Harassment and Discrimination, Prevention and Resolution Policy

1. Policy statement

Our Commitment to a Safe and Respectful Learning & Working Environment

Vanier College is committed to providing a positive, safe and respectful learning and working environment. Among the core values of the College, those of equity, diversity, inclusion, and respect are priority. This policy, associated procedures, and the Respectful Learning & Workplace Environment Office are informed by the ‘Duty of Care’ as an underlying and organizational principle.

The College will not tolerate any form of discrimination and/or harassment, as defined by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Act Respecting Labour Standards in Quebec.

In order to achieve this objective, and in accordance with its legal obligations, the College will take all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination and harassment and will take appropriate measures to cease and stop their occurrence when informed of the existence of such behaviour, even if a formal complaint has not been filed. Those who are found to be in violation of this policy are subject to appropriate sanctions and measures.

While Harassment and Discrimination can impact all members of society, some individuals may be disproportionately affected as their membership in certain social groups exposes them to systemic discrimination and systemic barriers to opportunity on various intersecting grounds such as gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, racialization, religious or cultural affiliation, age, Indigeneity, national or ethnic origin, immigration status, disability/ability, medical conditions, or socio-economic status. Such factors can also have an impact on one’s needs and choices regarding recourses. All members of the College Community will therefore be treated equitably under this policy with consideration of these historic systemic influences, and all allegations of discrimination and/or harassment will be handled in a fair, unbiased, and timely manner.

2. Scope of application

This policy applies to all students and employees (including teachers, professionals, support personnel, casual staff, contractual staff, managers, directors), as well as the members of the Vanier College Board of Directors. This policy applies to behaviour that occurs in the context of College related activities whether or not the behaviour occurs on or off College premises or during or outside formal working hours.

This policy is not intended to constrain social interaction between people at Vanier College, nor is it to be interpreted or applied in such a way as to detract from the rights and obligations of those in management roles to manage employees and students in accordance with collective agreements or applicable College policies and procedures.

This policy is to be interpreted in such a way that academic freedom is not limited. It is intended to balance the rights of all members of the Vanier community to function in an environment that allows open discussion of issues with the right to function in an environment free from discrimination and harassment.

Vanier College has other policies in place that are relevant to issues of harassment and discrimination, such as the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Official Policy and Procedural Document, the Code of Conduct Policy, and IPESA. This policy is intended to function alongside such related policies. In addition, nothing in this policy precludes an individual from exercising their rights under a collective agreement, management agreement, or from seeking alternate routes such as the Quebec Human Rights Commission.

3. Definitions

In this policy, the following terms are defined as follows:

Abuse of Power or Trust: Through manipulating a relationship with another member of the Vanier College Community for personal gain.

Activities: Any activity that falls within the mission or operations of the College including, for example, courses, internships, laboratories, and other training activities; as well as any social, sport, or cultural activity.

Balance of Probabilities: Based on what is more likely to be true.

Bystander Intervention: A philosophy and strategy for the prevention of all types of violence. It encourages individuals to be proactive and to safely help those around them by intervening when they are witness to situations involving violence. Intervention may include checking in with the parties involved, creating a distraction, asking the person involved to stop, reporting the situation to an authority, enlisting others for help or documenting the circumstances.

Civil Behaviour: Treating others with dignity and respect and acting with regard to other’s feelings.

College: The general and vocational teaching institution (Vanier College).

College Authorities: The Office of the Director General or any person to whom it delegates responsibility for applying the provisions of this policy or responsibility for an activity.

College Premises: Buildings and grounds owned by the College, including the residences, any building rented by the College under a lease or agreement and that is under the effective control of the College, and any place where an activity under the College responsibility is taking place.

Complainant: Within this policy, the term “complainant” refers to an individual who initiates a complaint procedure.

Complaint: A complaint is the administrative process for reporting an alleged offence to the College.

Confidentiality: Confidentiality pertains to the treatment of information. Private and personal information and information relating to the health and welfare of an individual should be accessed only on a strict need-to-know basis and handled and stored with care, and in accordance with the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information.

Cyberviolence: Online behaviours that criminally or non-criminally assault, or can lead to assault, of a person’s physical, psychological or emotional well-being. Cyberviolence can include harassment, cyberbullying, cyber-racism, impersonation, cyberstalking and sexual cyber violence.

Cyber Racism: Online racial discrimination, defined by Tynes, Rose, Hiss, Umaña-Taylor, Mitchell, & Williams (2016) as “…denigrating or excluding individuals or groups on the basis of race through the use of symbols, voice, video, images, text, and graphic representations.”

Cyber Stalking: Repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating or engaging in other online activities that make a person afraid for their safety (depending on the content of the message, it may be illegal).

Communication of Discriminatory Matter: Engaging in the distribution, communication, publication or public exhibition by any means of any matter deemed to be discriminatory or to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt by reason of the fact that that person or those persons are identifiable on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination, as contemplated under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, and for which there is no bona fide and reasonable justification.

Discrimination: Direct, indirect or systemic unfair treatment of a person or group in comparison to others on the basis of a prohibited ground under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, that deprives them of equal rights in the workplace or place of study. The prohibited grounds include, race, colour, sex, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, civil status, age (except as provided by law), religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or national origin, social condition, a disability or the use of any means to palliate a disability.

Discriminatory Harassment: Behavior characterized by repeated and unsolicited words, actions or gestures of a vexatious nature, that could either undermine the dignity or the physical or psychological integrity of the individual or lead to adverse or preferential treatment that negatively affects the employment status of an employee, the academic status of a student, or the provision of a College service, on the basis of a prohibited ground under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

Employee: Individuals hired by the College for full-time, part-time, regular or temporary positions in all categories of employment (teachers, professionals, support personnel, casual employee, contractual employee, Coordinators, Deans, Directors, the Academic Dean and any other manager).

Harassment: Vexatious behaviour in the form of repeated hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures that affects an individual's dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that results in a harmful work or study environment whereby the individual does not feel safe and feels constantly humiliated and offended. A single serious incidence of such behaviour that has a lasting harmful effect on an individual may also constitute Harassment. This definition includes unwanted comments, acts, or gestures of a sexual nature (Sexual Harassment). Such behaviour that is based on a personal characteristic listed in the prohibited grounds of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms is considered as Discriminatory Harassment.

Microaggressions: Sue (2006) * defines microaggressions as “...brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative slights and insults that potentially have harmful or unpleasant psychological impacts on the target person or group.” Sue, Calle, Mendez, Alsaidi & Glaeser (2021) * elaborate on the definition with the addition of “…the taxonomy of microaggressions includes microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations.”

Person (Members of the College Community): Any individual present at the College to study, to work, visit or for any other reason, including but not limited to:

• Student: Any person enrolled in a course of study or training activity organized by the College.
• Employee: Individuals hired by the College for full-time, part-time, regular or temporary positions in all categories of employment (teachers, professionals, support personnel, casual employee, contractual employee, Coordinators, Deans, Directors, the Academic Dean and any other manager)
• Subcontractors or Renters: Includes all individuals who enter into a contractual agreement with the College. This includes working at the College for an external organization that is under contract with the College to complete work on campus or off-campus in conjunction with the College and/or members of the College community. It can also include those who rent the use of our facilities for events or activities.

Private Information: Private and personal information does not include publicly available information that is lawfully made available to the general public.

Procedural Fairness: Procedural fairness principles encompass the following elements:

• If a decision-maker is intending to consider a matter which may affect a person’s rights, that person should be informed of the matter;
• The person should be given a reasonable opportunity to make oral or written submissions to the decision-maker on the matter being considered;
• The person is entitled to know and answer to the case against them, that is to say, be informed of and be given the opportunity to respond to all information submitted which might influence a decision, prior to the decision being made;
• The person should be told the reasons for the decision;
• The decision-maker should act in a manner which is unbiased, fair and open-minded

Resolution: Resolution is the outcome of a process through which a concern or complaint is addressed. The resolution process can look very differently from one individual and/or group context to another, including but not limited to; individual consultation and reflection, direct resolution between parties, assisted interventions, impact/apology statements, facilitated group processes, accommodations, and/or a formal complaint/investigation that may result in sanctions.

Relationship of Authority: A relationship of authority exists between two individuals who occupy different hierarchical levels in the organization. For example, all employees in relationship to students, or the relationship between a supervisor and a member of their team.

Reasonable Person Standard: Those responsible for interpreting, administering and applying this policy will use a “reasonable person” standard. This standard is used to determine whether a reasonable person in a similar position as the complainant would judge harassment or discrimination to have occurred as a result of a single incident or pattern of behaviour.

Respondent: Refers to a person who is the subject of a College complaint or alleged report of misconduct.

Sexual Violence: Refers to any form of violence committed through sexual practices or by targeting sexuality or gender. This concept also refers to any other misconduct, including that relating to sexual and gender diversity, in such forms as unwanted direct or indirect gestures, comments, behaviours, or attitudes with sexual connotation, whether enacted person to person or through a technological device. It includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual cyberviolence, queerphobia, transphobia and sexism. This definition applies regardless of the age, sex, gender, culture, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity of those involved (survivor/victim or perpetrator), regardless of the type of sexual gesture or the environment in which it was made, and regardless of the nature of the relationship between the survivor/victim and the perpetrator.

Sexual Assault: An act that is sexual in nature, with physical contact, committed by an individual without the consent of the victim, or in some cases, through emotional manipulation or blackmail. It is an act that subjects another person to the perpetrator’s own desires through the abuse of power, through the use of force or coercion, or through implicit or explicit threats. Sexual assault is an attack on a person’s basic human rights, particularly their rights to physical and psychological integrity and to personal security. Sexual assault includes all unwanted sexual activity such as any unwanted sexual grabbing, kissing, fondling, oral or anal sex, “stealthing” (condom removal or tampering without consent during a sexual activity), birth control interference, intercourse or other forms of penetration, as well as rape or attempted rape. Sexual assault can occur between strangers, acquaintances, spouses, within dating relationships, or in any other relationship. Sexual assault is also an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Sexual Cyber Violence:

• Sexual harassment carried out using information technologies such as social media.
• Sending comments of a sexual nature regarding the person’s physical characteristics or threats of sexual assault constitute sexual cyber-violence.
• Disseminating or threatening to spread rumors or disseminate photographs, audio or video recordings of moments of sexual intimacy without the consent of the person

Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is included in the definition of psychological harassment. It can thus be defined as any vexatious behaviour of a sexual nature in the form of repeated and hostile or unwanted behaviour, verbal comments, writings, actions or gestures that affects the individual’s dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that results in a harmful work or study environment for the said individual or community.

A single serious incidence of such behaviour that has a lasting harmful effect on the individual may also constitute harassment.

Social Media: Means any platform that allows users to generate and share content and information publicly including, without limitation, any social network, application, blog, social news aggregator, online chat forum, internet website, intranet site, video, recording or other virtual media, including, without limitation, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Flickr, Snapchat, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, Zoom, Google Hangout, Messenger, and any other Social Media platform that might be created in the future or find wider use than at present.

Writing: Any written information including printed and, including among others, electronic documents or correspondence, emails, and messages posted on social media or on the Internet.

4. Examples of what may constitute harassment & discrimination

• Unwelcome remarks, slurs, jokes, or taunts about a person’s body, clothing, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, pardoned conviction, or other personal characteristics;
• Unwelcome sexual remarks, invitations or requests (including persistent and unwanted contact after the end of a relationship);
• Displays of sexually explicit, sexist, racist or other offensive or derogatory material;
• Written or verbal abuse or threats (cyberbullying);
• Leering or other offensive gestures;
• Unwelcome physical contact such as patting, touching, pinching, hitting;
• Isolating and ignoring someone and preventing them from speaking;
• Undermining and abusing through ridicule, humiliation, insults, threats and discrediting one’s work;
• Intimidation, threats, reprisals, refusals to grant employment or promotion, dismissals, and other types of harm inflicted for the refusal of sexual favors;
• Physical or sexual assault.

*This list is not all-inclusive and exhaustive. Other acts or behaviours may also constitute harassment and/or discrimination.

*Please refer to Vanier’s Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Official Policy for more detailed definitions of Sexual Violence.

5. Harassment does not include

• Romantic and sexual relationships that involve mutual, free, voluntary, informed and active consent between parties, without factors that hinder a person’s ability to give valid consent (refer to Vanier’s Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Official Policy for detailed definitions of consent).
• Legitimate and normal exercise of management rights, including performance reviews, counseling and discipline, when done without abuse or discrimination.
• Workplace conflicts.
• Normal stress experienced at work or school.
• Difficult working and learning conditions that are justifiable and affect all members in a non-arbitrary manner.

*This list is not all-inclusive or exhaustive. Other acts or behaviours may also not constitute harassment. The points listed above do not constitute harassment; however, in abusive situations they may be factors that contribute to harassment.

6. Actions to prevent and stop harassment and discrimination

The College will raise awareness among managers, employees and students about the issue of harassment and discrimination, and will provide adequate information. The College will also provide all members of the College community with access to an internal complaint resolution process for dealing with harassment and discrimination complaints. Please refer to Vanier’s Harassment and Discrimination, Prevention and Resolution Procedures.

7. Monitoring

Vanier College will review and amend this policy as required, or at least every five years following its adoption.

Legal definitions of harassment and discrimination may change based on amendments to the law.