All Flame Ontario Arts Collective Board and Committee members have a duty to maintain the integrity of the decision-making processes of conduct and consent reports by ensuring they are free from conflict or potential conflict. It is important that all Board and Committee members understand their obligations when a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest arises.
All Board and Committee members must also understand the process should an Incident Report include allegations against a Board or Committee member (referred to as Board Members throughout).
Board Members must be forthcoming about declaring any conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest.
This policy’s process shall be followed when a conflict or potential conflict arises or an incident report includes a Board Member.
A conflict of interest arises when a Board Member’s duty to review a conduct report is compromised or impeded by any other interest, relationship, or duty. A conflict of interest may also arise if an incident report involves a volunteer, committee member and/or Board Member.
The situations where a potential conflict of interest may arise cannot be exhaustively described.
Conflicts generally arise in the following situations:
- A Board Member is directly involved in the reported incident, either as the reporter, a witness, or the subject of the report.
- A Board Member cannot remain unbiased in decision-making about an incident reported for any reason.
A Board member in a position of conflict or potential conflict shall immediately disclose such conflict to the Conduct Lead or, alternatively, the President. The disclosure shall be sufficient to fully explain the nature and extent of the interest. Disclosure shall be made at the earliest possible time and, where possible, before any discussion and vote on the matter.
The Board Member who has declared a conflict shall not be present during the discussion or vote regarding the matter in which the member has a conflict. They shall not attempt in any way to influence the voting.
If a Board Member’s behaviour or conduct is the source of a validated incident report, the Board will vote to decide if the member:
- May continue in their role (while abstaining from the identified conflict).
- Be temporarily suspended from their duties with the Board.
- Be removed from their role within the organization.
All access to reports, documentation, and meetings will be suspended until the incident is reviewed. After the investigation, a vote will determine whether the involved party should remain in their role with the Board.
The Board must be notified of the conflict and designate a representative to oversee the incident investigation and review. The Board representative is to remain in an oversight role to ensure the integrity of the review regarding the Incident Report. The incident reporter must be notified of the chosen Board representative.
If an incident report is made regarding a Board Member’s behaviour or conduct, the Conduct and Consent Committee will immediately call for an emergency meeting within seven [7] days to review the report and put forward recommendations to determine if the Board Member:
- May continue in their role until the incident is fully investigated and reviewed; or
- Be temporarily suspended from their duties with the Board until the incident is fully investigated and reviewed.
A full report must be submitted to the Board about any conflict of interest, the immediate actions taken, and the recommendations put forth by the Conduct and Consent Committee.
It is recognized that the perception of conflict or breach of duty may be harmful to the event even where no conflict exists or breach has occurred, and it may be in the best interests of the event that the Conduct and Consent Committee member or Board Member is asked to abstain from discussions, votes or resign.
The Board and the Conduct and Consent Committee may amend this policy as required.
