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Vexatious Conduct Policy
Policy #
86
Effective Date
September 20 2022
Final Approver
Council.
1.0
Interpretation
1.1
In this policy, unless the context requires otherwise:
"Charter of Rights and Freedoms" means Part 1 of the Constitution Act, 1982,
Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c. 11;
"City" means the Corporation of the City of Kingston;
"City employee" means a person who performs work or supplies services directly
to the City for monetary compensation under an employment contract and includes
CMT members, directors and managers but does not include council members;
"Clerk" means the person appointed clerk by the City;
"CMT member" means a member of the City's corporate management team and
includes the person appointed chief administrative officer by the City, the person
appointed treasurer by the City, and a commissioner responsible for the leadership
and operation of a portfolio of City departments;
"council member" means a person elected to office on the council of the City;
"direct supervisor" means the manager, director, or CMT member to whom a City
employee directly reports;
"director" means the director of a City department;
"Human Rights Code" means the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19;
"manager" means a City employee who reports directly to a director;
"meeting" has the meaning given to it in the City's By-Law Number 2021-41;
"Occupational Health and Safety Act" means the Occupational Health and Safety
Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1;
"restriction" has the meaning given to it in section 3.3;
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"supervisor" means a City employee who reports directly to a manager;
"vexatious conduct" means behaviour which, due to its nature or frequency, or
both, substantially and unjustifiably compromises the City's ability to provide
services to the public in a respectful, fair and timely manner, including:
(a)
harassing, verbally abusing, threatening or otherwise seeking to intimidate
one or more City employees;
(b)
engaging in violence, or the threat of violence, against one or more City
employees;
(c)
making excessive demands on the time or resources of one or more City
employees with unreasonably frequent or long attendances at one or more
City facilities or phone calls, emails or correspondence to one or more City
employees;
(d)
repeatedly challenging the findings of one or more City employees or the
adequacy of a response, investigation or answer of one or more City
employees;
(e)
placing unreasonable demands on one or more City employees, including
by demanding a response to a request, investigation into a complaint, or
answer to an enquiry within an unreasonable timeframe;
(f)
refusing to accept that a request, complaint or enquiry falls outside of the
City's jurisdiction;
(g)
making statements or submitting information, or permitting or encouraging
one or more other persons to make statements or submit information, to
one or more City employees that the person knows is untrue;
(h)
denying or attempting to alter statements already made or information
already submitted during an ongoing request, complaint or enquiry or an
earlier request, complaint or enquiry;
(i)
using a new request, complaint or enquiry to attempt to resurrect a matter
or issue which was responded to, investigated or answered after an earlier
request, complaint or enquiry;
(j)
making requests, complaints or enquiries to multiple City employees to
attempt to address the same matter or issue;
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(k)
explicitly stating that a request, complaint or enquiry is intended to cause
one or more City employees inconvenience, disruption or annoyance or
was otherwise made for an improper purpose;
(l)
failing to reasonably cooperate with one or more City employees who are
attempting to respond to a request, investigate a complaint or answer an
enquiry made by that person;
(m)
unreasonably changing the basis of a request, complaint or enquiry while
one or more City employees are attempting to respond to the request,
investigate the complaint or answer the enquiry;
(n)
demanding special treatment from one or more City employees or
attempting to circumvent the City's structure, hierarchy, processes or
procedures; or
(o)
failing to clearly identify the grounds of a request, complaint or enquiry
despite the reasonable efforts of one or more City employees to assist in
clarifying such grounds.
1.2
In this policy, "include", "includes" and "including" indicate that the subsequent list
is not exhaustive.
1.3
A reference to any legislation, regulation, by-law, rule, policy or to a provision
thereof includes a reference to any legislation, regulation, by-law, rule, policy or to a
provision thereof enacted in substitution thereof or amendment thereof.
1.4
A reference to legislation includes all of the regulations made thereunder.
1.5
A reference to the position or title of any City employee includes a reference to any
position or title created in substitution thereof.
2.0
Purpose
2.1
The purpose of this policy is to establish a formal system for managing persons
who engage in vexatious conduct which recognizes and is consistent with the
following:
(a)
the City endeavours to provide exemplary service to all members of the
public in a respectful, fair and timely manner;
(b)
the City or a City employee may, in some circumstances, have a statutory
duty to act or provide services;
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(c)
every City employee is entitled to a healthy and safe workplace in
accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the City's
"Workplace Violence and Harassment Prevention Program", "Respect in the
Workplace Policy", and "Health, and Safety & Wellness Mandate Policy";
(d)
every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to services, goods
and facilities without discrimination in accordance with the Human Rights
Code; and
(e)
responding to vexatious conduct compromises the City's ability to provide
exemplary service to all members of the public in a respectful, fair and
timely manner.
3.0
Restrictions
3.1
A CMT member who believes or suspects that a person has engaged in or has
continued to engage in vexatious conduct must, prior to imposing any restrictions
pursuant to section 3.3, give a warning in writing to such person.
3.2
When giving a warning to an affected person, a CMT member:
(a)
must use Form 1, attached as Appendix 9.1 to this policy;
(b)
must include in the warning a description of the restriction or restrictions
that the City may impose if the person continues to engage in vexatious
conduct and the particulars of the vexatious conduct which caused the
warning to be given;
(c)
must inform the affected person that the affected person may make written
submissions to the CMT member, including any supporting information or
documents, about why one or more possible restrictions described in the
warning are not necessary to achieve the purpose set out in section 2.1;
and
(d)
may give the warning to the affected person by personal service, courier,
registered mail or email, provided that the CMT member has reason to
believe that the affected person will receive the notice.
3.3
A CMT member who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has
continued to engage in vexatious conduct after having been given a warning
pursuant to section 3.1 may impose one or more restrictions on the way that City
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employees will interact with that person for a period of up to two years (each a
"restriction") in accordance with section 3.5 and 3.6, including:
(a)
restricting telephone calls to a specified time period;
(b)
limiting the person to one or more methods of contacting the City;
(c)
limiting the person's point-of-contact at the City to one specified City
employee;
(d)
requiring any in-person interactions between the person and one or more
City employees to take place in the presence of an appropriate witness;
(e)
requiring the person to fully disclose and produce all relevant documents
or information before any City employee will further respond to a request,
investigate a complaint or answer an enquiry;
(f)
instructing one or more City employees not to respond to the person
regarding a particular request, complaint or enquiry or a reasonably similar
request, complaint or enquiry; and
(g)
instructing one or more City employees to reduce or completely cease
providing service to or communicating with the person.
3.4
A City employee must not give a warning or impose a restriction unless authorized
to do so in accordance with section 3.1 or 3.3.
3.5
In exercising the authority delegated under section 3.3, a CMT member:
(a)
must impose the least restrictive restrictions necessary to achieve the
purpose set out in section 2.1, considering all relevant factors, including:
(i)
the nature of the affected person's vexatious conduct;
(ii)
the frequency of the affected person's vexatious conduct;
(iii)
the degree to which the affected person's vexatious conduct
compromised the City's ability to provide exemplary service to all
members of the public in a respectful, fair and timely manner;
(iv)
the likelihood that the affected person will continue to engage in
vexatious conduct;
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(v)
any warnings previously given to the affected person under this
policy;
(vi)
the nature, severity and duration of any restrictions previously
imposed on the affected person under this policy;
(vii)
if known, the affected person's personal circumstances, including
access to meetings, housing, family, employment, City services and
supports, and community agencies and service providers and the
likely impact of restrictions on such access;
(viii)
whether the City or a City employee has a statutory duty to act or
provide services; and
(ix)
the degree and kind of restrictions necessary for the health or safety
of one or more City employees;
(b)
must consider all relevant information, documents and reports received
from a director;
(c)
must consider any submissions, including supporting information or
documents, received from the affected person after being given a warning;
and
(d)
may seek and consider additional information or documents from any
person, and may consult with other City employees, legal counsel, or other
advisors, all as the CMT member considers necessary.
3.6
When imposing one or more restrictions, a CMT member must give written notice
of the restriction or restrictions to the affected person.
3.7
When giving written notice of one or more restrictions to an affected person, a
CMT member:
(a)
must use Form 2, attached as Appendix 9.2 to this policy;
(b)
must include in the written notice a description of the restriction or
restrictions being imposed and the particulars of the vexatious conduct the
person engaged in which made that restriction or those restrictions
necessary;
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(c)
may give written notice to the affected person by personal service, courier,
registered mail, or email, provided that CMT member has reason to believe
that the affected person will receive the notice; and
(d)
must give a copy of the written notice to all CMT members by email.
3.8
Subject to section 3.9, a CMT member's decision to impose one or more
restrictions is final.
3.9
Where a restriction is imposed for a period of more than one year, a CMT member
must reconsider the decision to impose such restriction within 30 days after the first
anniversary of the original notice of the restriction, and, after such reconsideration,
may confirm, modify or revoke the restriction in accordance with this policy.
3.10
A CMT member must give written notice of the reconsideration decision to the
affected person in accordance with section 3.7.
3.11
A CMT member's reconsideration decision is final.
4.0
Reporting
4.1
Any City employee, other than a CMT member, who believes that a person is
engaging in or continuing to engage in vexatious conduct must, as soon as
reasonably possible,:
(a)
report to the City employee's direct supervisor the City employee's belief
that the person is engaging in or continuing to engage in vexatious
conduct;
(b)
collect all relevant and available information or documents;
(c)
make a written report in the prescribed form describing:
(i)
the nature and frequency of the person's behaviour which the City
employee believes is vexatious conduct;
(ii)
if known, the person's personal circumstances, including access to
meetings, housing, family, employment, City services and supports,
and community agencies and service providers and the likely
impact of restrictions on such access;
(iii)
whether the City or a City employee has a statutory duty to act or
provide services;
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(iv)
the degree to which the person's behaviour compromised the City's
ability to provide exemplary service to all members of the public in
a respectful, fair and timely manner; and
(v)
if known, the effect of the person's behaviour on any City
employee's health or safety; and
(d)
give all relevant and available information, documents and reports to the
City employee's direct supervisor for review.
For the purposes of clause (a), if a City employee reports directly to a supervisor,
that City employee must report to the City employee's manager the City employee's
belief that the person is engaging in or continuing to engage in vexatious conduct.
4.2
Any manager who receives information, documents and reports from a City
employee pursuant to clause 4.1 (d):
(a)
must review such information, documents and reports in order to
determine whether there are sufficient grounds to submit the information,
documents and reports to their director for further review;
(b)
may, in conducting a review pursuant to clause (a), seek and consider
additional relevant and available information, documents or reports from
any person, and may consult with other City employees, legal counsel, or
other advisors, all as the manager considers necessary; and
(c)
must give a copy of all relevant information, documents and the report to
their director for review, if, following a review pursuant to clause (a), the
manager determines that there are sufficient grounds to do so.
4.3
Any director who receives information, documents and reports from a manager
pursuant to clause 4.2 (d):
(a)
must review such information, documents and reports in order to
determine whether there are sufficient grounds to submit the information,
documents and reports to a CMT member for further review;
(b)
may, in conducting a review pursuant to clause (a), seek and consider
additional relevant and available information, documents or reports from
any person, and may consult with other City employees, legal counsel, or
other advisors, all as the director considers necessary; and
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(c)
must give all a copy of all relevant information, documents and the report to
a CMT member for review, if, following a review pursuant to clause (a), the
director determines that there are sufficient grounds to do so.
4.4
A City employee must not make a report pursuant to section 4.1 for any frivolous or
improper purpose.
5.0
Administration
5.1
CMT members and directors must take reasonable steps within their authority to:
(a)
implement every restriction imposed under this policy; and
(b)
direct compliance with this policy.
5.2
City employees must, where circumstances reasonably permit, give effect to every
restriction imposed under this policy.
5.3
The director of Legal Services may:
(a)
prescribe forms of notices, reports or other documents to be given, made
or maintained under this policy;
(b)
amend this policy by substituting a new Form 1 for Appendix 9.1 or a new
Form 2 for Appendix 9.2.
5.4
A City employee who breaches this policy may be subject to discipline up to and
including dismissal.
6.0
Application
6.1
This policy applies to all City employees.
7.0
Approval Authority
Role
Position
Date Approved
Quality Review
Subject Matter Expert Legal Services Department September 20 2022
Legal Review
Senior Legal Counsel; and September 20 2022
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City Solicitor.
Management Review Directors.
September 20 2022
Final Approval
Council.
September 20 2022
8.0
Revision History
Effective Date Revision # Description of Change
Sept. 20, 2022 1
New Policy