CODE OF CONDUCT
1.4 EXPECTATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS
Participants will:
· Follow all rules, reporting, procedures, and guidelines for participation in the MTO programs.
· Adhere to the Anti-violence and Harassment Policy and Training Program Delivery Policy and other Policies of the MTO.
· Contact their home municipality if they experience any issues with travel funding, hotel, or other expenses. The MTO will not provide any assistance in these matters and will refer the participant to the municipality.
1.4.1 ATTENDANCE
100% attendance is expected; however, 80% attendance is required for payment of the municipal contribution.
Participants are expected to arrive on time for the start of every daily session and remain in attendance until the close of each session. Attendance will be recorded twice per day: first at the start of the session and second after lunch break. Participants who are late more than fifteen minutes will be marked absent for that half of the day.
If unable to attend, the participant must inform the facilitator.
1.4.2 ONLINE LEARNING COURSES
Attendance
When taking an online course through the MTO, the participants are required to have their cameras turned on to be considered present.
If the cameras are not turned on at the start of class, the participant will be marked as late.
If the cameras are not turned on within fifteen minutes of the beginning of the course, the participant will be counted as absent for either the morning or afternoon.
1.5 TRAINING ALLOWANCES
For courses where training allowances may be paid, the MTO will email a training allowance letter to the municipalities shortly after the course has ended including the amount each participant is entitled to receive. The municipalities will distribute payments to the participants.
The municipality shall invoice MTO for training allowance unless the municipality is entitled to a MTO municipal contribution.
Participants of these select courses are entitled to the training allowance if they meet the minimum attendance for that course. Ground Search and Rescue participants must attend at minimum 80% of the training sessions. Firefighter participants must attend at minimum 90% of the training sessions. Standard attendance rules apply. Please see section ‘1.4.1 Attendance’.
1.6 EXPULSION FROM PROGRAM
Failure of participants to comply with the Anti-violence and Harassment and Training Program Delivery Policies may result in expulsion from a program.
Action taken on this basis will result in the municipality of the participant being ineligible for reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs or any other payments for that participant. Registration fees will be invoiced to the municipality.
1.7 DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
Any participant under the influence of drugs or alcohol to the degree that their training is impacted, and the learning of the group is negatively affected, will be removed from the group for the day. MTO will not pay the training allowance for that day.
If the participant repeats this behaviour for a second day, the participant will be required to return to their community. No training allowance or MTO municipal contribution will be paid. Registration fees will be invoiced to the municipality.
1.8 DAMAGE OR DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOUR
The MTO has zero tolerance for damage to hotel rooms or training facility or other destructive behaviour caused by a participant before, during, or after the training.
The RCMP may be notified, and a formal notice will be sent to the municipality or organization funding the participant. In the case of damage, the bill will be sent to the municipality.
Any participant engaging in this behaviour will be sent home immediately and MTO will not pay any reimbursement for travel, accommodation, or any training allowance. Registration fees will be invoiced to the municipality.
This participant will not be permitted to attend future MTO training programs for one year.
If after one year, the participant repeats the negative behaviour in a training program, the participant will be banned from MTO programming for an indeterminate length of time, based on the level of behaviour.
1.9 LEVELS OF ACTION
If the behaviour involves a form of discrimination and/or harassment, the process described in the Anti-violence and Harassment Policy will be followed. If the participant is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Section 4.7of this Policy will be followed.
If the behaviour is not in itself serious enough to warrant ejection, there are three levels of response to disruptive or negative behaviour during the training program.
The facilitator will follow the escalating responses identified below.
Verbal Notice
The participant will be given a verbal notice by the facilitator that another occurrence will result in ejection for the day. The incident will be documented.
Expulsion for the Day
If the participant repeats the behavior a second time, that participant may be asked to leave the program for the day. The incident will be documented and reported to the Executive Director. MTO will not pay the training allowance for that day. The participant will be marked absent for the day.
Expulsion from the Program
If, on the following day, the behaviour is repeated, the participant will be requested to immediately leave the program and the following processes followed:
· The incident will be documented and signed off by the Executive Director.
· The municipality or participant sponsor will be advised.
· No training allowance or MTO municipal contribution will be paid.
· The municipality will be invoiced registration fees.
· The participant will not be permitted to attend future MTO training programs for a period of one year.
2 ANTI-VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT POLICY
2.1 POLICY STATEMENT
The MTO is committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and secure work and training delivery environment free from violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, or other disruptive behaviour.
Participants in training and other activities provided by MTO share in the collective responsibility for a safe respectful environment including bystanders who witness disrespectful and harassing behaviours.
2.2 DEFINITION
Harassment is a form of discrimination which may be direct, physical, verbal, or online and targets an individual or a group because of their sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, or other characteristics.
Harassment, which includes sexual harassment, is any behavior that demeans, humiliates, annoys, alarms, embarrasses or verbally abuses a person and that a reasonable person ought to have known would be unwelcome. This includes words, gestures, intimidation, bullying, controlling behavior or other inappropriate activities.
2.3 ZERO TOLERANCE
The MTO has zero tolerance for incidents of direct, physical, verbal, and online harassment, violence, threats of violence, harassment and bullying, or sexual harassment related to the immediate time before or after or during the training or in the workplace.
In cases where participants travel to a program, zero tolerance applies to the period of time directly related to the program when the participants are away from their municipality.
2.3.1 Harassment or Discrimination:
Harassment may be direct, physical, verbal, or online, may be deliberate, unsolicited, or unwelcome and may consist of one incident or several incidents.
The MTO will not tolerate any act of harassment based on race; colour; creed; nationality; aboriginal or ethnic origin; ancestry; religion; age; gender; marital status; family status; source of income; sexual orientation; physical or mental disability; irrational fear of contracting diseases; political belief; affiliation or activity; or association with those having characteristics listed above.
2.3.2 Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment may be direct, physical, verbal, or online, may be deliberate, unsolicited, or unwelcome and may consist of one incident or several incidents.
Sexual harassment may include:
· unwelcome remarks, jokes, or innuendos about a person's body or attire.
· displaying of pornographic or other offensive or derogatory pictures or materials.
· unwelcome invitations or requests, whether indirect or explicit, and intimidation.
· unnecessary physical contact such as touching, patting, or pinching.
· stalking; and/or sexual assault.
2.4 REPORTING OF HARASSMENT
Any incident of sexual or other harassment is expected to be reported to the appropriate authority and will be responded to in a timely, effective manner.
The name of the complainant will not be disclosed except where disclosure is necessary for the purposes of investigation or, in the case of the perpetrator being an MTO employee, initiating corrective action. No participant, facilitator or MTO employee will be reprimanded or penalized for instigating a harassment investigation.
2.6 HARASSMENT RELATED TO PARTICIPANTS OR GN OR OTHER EMPLOYEES
2.6.1 Reporting
The MTO encourages and expects participants, facilitators and GN employees to immediately report any incidents of perceived harassment and to cooperate with any investigation of a complaint of harassment.
The MTO strongly discourages any retaliation against any participant for filing a complaint of perceived unlawful harassment or participating in the investigation of such complaint.
