Code of Conduct
CRKN Conference Code of Conduct
CRKN is dedicated to providing a welcoming, professionally engaging, and safe conference experience for all participants. CRKN values the productive exchange of ideas and insights from our community and fosters an inclusive environment to discuss opportunities and challenges. Discriminatory language, actions, and imagery are not appropriate for any CRKN event, including conferences, meetings, talks, workshops, conference engagement spaces such as slack and Twitter, or sessions, whether online or in a face to face environment.
CRKN does not tolerate harassment in any form. Harassment is understood as any behaviour that threatens another person or group or produces an unsafe environment. It includes offensive verbal comments or non-verbal expressions related to gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religious beliefs, sexual or discriminatory images in public spaces (including online), deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.
The CRKN Conference will have a designated Code of Conduct Committee made up of the Conference Planning Committee as member representatives and no less than two CRKN staff members. The Committee members will be identified, both in advance and at the event, should an attendee need to contact them. Incident reporting training will be provided for all members of the Code of Conduct Committee and a reporting process will be shared in advance of the conference.
Adapted from the Ontario Library Association Code and Code4Lib Creative Commons Conference Code
CRKN Conference Code of Conduct Incident Reporting Process
If you need to report a Code of Conduct violation, you may:
Submit your report via an online form: https://forms.gle/7WCZdNxuoZrQr5qd9
Reach out directly to a member of the Code of Conduct Committee:
Nazia Bundhoo, Canadian Research Knowledge Network, she/her, nbundhoo@crkn.ca
Paul Durand, Canadian War Museum, he/him, paul.durand@museedelhistoire.ca
Lindsey MacCallum, Mount Saint Vincent University, she/her, lindsey.maccallum@msvu.ca
Jaclyn McLean, University of Saskatchewan, she/her, jaclyn.mclean@usask.ca
Todd Mundle, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, he/him, todd.mundle@kpu.ca
Rebecca Ross, Canadian Research Knowledge Network, she/her, rross@crkn.ca
Brianne Selman, University of Winnipeg, she/her, b.selman@uwinnipeg.ca
Joanne Smyth, University of New Brunswick, she/her, jsmyth@unb.ca
More Information
CRKN Conference Code of Conduct incidents may be reported by direct message or email to the Code of Conduct Committee or online by completing the following form: https://forms.gle/7WCZdNxuoZrQr5qd9. Code of Conduct incidents will be kept anonymous and shared only with the Code of Conduct Committee. If a member of the Code of Conduct Committee is reported, that individual will not be permitted to review the incident report.
Reporting the Incident
Any attendee (hereafter referred to as the complainant) may report the incident to an event representative (CRKN staff). If they are not a member of the Code of Conduct Committee, the event representative will locate a member of the Committee to take an account of the incident.
The Code of Conduct Committee representative will record the complainant's account of the incident using a Code of Conduct report template as a guideline.
The complainant will not be asked to resolve the incident with the person who was alleged to have violated the Code of Conduct (hereafter referred to as the alleged violator) or to communicate with them in any way.
Contacting the Alleged Violator
A Code of Conduct Committee member will contact the alleged violator as soon as possible.
Once the alleged violator has been contacted, the Code of Conduct Committee member will:
- Relay the details of the complaint, without identifying the complainant.
- Provide or link to a copy of the Code of Conduct and procedure and identify the behaviour that prompted the complaint.
- Record the alleged violator’s response to the complaint.
Meeting of the Code of Conduct Committee
The Code of Conduct Committee will review the matter as soon as possible. If the Committee agrees that the behaviour constituted a violation of the Code of Conduct, they will also decide upon the sanction to apply, based on the severity of the incident.
Sanctions may include:
- Warning with notice of further sanctions if the behaviour continues.
- Advise violator to seek no further contact with the person who has lodged the complaint (providing the complainant has not requested anonymity).
- Removal of formal role associated with the event (if the person is a volunteer, speaker, etc.) but permission to stay.
- Removal from the event.
After the Committee has come to an agreement, up to two representatives will be tasked with communicating directly with the alleged violator to inform them of the committee's decision and any associated sanctions.
The Code of Conduct representative will not facilitate or relay any apologies or messages from the alleged violator or attempt to mediate a difference of opinion.