Policy

This policy applies to all employees, contractors, directors, officers, volunteers, coaches, athletes, officials, administrators, members and participants involved with the Calgary Rockies FC (CRFC). This policy applies to Harassment that may occur in the CRFC workplace or other activities or events where CRFC employees or contractors may be involved on behalf of CRFC and during the course of all activities and events of CRFC, and to all Harassment occurring outside those situations when the Harassment involves individuals covered by this policy.

Calgary Rockies FC will not tolerate disrespectful behaviour, harassment, abuse or damage to people or property.

Definition

In this policy, Harassment means any behaviour that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and that a reasonable person should have known would be unwelcome.

Harassment may be verbal or physical, and may be in the form of a comment or display that is insulting, intimidating, humiliating, hurtful, demeaning, belittling, malicious, degrading or otherwise cause offence, discomfort, or personal humiliation or embarrassment to a person or group of persons. Harassment may involve a person’s or a group of persons’ appearance, race, religious beliefs, colour, place of origin, gender, mental or physical disability, ancestry, marital status, family status, source of income, a conviction (whether pardoned or not) or sexual orientation (hereinafter referred to as “characteristics”). Harassment may be a single incident or a series of incidents.

A person does not have to intend to harass for the behaviour to constitute harassment.

Examples of harassment

• verbal or physical abuse;
• hostile verbal or non-verbal communications, including yelling and screaming;
• use of terminology that reinforces stereotypes based on a person’s characteristics;
• any form of discrimination, including derogatory or demeaning comments, jokes, slurs, innuendos, taunts, posters or cartoons, etc., that cause awkwardness or embarrassment, endangering a person’s safety or negatively affecting a person’s performance;
• condescending, paternalistic or patronizing behaviour linked to a person’s characteristics, which undermines self-esteem or diminishes or adversely affects performance or adversely affects working conditions;
• any form of hazing;
• Sexual Harassment as defined below.

In this policy, Sexual Harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, unwelcome requests for sexual favours or other unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual Harassment may occur in behaviours by males toward females or by females toward males, between males, or between females. The behaviour does not need to be intentional for it to be considered Sexual Harassment.

Examples of types of behaviour which may be Sexual Harassment include:

• unwelcome attention or physical contact, including touching, pinching, patting, rubbing, or kissing;
• unwelcome sexual flirtations, advances, propositions, including unwelcome invitations to socialize;
• leering, staring, gestures of a sexual nature;
• sexually suggestive or obscene comments or gestures; sexist joke(s), comment(s), suggestion(s) or innuendo(s) causing embarrassment or offence;
• sexually degrading words used to describe a person;
• the display of visual material such as pictures, pornographic materials, graffiti or sayings of a sexual nature which is offensive or which one ought to reasonably know is offensive;
• derogatory or degrading remarks about a person’s gender or sexual orientation;
• unwelcome inquiries or comments about an individual’s sex life or sexual preferences;
• persistent unwelcome contact or attention after the end of a consensual relationship or otherwise;
• promise or threats contingent on the performance of sexual favours; decision-making affecting an individual that is contingent on the performance of sexual favours;
• conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment;
• verbal abuse or threats of a sexual nature;
• sexual assault;
• stalking.

Complaints

If you are the subject of Harassment involving persons covered by this policy, you should:

1. Tell the harasser that his or her behaviour is unwelcome and ask him or her to stop.
2. Keep a record of the incidents (dates, times possible witnesses, what happened, your response). You do not have to keep a record of events in order to file a complaint; however, a record may help you remember the details over time.
3. Contact Calgary Rockies through its President and register your complaint in writing in accordance with our rules and policies.

Once the President receives your written complaint, the CRFC Board will appoint a committee of three Board Members for the purpose of reviewing and attempting to resolve the complaint (the “Committee”). The Committee may also be a standing committee of the Board. The Committee will open a secure file containing all of the relevant information in respect of your complaint and undertake an investigation immediately. If the complaint involves a Board Member or Members or an employee of the CRFC, those individuals will be precluded from partaking in the Committee and from reviewing the file while the matter is being investigated.

The Committee will interview you and the alleged harasser, along with all of the individuals who may be able to provide relevant information. If the investigation reveals evidence to support the complaint of harassment, the harasser will be disciplined appropriately in accordance with this policy and the CMSA Rules. Subject to the discretion of the Committee, discipline may include a fine and/or suspension from involvement with the CRFC and/or CMSA, or permanent expulsion from any further involvement with the CRFC. If circumstances warrant, the Committee may refer these matters to the City of Calgary Police Service, the Alberta Human Rights Commission or such other body or organization as they deem appropriate.

For the purposes of this policy, threats of retaliation and retaliation by one person against another:

• designed to dissuade an individual from reporting discrimination or harassment;
• to punish an individual who has rejected sexual advances;
• for having invoked this policy (whether on behalf of oneself or another);
• for having participated in any investigation under this policy; or
• for having been associated with a person who has invoked this policy or participated in these procedures will be considered a form of Harassment.

Complaints found to be false, frivolous or made in bad faith will not be tolerated and will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.

In addition to any other findings or sanctions imposed by the Committee, a finding of Harassment will be considered conduct likely to bring the game into disrepute under the CMSA Rules. Once the matter has been resolved, the CRFC Board will retain the file in a secure location along with all of the other books and records of the CRFC. No absolute confidentiality may be made by the CRFC, particularly in circumstances where the matter warrants police or other regulatory or administrative body intervention.

If Calgary Rockies does not deal with the complaint in accordance with the above mentioned rules and policies, you may file a written complaint with the CMSA in care of the Executive Director or the employee or director of the CMSA delegated responsibility by the CMSA Board to receive such complaints for further investigation.