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CORPORATE POLICY
CP.1.1.11
Section
1
Administration
Subsection
1
General
Chapter
11
Respectful Interactions Policy
Approval Authority:
2019.11.27-CR-02
Effective Date:
November 27, 2019
1.
PURPOSE:
The Corporation of the Town of Innisfil (the "Town") is committed to fostering an
environment of respect and responsibility while providing exemplary service to all
members of the public. The purpose of this policy is to establish a guideline of
expectations for the public in all interactions with the Town either, online, in person or on
the phone. The Town discourages any form of inappropriate behaviour in all interactions
with members of the public and other community stakeholders.
This policy will guide staff in identifying situations that meet the criteria of inappropriate
behaviour, and the associated actions that may be taken in such circumstances. The goal
of this Policy is to promote a positive, safe and supportive environment for interactions
between members of the public and Town staff that will encourage respect, commitment
and considerate relationships. This Policy also aims to provide measures that may be
taken when behaviour or actions become inappropriate.
2.
SCOPE/APPLICATION
This policy applies to all members of the public, and other community stakeholders
interacting with Town staff:
·
at all Town facilities and properties;
·
at all Town sponsored events and programs;
·
in all verbal or written communications (including email, phone and via
social media).
This policy is designed to provide members of the public and staff with a positive approach
to promoting productive communication and appropriate behaviour and actions. The
decision to classify a person's behaviour as inappropriate may have serious
consequences for the subject person, including restricting their access to municipal
services or limiting their right to express themselves as they choose. All decisions made
under this Policy are made with due regard to the subject person's rights under the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Town's obligations to its citizens and its
staff.
Staff are not expected to put themselves at risk or jeopardize anyone's safety when
dealing with any real or perceived situation. If at any time staff feels threatened, they are
to call 9-1-1 for assistance. If the nature and severity of an issue are known in advance
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to be contentious (at a meeting, event, or any other location where town staff is present)
staff may request the attendance of the police, or another staff member.
3.
EXCEPTIONS
Where a meeting is covered under the Procedural By-law, the procedures established
under that By-law take precedence over this Policy.
Complaints made to the Town's Integrity Commissioner under the Town's Code of
Conduct are not subject to this policy.
This policy is meant to be read in conjunction with the Town's Trespass to Property Policy
CP.5.1.4 (formerly CP.01-14-10), the Town's Customer Service Response Policy and
Standards CP.1.1.3 (formerly CP.03-11-02) the Town's Frivolous, Vexatious and
Unreasonable Complaint Policy CP.1.1.5, and the Town's Respectful Recreational User
Policy CP.6.1.9.
Nothing in this policy is meant to conflict with the Town's Respectful Workplace Policy
CP.11.1.14 (formerly CP.2007-04-06-V3), nor the Town's Code of Conduct CP.11.1.4
(formerly CP.03-10-06).
4.
IDENTIFYING THE CONDUCT OR BEHAVIOUR
For the purposes of this policy:
Inappropriate behaviour means conduct that is unacceptable in all circumstances -
regardless of how stressed, angry or frustrated an individual is, because it unacceptably
compromises the health, safety and security of others or the subject person him or herself.
Although each case must be determined in light of its own circumstances, below are
examples meant to help staff identify inappropriate conduct. It is understood that these
examples are not determinative; the list is not exhaustive, nor does any action set out in
the list necessitate application of this Policy.
Inappropriate behaviour or actions for the purpose of this policy include, but are not
limited to, the following:
·
Aggressive or intimidating physical approaches directed at another individual;
·
Aggressive or offensive language, content or tone, meant to intimidate, harass,
incite, insult or disparage others;
·
Implied or expressed threats of violence of harm;
·
Attempts to goad or incite anger in others;
·
Physical striking or throwing of objects or articles in a deliberate or aggressive
manner;
·
Physical striking of another individual;
·
Covertly recording meetings and conversations with the Town;
·
Theft of property;
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·
Possession of weapons;
·
Under the influence of alcohol or drugs (legal or otherwise);
·
Vandalism: the deliberate destruction, damage or defacing of property owned or
leased through the town;
·
Harassment: "engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known
or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome" as defined by the Ontario
Human Rights Code and more broadly in the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
·
Making unjustified complaints about Town Staff in an effort to see them disciplined.
Deciding whether a subject person's conduct is inappropriate requires considering each
situation on a case by case basis, taking into account all circumstances. The key question
is whether the subject person's behaviour or actions are unacceptable in all
circumstances as defined in this Policy.
The decision may be made as a result of the subject person engaging in one or more
behaviours identified as inappropriate. Staff must be able to establish, through
documented words and/or actions of the subject person (i.e. Emails, letters, posts on
social media, photographs, voicemails and staff notes reporting a conversation or
incident), that the conduct of the subject person is inappropriate, before applying the
restrictions outlined in this policy. This does not preclude staff from taking immediate
action in any real or perceived situation where they feel their safety, or anybody else's is
in jeopardy.
5.
ADDRESSING THE CONDUCT OR BEHAVIOUR
In the event of an incident involving inappropriate behaviour or actions in-person, Staff
will:
1.
Without jeopardizing anyone's safety, issue a verbal warning by advising the
subject person their behaviour or actions are inappropriate and needs to stop or
they may be asked to leave the premises.
2.
If the subject person's behaviour or actions continue to be inappropriate, advise
the subject person their behaviour or actions are inappropriate and need to stop
immediately or they will be asked to leave the premises.
3.
If the circumstances demand asking the subject person to leave the premises and
they refuse, advise them that they are now trespassing, and the police will be
called.
4.
If the subject person still refuses to leave, ensure you and others are in a safe
location enact internal protocols. Call the police and do not engage further with the
subject person.
5.
Report the inappropriate behaviour or actions to the Service Area Leader or his
or her designate immediately.
6.
The Service Area Leader or designate will report the incident to the Leadership
teams or designate(s) immediately to ensure the safety of all staff.
7.
Within 24 hours of the incident, an Incident Report is prepared by the staff involved
and the Service Area Leader for review and consideration by Senior and
Operational Leadership teams.
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When dealing with inappropriate behaviour or actions the Town's primary concern is
the safety of members of the public and staff. If at any time members of the public or staff
feel personally threatened, they are to call the police immediately. It is not the expectation
that members of the public or staff put themselves at risk or jeopardize anyone's safety
when dealing with any perceived or real situation.
In the event of an incident involving inappropriate behaviour or actions by phone, email
or social media, Staff will:
1.
Respectfully issue a warning to advise the subject person that their behaviour or
actions are inappropriate, and communication may end if the inappropriate
behaviour or actions continue.
2.
If the subject person's behaviour continues to be inappropriate, staff will advise
the subject person that communication will end, and the interaction will be reported
to the Service Area Leader.
3.
If the subject person's behaviour continues to be inappropriate, staff will advise
the subject person that communication has concluded until such time the
interaction has been reviewed by the Service Area Leader.
4.
The inappropriate behaviour or actions and verbal warning issued are reported
to the Service Area Leader or his or her designate immediately.
5.
Within 24 hours of the interaction, an incident report is prepared by the staff
involved filed with the Service Area Leader thoroughly documenting the interaction.
The Service Area Leader will review the Incident Report and engage with the Subject
Person (where possible and appropriate) to investigate the incident. Where the Service
Area Leader determines that the Subject Person's conduct was inappropriate, the
Service Area Leader may issue restrictions pursuant to this Policy. Restrictions issued
pursuant to this policy are to be documented in MoAR and communicated to the
Operational and Senior Leadership teams.
6.
APPLICATION OF RESTRICTIONS AND NOTICE
When a decision has been made to classify the Subject Person's conduct as
inappropriate, the Subject Person (where possible and appropriate) will receive written
notification from the Service Area Leader detailing:
· The reasons for the decision;
· The restrictions to be applied;
· The review date; and
· What it means for the subject person's contact with the Town.
Restrictions available under this Policy for inappropriate behaviour shall be tailored to
deal with the individual circumstances of each case and may include, but are not limited
to:
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In-Person Interactions
· Immediate expulsion or removal from the premises;
· A ban from specified Town facilities, properties, events or programs for a specified
period of time;
· Request for reimbursement of any damages caused by the subject person's
inappropriate behaviour or actions;
· Limiting or regulating the subject person's use of municipal services (i.e. Community
centres, libraries, registration in programs, access to technology systems, etc.);
· Refusing the subject person access to any municipal buildings except by appointment
or scheduled delegations at public meetings of Council;
· A letter of warning may be issued to the subject person for any behaviour that is in
violation of this policy;
· Requiring any face-to face interactions between the subject person and staff to take
place in the presence of an appropriate witness and/or police;
· Pursuing legal action; and/or
· Any other actions deemed appropriate by the Service Area Leader.
Phone, Email or Social Media Interactions
· A letter of warning may be issued to the subject person for any behaviour that is in
violation of this policy;
· Limiting the subject person to a particular point of contact at the Town (where
possible, other staff members should be advised not to respond to the subject person,
but to refer them to the point of contact);
· Limiting the subject person's correspondence with staff to a particular format only (i.e.
Email only), time (i.e. Phone calls only at specific times and days of the week) or
duration (i.e. Conversations may only last no longer than 10 minutes), this may
include technological or electronic limiters, such as muting or blocking on social
media, email filters, and automatic telephone redirects;
· Requiring that the subject person only contact the Town through a third-party agent,
such as a solicitor, counsellor, family member or friend;
· Requiring any face-to face interactions between the subject person and staff to take
place in the presence of an appropriate witness and/or police;
· Informing the subject person that further contact on the matter will not be
acknowledged or replied to;
· Pursuing legal action; and/or
· Any other actions deemed appropriate by the Service Area Leader.
7.
REVIEW OF RESTRICTIONS
Any restrictions made under this Policy shall contain a review date. This date is set at
the discretion of the Service Area Leader or his or her designate, having considered the
circumstances of the case. A review date may be 3 months or longer from the date on
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which the restrictions were put in place where the conduct or behaviour has been
deemed severe or where the subject person's conduct or behaviour has established a
pattern of behaviour necessitating a longer period of restriction.
The status of the subject person will be reviewed by the relevant Service Area Leader or
his or her designate on or before the review date, the outcome of which shall be
communicated to the subject person in writing.
The Service Area Leader or his or her designate, in consultation with Senior Leadership,
may extend the restrictions beyond the review date where appropriate, in which case the
subject person shall be notified of the extension, the reasons for the extension and
provided a new review date.
The Subject Person shall have 30 days from the date upon which Notice is received of
either restrictions or extension/modification thereof, to appeal the decision by providing
to the CAO a written letter outlining the reasons for the appeal. The CAO may confirm,
rescind or amend the restrictions, review date, extension or modifications.
In the event that complaints cannot be resolved under this Policy, they may be submitted
to the Provincial Ombudsman's office.
8.
RECORD RETENTION
Staff are responsible for maintaining detailed records of their interactions in order to
justify any action being taken to restrict the subject person's access to the Town. Records
must be retained in accordance with the Town's Records Retention Policy (CP.03-17-
01).
9.
POLICY ADMINISTRATION
This policy shall be administered by the People & Talent & Customer Service and
reviewed once every 3 years, or as required based on revisions to corporate practices or
governing legislation.
10.
REVISION HISTORY
Revision
Number
Date
Summary of Changes
Approval
Authority
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