TORONTO - More than three years after Windsor nurse Lori Dupont was stabbed to death by her former boyfriend, the Ontario government is introducing legislation it says will better protect workers from harassment.

Dupont was killed in November 2005 while on duty at Windsor's Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital by anesthesiologist Marc Daniel, who worked at the same hospital.

He later injected himself with a fatal dose of anesthetic and died days later.

Labour Minister Peter Fonseca says new legislation will force employers to prepare policies on workplace violence and harassment.

It will also require companies to take "reasonable precautions" to protect employees from domestic violence that may occur in the workplace.

The New Democrats say the bill would not have helped Dupont because it "is very weak" when it comes to dealing with harassment at work.

"If nurses are victims of violence, the bill will be helpful, but if you're a victim of harassment, then the bill does very little," said NDP health critic France Gelinas.

"It would be handled internally, and there's nothing that would mandate the Ministry of Labour to do an investigation."

A coroner's inquest into Dupont's death recommended the Labour Ministry consider abuse and harassment as factors warranting investigation and appropriate action when the safety of an employee is at issue.

The coroner's jury also recommended that hospital employees be better educated about domestic violence, and called for a review of the Public Hospitals Act to examine the hospital-physician relationship to ensure safety and quality care in hospitals.

The inquest heard that Dupont and Daniel had been romantically involved, but their relationship ended in February 2005 -- around the time Daniel first tried to take his own life.

After Daniel returned to work following the suicide attempt, the hospital said he was being monitored, but several of Dupont's colleagues told the inquest they felt threatened by his strange behaviour.

Dupont's mother Barbara told the inquest that Daniel constantly harassed her daughter after their breakup.

Health Minister David Caplan said the legislation responds to the coroner's recommendations.

"I believe this will be greeted very positively by nurses and other health-care professionals," he said.