get hurt or the company could face legal issues. So, I expect everyone to follow the rules or they will face punishment, the severity of which will depend on their violations."

"I know your company faced legal trouble last year due to non-compliance with equity laws. Your compliance manager was not diligent, so I want to change that. I want to help you improve your company's image and create a safe, welcoming environment for people of any race, religion, or background. I also want to ensure your company faces no more legal trouble, so I will go over every company policy myself to make sure they each one is compliant."

"If a senior employee wanted me to violate a law or regulation, I would refuse. I would explain why the law or regulation is in place and let them know our company could face legal action if we are audited. I would monitor the employee to see if they go ahead with breaking the rules, and report them if they do."

"The three main categories of an effective compliance program are prevention, detection, and corrective action. The program should include policies and training to help prevent specific issues, such as harassment in the workplace. If the issue persists, there should be a reporting hotline or internal reporting available. Following the reports, investigations and disciplinary policies should be implemented."

"I have a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto in business administration and human resources management. I then got my master's degree in human resources management at York University. I have also been a compliance manager at an investment brokerage for three years."

"I have worked for two different companies and neither has ever been under official investigation. I do my job thoroughly to avoid legal action being taken against my employers."

"In my previous role, employees were not wearing the correct footwear for their job. I issued a policy that all employees needed CSA-approved steel-toe shoes. A lot of employees were upset as they had to pay for the shoes themselves. I talked to the company's CEO, and he agreed to give employees credit to a shoe store to buy their footwear."

"A whistleblower is an employee that shares their knowledge of misconduct in the company. Internal whistleblowers report the misconduct to a compliance manager or HR manager. External whistleblowers report the wrongdoing to the public, typically through the media. Whistleblowers help compliance managers identify wrongdoings in the workplace so they can take disciplinary action to protect the employee and the company's image."