Code of Conduct

Policy Revised March 22nd, 2025

Purpose and Scope

The Code of Conduct (Code) identifies the standards of conduct expected of St. Margaret Sail Club(SMSC) participants. Participants consist of SMSC members, directors, employees, volunteers, clients, guests, and contractors engaging in activities on-site at SMSC premises, or off-site while participating inactivities or functions that would reasonably be identified with SMSC.Members or SMSC employees who sponsor or engage participants who are not SMSC members or employees (e.g., a member’s guest or a contractor engaged by SMSC) may be held responsible for the guest or contractor who breaches this Code.

The purpose of this Code is to:

1. Identify types of conduct prohibited under the Code.

2. Establish a process for receiving and resolving complaints.

This Code expects all participants to:

1. Comply with any legal requirements and SMSC by-laws, policies or rules.

2. Demonstrate respectful conduct in their interactions with other participants.

3. Respect the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of other participants.

4. Respect the privacy of others in SMSC transactions, including maintaining confidentiality unless required to disclose such information in a legal proceeding.

5. Help ensure the safety of self and others by not acting in a manner that creates a public nuisance or threat to the safety of participants or the public.

6. Follow lawful directions from SMSC employees or members of the Board of Directors.

7. Respect the dignity of participants by not engaging in abuse, ridicule, directly or indirectly undermining other participants, or other conduct that would reasonably demean or embarrass other participants.

8. Not engage in vexatious conduct that would reasonably be considered harassment, intimidation, aggressive or violent conduct and/or offensive language towards other participants that the individual engaging in the conduct knew, or ought to have known, would cause humiliation, offence, or intimidation.

9. Not engage in excessive alcohol consumption during SMSC activities or while on SMSC premises or any off-site activity that is associated with SMSC.

Conflict of Interest

A member or Director may enter into a contractional relationship with SMSC.  However, the member is not permitted to vote on or participate in any discussion or resolution to approve a contract in which they have an interest, nor will any member, employee, or Director with delegated authority approve of such a contract in such circumstances.  

SMSC requires participants, employees, and Directors to avoid Conflicts of Interest, which includes, but not limited to the following dealings involving SMSC: 

  1. Interactions, transactions, communications, or commitments that could impair an employee’s or Director’s ability to act in the best interests of SMSC. 

  2. Where actions of the member, employee or Director would compromise or undermine the trust that members place in SMSC. 

  3. Employees and Directors are required to avoid any situation that creates a perception of a conflict of interest resulting in reputational damage to SMSC, employees and Directors.   

Employee Relations

Employees are required to follow the purpose and scope of this Code to a higher standard than general participants.  

Directors may participate in all activities of SMSC.  However, to control the risk of real or apparent favouritism and/or conflict of interest, SMSC employees are restricted in their Involvement in the following circumstances: 

  1. Permanent employees, shall not hold membership in SMSC.

  2. Dependents of permanent employees are entitled to receive social member discount rates for Learn to Sail and related activities.

  3. Permanent employees may only attend SMSC social activities in a paid capacity with a defined role in the event consistent with their job description.

  4. Employees are to interact with participants when engaging participants in SMSC operations or transactions, as well as at social events, in a professional manner as a SMSC representative.

  5. Employees are to report any potential conflict of interest, e.g., personal interaction between an employees and participants in a manner inconsistent with this Code, immediately to the respective manager or director.

  6. Employees are responsible for conducting themselves in a respectful and professional manner that recognizes the rights and upholds the dignity of participants.

  7. Employees are not to represent SMSC in any dealings unless authorized to do so by a responsible Director.

Employer Due Diligence

Senior employees have the onus for fostering a respectful, professional harassment-free, and violence-free workplace for SMSC employees and other participants. 

The Board of Directors shall demonstrate its management due diligence for harassment prevention by: 

  1. Developing and implementing a policy (the Code) that includes harassment and violence prevention, 

  2. Having mechanisms to receive and address complaints made under the Code. 

  3. Having the competence to resolve complaints in a reasonable and timely manner. 

  4. Has taken steps to prevent an occurrence, or reoccurrence of complaints under the policy through ensuring support for the Complainant, monitoring and taking steps to prevent retaliation, leadership, education, communication, and training.  

Complaint Process

In the event of a complaint of a breach of any provision of the Code, the participant making the complaint is referred to as the Complainant.  Complaints shall be made to a board member.  Complaints may initially be verbal, however, either the Complainant, or a person designated to receive complaints, will prepare a written complaint.   

The individual named in the complaint as having breached the Code is referred to as the Respondent.  

Once the complaint is received a Panel consisting of a minimum of three (3) SMSC members, including a Director who acts as Chair, is formed.  Steps 1 through 4 must be completed within seven (7) days of receiving the complaint. The Panel shall then invoke the following Order of Operations, in sequential steps, to ensure due process: 

  1. The Panel assesses the complaint to ensure there is sufficient information to proceed.  If there is insufficient information, the designated Director shall interview the Complainant to obtain the necessary information.      

  2. Depending on the seriousness of the allegations, the Panel assesses and recommends an initial course of action to resolve the complaint.   

  3. The Complainant is advised by the Chair that the Respondent will be made aware of the complaint and that the Complainant’s identity will be provided to the Respondent. 

  4. The Respondent is notified by the Chair that he/she has been named as a Respondent.  The Respondent is provided with the particulars of the complaint, as well as the Complainant’s identity.   

  5. The Respondent is requested to meet with the Panel within five (5) working days after being provided with the complaint.  Any extension of the time limits is at the Panels’ discretion.   The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the process, obtain the Respondent’s response to the complaint, and inform the Respondent of next steps.

    The Complainant will not ordinarily attend the Panels’ meeting with the Respondent.  Any Complainant request to attend the meeting with the Respondent is within the Panels’ discretion to approve or deny.

  6. Once the Complainant has been submitted and the Respondent has made a submission, the Panel then determines the most appropriate option to address the com0plaint.  These include:

    1. A determination of “no further proceedings” is warranted because the alleged conduct is not covered by the Code, or no Respondent has been identified by the Complainant.

    2. If there is sufficient information on its face that the impugned conduct falls within the scope of this Code, non-fault processes such as informal or formal mediation, or discussion with the Complaint and Respondent to clarify expectations are appropriate conflict resolution processes to utilize.  This option may be enacted if the Panel assesses the complaint as a limited and a one-time incident that is not severe.

    3. If warranted, a formal investigation shall be initiated in the following circumstances:  The complaint involves a serious breach of the Code where non-fault processes is inappropriate, or when either the Complainant or Respondent have declined mediation, or if mediation was attempted but unsuccessful in resolving the complaint. 

Both the Complainant and Respondent are kept informed of the progress of the Panels’ work related to the complaint, as well as any findings, remedies and sanctions resulting from the Panels’ complaint resolution.    

Panel Responsibilities

Panel members and Chair undertake to act in good faith by ensuring procedural fairness.  This includes the right of the Complainant and Respondent to be treated without bias, the Respondent’s right to be informed of the allegation and afforded an opportunity to respond, and the Complainant’s and Respondent’s right to be informed of the status of the investigation.

Any Panel members or Chair who are parties to the complaint (Complainant, or Respondent) or are closely associated with the parties (e.g., family member) sufficient to create a perception of a conflict of interest, shall declare the association to the Board of Directors and withdraw from involvement in any related proceedings. 

One or both parties to the complaint may request that the matter be addressed by the full Board of Directors, instead of the three (3) member Panel, in the first instance.  Granting such a request is at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

The Panel or Chair will not have the authority to apply penalties to a Respondent or other participant but instead shall report its findings to the Board of Directors along with any recommendations regarding remedies or penalties.

The Board of Directors will then review the Panels’ findings and recommendations at its next meeting, whether specially or regularly scheduled, and may accept the report and recommendations or modify them as it considers appropriate.  A decision to penalize the Respondent will only be made after a vote of a quorum of the Board of Directors has produced a majority of votes in favour of a penalty.

Penalties

As a result of a fact-finding investigation, penalties for breaching the Code include: 

  • Warning letter 

  • Letter of Censure  

  • Suspension of membership 

  • Expulsion of membership 

Privacy

The existence of a complaint or report, and an action under this Code, shall be recorded in the minutes of the Board of Directors and be accessible to members. 

The proceedings of the Panel shall be confidential to the Board of Directors, the separate Panel and Chair, and the Complainant and Respondent (and representatives, if any).  Penalties applied as a result of proceedings under this Code or dismissal of a complaint or report, shall be reported in the Minutes of the Board of Directors, as follows: 

  1. Dismissals of complaints shall be reported without identifying the Complainant or Respondent. 

  2. Letters of censure or warnings shall be reported without identifying the Complainant or Respondent unless the Board of Directors believes that identifying the parties would serve a useful purpose to the membership. 

  3. Suspensions of membership shall be reported including the period of suspension and the Respondent’s identity. 

  4. Expulsions from membership shall be reported including the Respondent’s identity.

Where the penalty is suspension or expulsion, that member’s suspension or expulsion may be reported to members by notice. 

Record Keeping

Ordinary Minutes of the Board of Directors shall record occurrences of application of this Code but shall only provide identities of parties to this policy in accordance with the requirements set out for disclosure in the Privacy section of the Code. 

Minutes of panels, or portions of Board of Directors meetings considering recommendations of these panels, shall be sealed after resolution. 

The Board of Directors shall maintain a file of actions under this policy containing a copy of the Code and any revisions thereto, a summary record of applications of the Code, including the identity of the Complainant and Respondent and a summary of the resolution of the complaint, and the sealed records of cases, except that the summary record shall not identify parties for whom the complaint is unfounded or is closed as “no further proceedings” are required. 

The file of actions taken under this Code shall be confidential to the Board of Directors and ordinarily accessed only during occasions of application of, or revisions to, the Code. 

Authority, Accountability and Responsibility

The authority for the Code is the Commodore, SMSC.  Should the Commodore be unavailable, a Complainant or Respondent, or in a conflict of interest, then invoking the Codes’ procedures shall be the Rear-Commodore’s responsibility.  If the Rear-Commodore is also barred from acting as the authority for the Code, then authority shall be delegated to another Officer or Director by the Board of Directors. 

In the event that the Boad of Directors is collectively named as a party, or sufficient Directors are in a conflict of interest such that a quorum cannot be formed, then the Board of Directors may refer consideration of the matter to another willing individual or make other arrangements to ensure the matter is addressed. 

Questions

Questions about this Code or its application may be directed to the SMSC Commodore.