Workplace Investigation Services in Windsor, Ontario. Independent. Documented. Locally delivered.
Windsor's automotive and manufacturing employers operate in one of Ontario's most unionized environments. When a workplace complaint hits the plant floor, you need investigators who understand collective agreement procedures, shift dynamics, and the practical realities of investigating in industrial settings.
Built for Ontario's legal framework. Not bolted on.
The right statutory framework
Ontario provincially regulated workplaces investigate under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA); federally regulated workplaces follow the Canada Labour Code framework introduced by Bill C-65. The written scope identifies which framework applies to the matter.
Ontario Human Rights Code fluency
Discrimination complaints across protected grounds — race, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation. Findings reasoned on the balance of probabilities, with the evidence behind each conclusion documented.
A documented process
A documented investigation process designed to support fair decision-making and independent review: a written plan before interviews, contemporaneous notes, and a preserved chain of custody.
Quoted after intake, in writing
Investigation fees are quoted after intake, based on the number of parties, evidence volume, urgency, jurisdiction, and reporting scope. You receive a written fee and scope before work begins.
Timeline set in the written scope
The written scope sets the expected investigation timeline. Timing depends on participant availability, evidence volume, complexity, and any parallel legal or workplace process.
Southwestern Ontario on-the-ground
Windsor's cross-border employers may have employees working under both Ontario and Michigan employment law. Investigations involving cross-border teams require clarity on which jurisdiction's requirements apply. Windsor's automotive sector is also subject to specific OHSA regulations for industrial establishments (O. Reg. 851).
Windsor employers don't need a national firm. They need someone here.
Windsor is Canada's automotive capital, home to Stellantis (formerly FCA) assembly plants, a network of Tier 1 and Tier 2 auto parts suppliers, and the new NextStar Energy EV battery plant — one of the largest industrial investments in Canadian history. Windsor's economy is tightly integrated with Detroit across the Ambassador Bridge, creating cross-border employment dynamics unique in Ontario. The city's heavily unionized manufacturing workforce (Unifor, United Steelworkers) means investigations frequently intersect with collective agreement procedures and CAW-era workplace cultures that are evolving but deeply rooted.
Nearest enforcement office
Ministry of Labour — Windsor Office, 400 City Hall Square East
Industries we investigate in Windsor
- ·Automotive Manufacturing
- ·Advanced Manufacturing
- ·Agriculture & Food Processing
- ·Healthcare
- ·Cross-Border Trade
What actually happens when a complaint lands. Sector by sector.
Windsor is Canada's automotive capital, and its investigation profile reflects an economy built around a single industry. Stellantis's assembly operations and the Tier 1 and Tier 2 parts suppliers around them run under OHSA's industrial-establishment regulation (O. Reg. 851) and one of the highest unionization rates in the province, with Unifor as the dominant presence. A harassment or misconduct complaint on the plant floor almost never arrives alone — it comes attached to a collective agreement, a steward asserting representation rights during interviews, and the real possibility of a parallel grievance. We build Windsor industrial investigations to labour arbitration's evidentiary expectations from the first interview, and we coordinate the OHSA track with the grievance track rather than letting the two contaminate each other.
The NextStar Energy EV battery plant — one of the largest industrial investments in Canadian history — is reshaping the local workforce in real time. A facility staffing up from zero to thousands is building its conduct culture and its investigation procedures simultaneously, often before either is mature, and the early years of a greenfield operation are exactly when complaint-handling gaps surface. We help these employers establish a documented process while the workforce is still forming, not after their first complaint exposes the absence of one.
Windsor's economy is also tightly integrated with Detroit across the Ambassador Bridge, and cross-border employers frequently have workers and witnesses on both sides of the line. The threshold question — whether Ontario or Michigan law governs a given employee and complaint — has to be resolved before the investigation proceeds, because an investigation run under the wrong jurisdiction's assumptions is worth little. We settle that at intake, then deliver the matter under a written fee and scope set before work begins, with findings documented so an arbitrator, the Human Rights Tribunal, or a Ministry of Labour inspector can follow the evidence to the findings.
Four steps. No surprises.
The same protocol whether you're a 25-person Windsor startup or a 2,500-person Southwestern Ontario employer.
- Step 01
Intake & scope
Response within one business day. Confidential consultation, scope definition, conflict screening, engagement letter naming the investigator of record.
- Step 02
Plan & interview
Investigation plan, document review, witness identification, structured interviews with complainant, respondent, and witnesses.
- Step 03
Analysis & findings
Credibility assessment, evidence weighing, application of the legal test, draft findings on the balance of probabilities.
- Step 04
Report & recommendations
Written report documented so an independent reviewer can follow the evidence to the findings, debrief with HR / legal, remediation recommendations and policy gap notes.
Do you need a workplace investigation? Find out in 5 minutes.
Free Ontario workplace investigation quiz — understand which legal framework applies, how complex the matter is, and the next three steps in 5 minutes. Built specifically for Ontario employers navigating OHSA Bill 168 and the Human Rights Code.
A documented investigation process designed to support fair decision-making and independent review.
The 1205 process standard
Cases we've closed. Anonymized for confidentiality.
Workplace Investigation in a Recreation Organization
Independent investigation and systematic culture remediation transformed a recreation organization facing multiple harassment allegations into a model of workplace accountability.
Read case →Workplace InvestigationsWorkplace Investigation in the Public Sector
Independent review of 47 promotion decisions and systemic hiring-equity remediation in a provincial government agency.
Read case →Workplace InvestigationsWorkplace Investigation at a Canadian Tech Company
Independent harassment investigation in a 300-person tech company, with a separately scoped remediation program that followed the findings.
Read case →Workplace investigation FAQ for Windsor employers.
How do investigations work in Windsor's unionized auto plants?
Unionized automotive investigations require coordination with Unifor or other union representatives, adherence to collective agreement investigation provisions, and findings reports documented so a labour arbitrator can follow the evidence to the findings. We have experience navigating the procedural requirements of large unionized manufacturing environments.
Do you handle investigations for Windsor employers with cross-border operations?
Yes. We investigate complaints under Ontario employment law for Windsor-based operations. For companies with employees on both sides of the border, we clarify jurisdictional questions during intake and ensure the investigation addresses Ontario legal requirements regardless of where individual witnesses are located.
Workplace investigators near Windsor.
Beyond the investigation.
Workplace Investigations
Independent, external workplace investigations — impartial, methodical, and documented. When internal HR cannot credibly investigate a matter, we run it end to end, from conflict check and written scope to the final report.
HR Services
HR services for Ontario employers — workplace investigations, culture transformation, and outsourced HR. Senior practitioners, one-business-day triage on active issues.
Culture Transformation
Culture transformation programs in Canada — we lead the work, coach leaders weekly, and hold accountability until the new culture is embedded. Not a report.
Workplace investigator in Windsor. Response within one business day.
Dealing with an active complaint? We respond within one business day. Questions about the framework that applies to your workplace? One confidential call sorts out the right next step.