Statement

New Dawn Enterprises aspires to create a safe, welcoming, supportive space for all clients, visitors, patrons, tenants, staff, and volunteers. New Dawn Enterprises considers infractions to this policy to be serious and will act accordingly.

Scope

This policy applies to:

Staff of New Dawn Enterprises
Contractors doing work for New Dawn divisions
Student Placements
Volunteers
Patrons
Tenants
Visitors

Purpose

To support New Dawn in creating a safe, welcoming, supportive space for all clients, visitors, patrons, tenants, staff, and volunteers.

At New Dawn, we expect those using and sharing space in New Dawn buildings to treat others with respect, kindness, dignity, and compassion.

Discrimination in any form or any behaviour which makes people feel vulnerable or threatened will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, discrimination based on age, race, colour, religion, creed, ethnic, national, or Indigenous origin, sex, physical disability, mental disability, marital status, political belief, gender identity, and/or gender expression.

Aggressive behaviour towards staff, volunteers, patrons, tenants, visitors, and clients will not be tolerated.

Solicitation/retailing by visitors is not permitted in New Dawn buildings.

Principles

We can all work to create a safer, more welcoming workplace by adhering to the guiding principles of the New Dawn Safe Space Policy. These are:

Respect for others’ physical and emotional boundaries
Respect for others’ identities and backgrounds, including pronouns and names
Refrain from making or assuming judgments/conclusions about anyone’s gender identity, sexual preference, survivor status, health status, economic status, religion, background, beliefs, opinions, etc.
Respect for others’ right to privacy both during dialogue and beyond. This includes refraining from pushing anyone to answer questions they don’t want to answer and/or sharing the personal and private stories of others.
Remain aware that our actions and words may have unintended effects on other people and that their feelings are valid, regardless of our intentions.
Avoid raising your voice, interrupting, or talking over anyone else. Be aware of how much you’re participating and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak.
Assume positive intent. If someone does or says something that crosses a boundary, gently let them know, but do not assume they intended harm.
Remember, we are all learning.

Take care of your own safety. If you feel unsafe, let your Manager/Supervisor/HR Coordinator know.

If you need to momentarily step away from your workplace or station because of a violation of this policy, feel free to do so. If you need an extended break from your workplace station because of a violation of this policy, let your Manager/Supervisor know.

Responsibilities

The Organization (New Dawn Enterprises) will:

Enforce this policy within all divisions of New Dawn Enterprises.
Foster a positive, supportive, and respectful workplace culture.

The Human Resources Coordinator will:

Ensure that staff and volunteers receive training on this policy and procedure upon hire and annually thereafter.
Ensure that the policy and procedures are updated accordingly and reviewed on a regular basis.
Attend to internal infractions of this policy in consultation with senior management.
Attend to external infractions of this policy as outlined.

The Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) will:

Ensure that the policy is posted in public areas at all New Dawn Enterprises facilities and work sites.
Work with the Human Resources Coordinator, as needed, to investigate any policy infractions that are brought to the committee’s attention.
Ensure this policy is referenced in our Workplace Violence and Respectful Workplace Policy.

Directors/Managers/Supervisors will:

Deal with issues in their divisions based on the severity of the problem.
Inform the Human Resources Coordinator of infractions and participate in investigations and debriefings if necessary.
Provide support for those affected by infractions to this policy in collaboration with the Human Resources Coordinator.

Definitions

A Safe Space is defined as: a place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm.

Discrimination is defined as: the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of ethnicity, age, sex, or disability.

Policy Violations

Examples of unwanted behaviours (or violations of this policy) include, but are not limited to:

Offensive, derogatory, threatening, aggressive, or silencing comments (related to gender, sexuality, disability, physical appearance, language, body size, age, race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, and more).
Deliberate misgendering or use of ‘dead’ or rejected names.
Violence, intimidation, stalking.
Wearing offensive attire including (but not limited to) hate symbols or culturally appropriative pieces.
Persistent, abusive, or non-constructive criticism.
Persistent micro-aggressions in the form of comments, jokes, or material
Non-consensual photography or recording.
Physical contact without consent.
Inappropriate social contact or unwelcome sexual attention.
False messages, indecent or harassing phone calls.
Encouraging any of the above behaviour.

Procedure

We ask that staff follow these steps when dealing with infractions to this policy:

If you feel you are danger and the situation is unsafe for yourself or others, call 911 immediately.
If you do not feel a call to 911 is warranted, but you want the person to leave the premises, contact the Human Resources Coordinator (902-565-0109) and they will coordinate their removal. If you cannot reach the Human Resources Coordinator, contact the Properties Manager (902-577-4500) to coordinate their removal.
If (a) your physical safety (or the physical safety of others/integrity of property) is not in danger, (b) you do not want the person removed from the premises, and (c) you feel comfortable doing so, address the situation with the person violating the policy.
If someone has done something that violates this policy and you are not comfortable bringing it up at the time of occurrence, you can contact the Human Resources Coordinator and they will pass the information on the appropriate person to ensure that the issue addressed.
In all cases where an incident has occurred that violates this policy, contact your manager/supervisor to complete an incident report. This report will be discussed with the Human Resource Coordinator and potentially the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (with identifying information of the complainant removed before it is shared with the JOHSC).

Violations

Violations of this policy will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Violations may result in:

Termination of leases held by tenants.
Discipline, up to and including termination, of staff and volunteers as refenced in the Human Resources Policy Manual.
Visitors being asked to leave the premises.
Student placements concluding.
Contracts being cancelled.
Those in violation of this policy may not be welcomed back on New Dawn property.

Additional Information

If you wish to report a safe space violation or want to discuss the policy in greater detail, please contact the Human Resources Coordinator.

If you have an issue related to this policy that you would like to discuss with the police (that is not an emergency) you can call the Cape Breton Regional Police Non-Emergency line at 902-563-5151.

Remember, in the case of an emergency and/or if your physical safety or the physical safety of those around you is in danger, call 911.