25 Vagnini Court, Lively ON P3Y 1K8
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info@northernacademy.ca

March 1, 2022

Sexual Violence Policy

Northern Academy of Transportation Training (hereafter referred to as NATT) is committed to providing its students with an educational environment free from sexual violence and treating its students who report incidents of sexual violence with dignity and respect. 

NATT has adopted this Sexual Violence Policy, which defines sexual violence and outlines its training, reporting, investigative and disciplinary responses to complaints of sexual violence made by its students that have occurred on its campus, or at one of its events and involves its students.

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.

Training

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

*Any company participating in offering student internships on their premises must provide an undertaking in writing that it is in compliance with all applicable legislation, including the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Occupational Health and Safety Act and will provide students access to those policies should they encounter issues relating to sexual violence in the workplace.

The Sexual Violence Policy shall be published on the NATT website. 

Reporting

  • Students are encouraged to report any incidents or complaints of sexual violence verbally or in writing to the Campus Administrator and/or the General Manager. 
  • Management, instructors, staff, other employees and contractors of NATT will report incidents of or complaints of sexual violence to the Campus Administrator and/or General Manager upon becoming aware of them. The Campus Administrator will forward all information to the General Manager.  
  • 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 Students, 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 NATT’s policies relating to drug or alcohol use at the time the alleged sexual violence occurred.
  • NATT 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, NATT 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, NATT will appropriately accommodate the needs of its students who are affected by sexual violence. Students seeking accommodation should contact the Campus Administrator/General Manager. In this regard, NATT will assist students who have 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. Students are not required to file a formal complaint in order to access supports and services. 

Investigation

  • NATT will ensure that an investigation appropriate in the circumstances is conducted when the Campus Administrator and/or General 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, Campus Administrator and the President. 
    1. Upon receipt of a report of an incident or a complaint of alleged sexual violence being made, the General 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, NATT 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 General 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.
  • Students who disclose 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 NATT or investigators, including irrelevant questions relating to the student’s sexual expression or past sexual history.
  • To the extent it is possible, NATT 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/student 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 NATT 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 instructors or staff; or 
    • expulsion of a student; and /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 Fales 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 instructors or staff or expulsion of a student. 

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

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

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

Collection of Student Data

NATT shall collect and be prepared to provide upon request by the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges such data and information as required according to Subsections 32. 3 (8), (9) and (10) of Schedule 5 of the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 as amended. 

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