Sexual harassment is specifically addressed under Nova Scotia human-rights law. It can include unwanted sexual conduct or comments, unwelcome sexual solicitation by a person with power over a benefit, and reprisal connected to rejecting an advance.
Sources checked September 29, 2026.
Unwanted sexual conduct
The Commission describes unwanted conduct, comments, gestures or contact of a sexual nature, as well as vexatious sexual conduct or a course of unwelcome comment.
Power and solicitation
Sexual solicitation or advances can engage the Act where the person making them can confer or deny a benefit and knows or ought to know the advance is unwelcome.
Reprisal for rejection
A reprisal or threat of reprisal for rejecting a sexual solicitation or advance forms part of the Commission's current description of sexual harassment.
Evidence and reporting
Messages, contemporaneous notes, witnesses, workplace reports and the chronology can be important. Internal reporting and a Human Rights Act inquiry are different processes and may have different timelines or consequences.
Official sources
- Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission — Inquiry Form and intake criteria
- Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission — protected characteristics and prohibited areas
- Nova Scotia Legislature — Human Rights Act