April 2023

Sexual Violence Policy

TPS Drivers Group is committed to providing its clients and employees with an environment free from sexual violence and anyone who report incidents of sexual violence with dignity and respect.

We have adopted this Sexual Violence Policy, which defines sexual violence and outlines its training, reporting, investigative and disciplinary responses to complaints of sexual violence.

Definitions

“complainant” refers to the person making the allegation of sexual violence

“respondent” refers to the person accused of engaging in sexual violence

“sexual violence” means any sexual act targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity or gender expression, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened or attempted against a person without the person’s consent, and includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, voyeurism and sexual exploitation.

We shall include a copy of the Sexual Violence Policy in every contract made between it and its clients and provide a copy of the Sexual Violence Policy to management,  staff, other employees and contractors and train them about the policy and its processes of reporting, investigating and responding to complaints of sexual violence.

The Sexual Violence Policy shall be published on the TPS Drivers Group website.

Reporting

  • Management, staff, other employees and contractors of TPS Drivers Group will report incidents of or complaints of sexual violence to the Operations Manager upon becoming aware of them.
  • Reports of sexual violence, whether verbal or written, should include as many of the following details as possible: 
    • Name(s) and contact information of the student who has allegedly experience sexual violence
    • Name of the alleged respondent 
    • Names of any witness(es) (if any) or other person(s) with relevant information to provide about the incident (if any) and contact information (if known)
    • Details of what happened including date(s), frequency and location(s) of the alleged incident(s).
  • If anyone, in good faith, report an incident of, or make a complaint about sexual violence, they will not be subject to discipline or sanctions for violations of our policies relating to drug or alcohol use at the time the alleged sexual violence occurred.
  • We recognizes the right of the Complainant not to report an incident of or make a complaint about sexual violence or not request an investigation and not to participate in any investigation that may occur. In certain circumstances, we may be required by law or its internal policies to initiate an internal investigation and/or inform police without the complainant’s consent if it believes the safety of members of its campus or the broader community is at risk.
  • In all cases, we will appropriately accommodate the needs of anyone who is affected by sexual violence. Anyone seeking accommodation should contact the OperationsManager. In this regard, we will assist anyone who has experienced sexual violence in obtaining counselling and medical care and provide them with information about sexual violence supports and services available in the community as set out in Appendix 1. You are not required to file a formal complaint in order to access supports and services.

Investigation

  • We will ensure that an investigation appropriate in the circumstances is conducted when the Operations Manager becomes aware of an incident of sexual violence or receives a complaint of sexual violence.
  • Officials, offices or departments that will be involved in the investigation are the HR Department, General Manager, Operations Manager and the President.
    1. Upon receipt of a report of an incident or a complaint of alleged sexual violence being made, the Operations Manager will respond promptly and determine whether an investigation should proceed and if the Complainant wishes to participate in an investigation;
    1. Determine who should conduct the investigation having regard to the seriousness of the allegation and the parties involved;
    1. Determine whether the incident should be referred immediately to the police; in such cases or where civil proceedings are commenced in respect of allegations of sexual violence, we may conduct its own independent investigation and make its own determination in accordance with its own policies and procedures; and
    1. Determine what interim measures ought to be put in place pending the investigation process such as removal of the Respondent or seeking alternate methods of providing necessary course studies.
  • Once an investigation is initiated, the following will occur:
    1. the Complainant and the Respondent will be advised that they may ask another person to be present throughout the investigation;
    1. Interviewing the Complainant to ensure a complete understanding of the allegation and gathering additional information that may not have been included in the written complaint such as the date and time of the incident, the persons involved, the names of any person who witnessed the incident and a complete description of what occurred;
    1. Informing and interviewing the Respondent of the complaint, providing details of the allegations and giving the Respondent an opportunity to respond to those allegations and to provide any witnesses the Respondent feels are essential to the investigation;
    1. Interviewing any person involved or who has, or may have, knowledge of the incident and any identified witnesses;
    1. Providing reasonable updates to the Complainant and the Respondent about the status of the investigation; and
    1. Following the investigation, the Operations Manager will:
  • Review all the evidence collected during the investigation;
  • Determine whether sexual violence occurred; and if so
  • Determine what disciplinary action is required, if any.
  • Anyone who discloses their experience of sexual violence through reporting an incident of, making a complaint about, or accessing supports and services for sexual violence, will not be asked irrelevant questions during the investigation process by us or investigators, including irrelevant questions relating to the student’s sexual expression or past sexual history.
  • To the extent it is possible, we will attempt to keep all personal information of persons involved in the investigation confidential except in those circumstances where it believes an individual is at imminent risk of self-harm, or of harming another, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that others on its campus or the broader community are at risk. This will be done by:
  • ensuring that all complaints/reports and information gathered will be only available to those who need to know for purposes of investigation, implementing safety measures and other circumstances that arise from any given case; and
  • Ensuring that the documentation is kept in a separate file from that of the Complainant or the Respondent.

Should the Complainant or the Respondent not agree with the decision resulting from the investigation, he or she may appeal the decision to the President within 10 days by submitting a letter addressed to President advising of the person’s intent to appeal the decision.

Disciplinary Action

If it is determined by us that the Respondent did engage in sexual violence, immediate disciplinary or corrective action will be taken. This may include:

    • disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment of staff; or
    • the placement of certain restrictions on the Respondent’s ability to access certain premises or facilities; and/or
    • any other actions that may be appropriate in the circumstances.

Making False Statements:

It is a violation of this Sexual Violence Policy for anyone to knowingly make a false complaint of sexual violence or to provide false information about a complaint.

Individuals who violate this Sexual Violence Policy are subject to disciplinary and / or corrective action up to and including termination of employment of staff.

Reprisal:

It is a violation of this Sexual Violence Policy to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against a complainant who has brought forward a complaint of sexual violence, provided information related to a complaint, or otherwise been involved in the complaint investigation process.

Review

We shall ensure that student input is considered in the development of its Sexual Violence Policy and every time it is reviewed or amended.

    • We shall review its Sexual Violence Policy 3 years after it is first implemented and amend it where appropriate.

Appendix A

To find support, visit: https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-help-if-you-are-experiencing-violence#section-0 

Or call:

  1. Ontario 211:
    • By phone at 2-1-1
    • Toll-free: 1-877-330-3213
    • Toll-free TTY: 1-888-340-1001
  2. Assaulted Women’s Helpline
  • Toll-free: 1-866-863-0511
  • Toll-free TTY: 1-866-863-7868
  • Mobile (On Fido, Rogers, Bell and Telus) #SAFE (#7233)
  1. Victim Support Line
  • 24/7 Toll-free: 1-888-579-2888
  1. Fem’aide
  • Toll-free: 1-877-336-2433 (1-877-FEMAIDE)
  1. Talk4Healing
  • Toll-free (Text or call): 1-855-554-4325 (1-855-554-HEAL)
  1. Voices for Women – Sudbury Sexual Assault Centre
  1. ATS
  • 1-866-860-7082
  1. Sudbury Crisis Services
  • 705-675-4760
  • Toll-free: 1-877-841-1101