1. PURPOSE

a. The purpose of the Workplace Harassment and Violence Policy (“Policy”) is to affirm CCNM’s commitment to fostering a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and to affirm that CCNM has zero tolerance for Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence. This Policy outlines the right of every Worker to be free from Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence, and the process through which complaints under this Policy are investigated at CCNM.

2. SCOPE

a. This Policy intends to protect all persons working at both campuses at CCNM and applies to the actions of all CCNM Community Members.

b. Any instances of Discrimination based on a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Toronto) and/or the British Columbia Human Rights Code (Boucher) by CCNM Community Members will be assessed, and may be investigated and addressed, under the Discrimination Policy (C1100).

c. Where anything in this Policy conflicts with any legislative provision or collective agreements, the applicable provisions of the legislative and/or the collective agreement will prevail.

3. DEFINITIONS

a. “Bad Faith” means actions which are done or brought with an ulterior motive, e.g. motivated by ill will, malice, dishonesty, personal animosity. It can be established by direct or circumstantial evidence.

b. “Codes” means the Ontario Human Rights Code and the British Columbia Human Rights Code, collectively.

c. “CCNM Community Members” means all CCNM students, Workers, patients, and visitors.

d. “Complainant” means a CCNM Community Member who makes a complaint under this Policy.

e. “Discrimination” means conduct by a Worker that intentionally or unintentionally causes harm, such as imposing burdens, obligations, or disadvantages on or limiting access to opportunities, benefits, and advantages, to specific individuals or specific groups, based, in whole or in part, on irrelevant personal characteristics or attributed stereotypes that are connected to grounds enumerated in the Codes. Discrimination may be direct, indirect, or systemic, may overlap with other legitimate factors, and may be subtle or covert.

f. “Domestic Violence” means any form of physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological abuse, or threat of any such abuse, between current or former: spouses or intimate partners, or family members experienced by a Worker.

g. “Frivolous” means actions which are trivial, trifling, or lacking a reasonable basis; matters that have little prospect of success, or are not serious, or are not reasonably purposeful, including those without merit, or lacking supporting evidence.

h. “Manager” means the person to whom a Worker directly reports, and who holds responsibility for overseeing the Worker's work, providing performance reviews, and managing their performance development.

i. “Reprisals or Retaliation” means adverse action taken against an individual for invoking this Policy, or for participating or cooperating in an investigation under this Policy, or for associating with someone who has invoked, participated, or cooperated in this Policy.

j. “Respondent” means the person whom the Complainant has accused of committing an act in violation of this Policy.

k. “Student” means any person who is enrolled in a program or course offered by CCNM, including full-time or part-time students, international, and exchange students.

l. “Vexatious” means actions that are annoying, distressing, agitating, discomfiting, or demeaning, whether intentionally or not, and that have no reasonable purpose. Generally, Vexatious conduct will often involve repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour but may also be a single, severe incident.

m. “Worker” means any person who is employed or engaged by CCNM in any capacity, whether for monetary compensation or for no monetary compensation, full-time or part-time, including staff, faculty members, contractors, Students, and volunteers.

n. “Workplace” means any place where a Worker is engaged in work or providing services for CCNM, including all off-site work locations and all online CCNM work locations, including email.

o. “Workplace Harassment” means any Vexatious behaviour by a Worker in the Workplace that is known or should reasonably be known to be unwelcome and that causes harm. Workplace Harassment will generally involve a pattern of behaviour, but a single incident may be found to be Workplace Harassment where it is particularly egregious. Workplace Harassment includes Bullying, Workplace Discrimination-Based Harassment, and Workplace Sexual Harassment. To clarify, Workplace Harassment does not include legitimate managerial or supervisory actions, which include, but are not limited to, reasonable workplace management, performance assessments, or operational directives, as long as these actions are carried out in a professional manner.

• “Bullying” means inappropriate behaviour by a Worker that they knew or ought reasonably to have known would intimidate, humiliate, degrade, or isolate a particular group or person. It will often involve repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour but may also be a single, severe incident. It does not include reasonable action taken by an employer or supervisor relating to the management and/or direction of Workers. It causes harm, which may be physical and/or psychological. Bullying may occur in person or by using an electronic or online medium, such as social media websites, online chat rooms, e-mail, or text messages.
• “Workplace Discrimination-Based Harassment” means any Discrimination-based Vexatious behaviour by a Worker that is known or should reasonably be known to be unwelcome. Generally, Workplace Discrimination-Based Harassment will involve a pattern of behaviour, but a single incident may be sufficient where the incident is particularly egregious.
• “Workplace Sexual Harassment” means any Vexatious behaviour by a Worker that relates to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression that is known or should reasonably be known to be unwelcome and that causes harm. This includes making unwelcome sexual solicitations or advances, particularly when the person making them is in a position of power, for instance in a position to offer or withhold work-related benefits or opportunities. Generally, Workplace Sexual Harassment will involve a pattern of behaviour, but a single incident may be sufficient where the incident is particularly egregious.

p. “Workplace Violence” means the use, attempted use, or threat of physical force by a Worker in the Workplace, including Workplace Sexual Violence, that results in or that has the potential to result in physical injury, including where a behaviour may be perceived as a threat of physical force that could lead to injury or which gives the Worker reasonable cause to believe that they are at risk of injury.

• “Workplace Sexual Violence” means any act of physical force or coercion of a sexual nature by a Worker. This includes any non-consensual physical sexual acts or attempts thereof.

4. RESPONSIBILE PARTIES

a. All CCNM Community Members are responsible for fostering a safe, healthy, and respectful work environment, free from Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence.

b. All CCNM Community Members must:

• refrain from engaging in Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence, acts of Reprisal or Retaliation, or other breaches of this Policy;
• report incidents of Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence;
• complete all required Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence instruction and training within established timelines;
• cooperate in the investigations conducted under this Policy, including abstaining from impeding or attempting to impede investigations; and
• comply with the corrective measures imposed by the College under this Policy, subject to relevant collective agreements and other appeal rights.

c. Managers are responsible for preventing and discouraging Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence, and for intervening immediately when/if they observe these behaviours.

d. The Human Resources Department is responsible for:

• providing training to Workers and maintaining records of training related to this Policy; and
• receiving, responding, and resolving complaints under this Policy.

5. POLICY STATEMENT

a. CCNM commits to protecting all Workers and shall take all reasonable measures necessary to prevent Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence in a manner that is fair, unbiased, and accessible by:

• assessing the risks of Workplace Harassment and Workplace Violence;
• investigating any complaints related to Workplace Harassment and/or Workplace Violence; and
• ensuring those who are found to have engaged in Workplace Harassment and/or Workplace Violence are subject to sanctions and discipline, up to and including termination of employment or expulsion.

6. EMERGENCY/CRISIS REPORTING

a. If any individual becomes aware of any serious security/safety/threat to any person on CCNM property, they must immediately call 9-1-1, and if at the Toronto Campus, followed by CCNM Security Services.

b. If CCNM becomes aware that Domestic Violence is likely to expose a Worker or Student to physical injury in the College, CCNM will take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of the Worker or Student.

7. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

a. Any information collected at any time pursuant to this Policy will be treated as confidential, except where disclosure is necessary to investigate the complaint, take corrective action with respect to the complaint, or disclosure is required under law. Further, confidentiality cannot be assured in the following circumstances:

• an individual is at imminent risk of self-harm; and/or
• an individual is at imminent risk of harming another; and/or
• there are reasonable grounds to believe that others in CCNM or greater community may be at risk of harm.

b. In circumstances where information must be disclosed to prevent harm, information will only be shared on a need-to-know basis, and CCNM will only disclose the minimum amount of personal information or details necessary for these purposes.

c. Persons involved in a complaint must and are expected to maintain confidentiality. If breaches of confidentiality occur, they will be followed-up and, depending on the circumstances, may result in sanctions and/or discipline against the person responsible for the breach.

8. REPORTING INCIDENTS OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND/OR WORKPLACE HARASSMENT

a. Any CCNM Community Member who believes they have been subject to Workplace Harassment and/or Workplace Violence may choose to address the situation directly, if they feel comfortable doing so through a direct conversation or in writing, where they should clearly describe the unwelcome behaviour and request its cessation (Personal Resolution Process).

b. Any CCNM Community Member experiencing Workplace Harassment and/or Workplace Violence must promptly report the incident.

c. The EDI Officer, and where applicable, the Legal Counsel, with power delegated from the Executive Director, Human Resources shall review complaints, conduct consultations, and, under the formal resolution process, conduct investigations.

d. If an allegation of Workplace Harassment and/or Workplace Violence, including Domestic Violence, has been made, and there is an ongoing civil or criminal investigation into the same matter, CCNM may decide to stay its own, internal investigation until after the civil or criminal matter has been resolved, or until such time as CCNM deems is appropriate to resume its own, internal investigation.

• CCNM shall attempt to obtain the consent of the Complainant before staying and resuming its own, internal investigation. However, the decision to stay or resume the internal investigation will rest ultimately with CCNM.

e. Once an investigation has been initiated, or stayed in the case of 8.d., interim measures may be considered by the Human Resources Department to safeguard the integrity of the process and protect the Complainant, Respondent, or other CCNM Community Members, who will be notified in writing of any such measures. Interim measures will be established in consultation with Security and the Worker’s Manager, and as needed, in consultation with the President & CEO and any other necessary party. Interim measures are not penalties and do not constitute any findings under this Policy.

9. FRAUDULENT OR MALICIOUS COMPLAINTS

a. Disclosures or complaints that are found under this Policy to be Frivolous, Vexatious, or in Bad Faith will not be tolerated.

b. Any individual who knowingly makes a false allegation related to this Policy will be subject to immediate disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or expulsion from CCNM.

10. REMEDIES AND SANCTIONS

a. A Worker who is found to have engaged in any kind of inappropriate behaviour as outlined in this Policy, including breach of confidentiality, initiating a Frivolous or Vexatious complaint, engaging in Reprisal, may be subject to corrective measures appropriate for the circumstances.

b. Any disciplinary action will be determined by the Executive Director, Human Resources, in consultation with the President & CEO, and will be proportional to the seriousness of the behaviour or action involved in the incident and may involve counselling, a formal warning, or dismissal/expulsion.

11. PROTECTION FROM REPRISALS

a. All individuals who pursue, participate, or cooperate in the investigation or administration process under this Policy are entitled to be free from reprisal or retaliation, or a threat of Reprisal or Retaliation, whether direct or indirect. Any person who experiences Reprisal or Retaliation, or a threat of such, must immediately bring the concern to the attention of the Executive Director, Human Resources.

12. POSTING

a. In accordance with applicable legislation, this Policy will be posted in a conspicuous place in the workplace and reviewed annually.