The BC Federation of Labour is a long-time sponsor of the Be More Than a Bystander high school program and also played a key role in the expansion of the program.

From its early days, the BC Federation of Labour (the BC Fed) stepped up to sponsor EVA BC’s Be More Than a Bystander (BMTB) program, developed in partnership with the BC Lions Football Club, to bring bystander training to high school students across the province. Fifteen years later, the BC Fed continues to sponsor the program.

After the program began, EVA BC approached the BC Fed to explore a role expanding the training beyond high schools to workplaces. Sussanne Skidmore, the current president, recalls the idea initially faced some hesitation, “I was at the BC Government Employees Union (BCGEU) at the time. Women’s committees were concerned about aggressive sports and the partnership offer (with the BC Lions), didn’t quite hit the mark for some.”

Rather than dismissing the idea, the BCGEU brought it back to their women’s committee, and they were the first union to sign on to training. It was only then that the BC Fed women’s committee recommended the program to the officers of the Federation. This early leadership helped to create momentum for the program amongst union leaders and workers. 

The BC Centre for Women in Trades (BCCWITT) also played an important role in the program’s growth, helping to customize the curriculum to the trades and construction sector.  Delivered by men, for men, the training encouraged participants to recognize their own role in challenging harmful behaviors in workplaces. 

“A highlight for me,” Sussanne says, “is watching men I know who are labour leaders good guys, good union activists, some I would even call feminists — learn something they couldn’t unlearn, see something they couldn’t unsee.”

The program’s impact was also evident among senior labour leaders. Laird (Larry) Kronk, now the board chair at Work Safe BC, was the president of the BC Fed when he participated in one of the first cohorts of training for union leaders and construction workers. Sussanne recalls initially he felt too busy and thought the program would be too demanding given that it is a three-day training. But the women’s committee challenged him to lead by example saying, “You’re going to do this.”

On completing the training, he reflected on how much he learned and about all the ways women have to worry about their personal safety. “I heard that from a lot of the men who took the training,” says Sussanne. “It isn’t women’s work to change the narrative. It’s men’s work.”

While the BC Fed continues to be a key sponsor of the Bystander high school program, funding limitations have prevented it from offering workplace training as it did in the past. 

Looking ahead, Sussanne emphasizes the continued need for this training. 

“There is still a critical need for bystander training, especially in the construction industry where we haven’t reached a high enough level of women in the trades yet. We do have trainers. If somebody pays for it, we’ll do it.”

Fifteen years on, BMTB shows how sustained partnerships, leadership and willingness to act are the groundwork for future initiatives. Its legacy continues through the people it reached and the conversations it sparked.