Canadian Creative Industry Groups Release Code of Conduct Addressing Harassment

25 Canadian creative industry groups, including ACTRA, the Writers Guild of Canada, and IATSE, have signed a Code of Conduct pledging "an industry free of harassment including sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying and violence." The Code was unveiled March 9.

According to the ACTRA page detailing the Code:

In adhering to this Code of Conduct, Signatory organizations agree to take the following steps as applicable to identify and address harassment including sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying and violence:

• Enact policies and procedures that maintain zero tolerance for harassment, discrimination, bullying and violence;
• Designate people in the workplace to receive complaints of harassment, discrimination, bullying and violence;
• Provide a timely process for the investigation and resolution of complaints;
• Implement proportional consequences for violations; and
• Protect from retaliation or reprisal those individuals who in good faith allege violations of anti-harassment, discrimination and violence policies and procedures.

In implementing the above, Signatories will take the following steps, as applicable:

• Ensure everyone in the workplace is aware of anti-harassment, discrimination and violence policies and procedures;
• Encourage people to set and respect personal boundaries and engage in consent-based interactions;
• When work requires physical contact or scenes of nudity, intimacy or violence, adhere to applicable respectful workplace policies and collective agreement obligations;
• Provide safe places where work may be performed for example, by not requiring individuals to attend meetings alone or in spaces such as private hotel rooms, etc.; and
• Encourage instructors, teachers, coaches and those providing training in the industry to adhere to this Code and share its principles with their students.

Signatories to this Code of Conduct agree to take all applicable steps to quickly address substantiated complaints of workplace harassment including sexual harassment, discrimination and violence.  Such steps may include the following:

• Requiring remedial action such as counselling and/or training;
• Disciplinary action (as per collective agreements and individual organization, union, guild and workplace policies) including restrictions, suspension or termination of employment and/or membership; or
• Legal action as per applicable laws including human rights legislation.

The release of the Code follows an announcement last November that such a document would be created, following the emergence of a number of sexual assault scandals across the entertainment industry.