General Dispute & Resolution Policy
Policy # 12.1

Applies to:  All current and potential Program Assistants and their Guardians
Implementation Date: July 12, 2026
Revision Date: N/A

PROCEDURE overview:  

This General Dispute Reporting and Resolution Procedure (this “Procedure”) is designed to help  Orillia Figure Skating Club (the “club”) take every reasonable measure to promote and maintain  a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment. This Procedure standardizes the measures and  procedures to meet the obligations as set out in the General Dispute Reporting and Resolution  Policy (the “Policy”). This Procedure ensures that individuals have a process to report general  disputes, it instills confidence that there will be no retaliation or reprisal for reports made in  good faith; and it mandates that reports will be investigated and dealt with in a fair and timely  manner, respecting the privacy of all concerned as much as reasonably possible.  

PROCEDURE Scope:  

This Procedure implements the General Dispute Reporting and Resolution Policy and is intended  to ensure an appropriate and timely investigation and resolution of general disputes received  through the reporting process.  

This policy applies to all individuals engaged in activities (on or off ice) with the club. An  individual means a person, including members, skaters, volunteers, parents/guardians of skaters  (including minor skaters), as well as persons engaged in activities, events/competitions, and  programs with and/or hosted by the club (including coaches and staff members).  

To meet the guiding principles as established in the Policy, this Procedure sets out the process  for the reporting, investigation and resolution management processes including:  

• initiation of general disputes, including the reporting process and timelines;  • initial assessment to determine the appropriate process to be followed;  • a resolution process, including investigation as applicable and response; and  • decision, including disciplinary action as applicable and an appropriate appeal process. 

PROCEDURE Statement:  

Reporting Process 

Any individual subject to this policy may report a dispute. Individuals are encouraged, but not required, to attempt informal resolution where appropriate and safe to do so. If the dispute cannot be resolved informally, a general dispute complaint can then be reported to the club  via email to the Orillia FSC President (president@orilliafigureskatingclub.com) and the Orillia FSC Vice President (policies@orilliafigureskatingclub.com), in writing, dated and submitted by the complainant. The email should contain the following information:  

1. What the complaint is – clearly stated concern and what result the complainant would  like to see come out of this process.  

2. Provide detailed and verifiable support for your complaint (email chains, policies that  are not being followed, etc.)  

The general dispute report must be made in writing by email to the club within thirty (30) days  of the occurrence of the dispute. Extenuating circumstances may be considered at the discretion of the Board of Directors. To encourage timely and appropriate resolution, any  dispute reported more than six (6) months after the interaction, incident, event or situation  experienced or witnessed may not be accepted if the situation is such that an appropriate  investigation is no longer feasible. If the dispute is considered to be trivial, frivolous or vexatious  in nature, the Board will advise complainant and thereafter shall take no further action in  relation to that dispute. The Board may extend the time for submission of a complaint  notwithstanding the expiration of the time set by this policy. 

All complaints and information received will be handled confidentially and shared only with those individuals who require the information to fulfill their responsibilities under this policy or as required by law.

Assessment Process 

Disputes will first be referred to the President and Vice-President for preliminary consideration, clarification, and, where appropriate, informal resolution. If the matter cannot be resolved informally or requires a formal review, it will be referred to the General Dispute and Resolution Committee (the "Committee") for assessment under this policy. Following a determination  by the Committee that a general dispute reported should be accepted and resolved by the club,  the Committee will establish reasonable timelines for the resolution process, taking into consideration the complexity of the matter, the availability of the parties, and the volunteer nature of the Board and Committee. The assessment process will consider the following:   

• the concern is an internal Club matter and should be addressed under this policy;

• the concern requires referral to an external organization, including Skate Ontario, Skate Canada, or Safe Sport; or

• the allegation involves conduct such as discrimination, harassment, abuse, or abuse of authority, as defined in Skate Canada's policies, and must be referred to Skate Canada's National Complaints Review Officer.

Upon the club’s acceptance of a general dispute, the committee will acknowledge receipt of a  complaint, in writing, within 10 business days. Notice will be provided to any other affected  party that a general dispute has been reported, and the resolution process has been initiated at  that time.  

General Dispute and Resolution Committee 

The committee will consist of three (3) representatives: President or Vice-President as the  Chairperson, one non-executive board member and one coach representative, to be selected by the second meeting following the election or appointment of each new Board.

If a report involves the President, Vice-President, the coach or non-executive board member representative serving on the committee, that individual will be replaced for the purposes of the investigation by an alternate Executive Board or Board member, as appropriate, to ensure there is no actual or perceived conflict of interest. 

Resolution Process 

 When a general dispute is reported to and accepted by the Club, as determined by the Committee, the Committee will lead the appropriate resolution process and arrive at a final decision. The committee will determine whether the complaint falls within the scope of this policy within fifteen (15) business days of receiving all information necessary to make that determination.

The committee will proceed to review the file presented to the club in the formal complaint  email. Upon accepting the complaint, the Committee will commence its review within fifteen (15) business days. The Committee will review the information provided in the formal complaint and take appropriate steps to work with the parties to address the dispute with the objective of arriving at a mutually agreed upon resolution.  What is appropriate  will depend on the nature of the dispute and other relevant circumstances. The process may  include, but is not limited to, an investigation, and interviewing the complainant and  respondent as well as any witnesses and other individuals necessary to obtain sufficient  information upon which to make an assessment and informed decision.  

If appropriate, depending on the assessment and nature of the general dispute, the committee,  at discretion of the Board of Directors, will attempt to support the parties in the resolution of  the issue(s) informally or formally, through methods that may include, but are not limited to,  the following means:  

i. communication with individual(s); 

ii. early resolution facilitation; 

iii. mediation; and/or 

iv. arbitration.  

The Committee will make reasonable efforts to complete the investigation and any applicable resolution process within forty-five (45) calendar days of accepting the complaint. More complex matters may require additional time. Where additional time is required due to the complexity of the matter, the availability of the parties or witnesses, scheduling constraints, or the volunteer nature of the Board and Committee, the Committee will advise the complainant and respondent of the delay and provide an updated estimated timeline.

If at any time during the resolution process the dispute can be resolved to the satisfaction of the  complainant and in a manner acceptable to the respondent and the Committee, the resolution  will be documented, with a copy provided to both the complainant and the respondent.  

The circumstances of the general dispute and resolution steps throughout the process will be  documented in detail by the Committee, including a summary of the complaint and response(s)  of the respondent and any witnesses.  

Once the investigation is completed, an investigation report will be prepared by the Committee and submitted to the Board of Directors for review. The Board of Directors will review the report at its next scheduled meeting, or within thirty (30) business days of receiving the report, where reasonably practicable. Once the investigation report has been  reviewed, the committee will prepare a decision which will include a summary of the process  that has been undertaken, the findings of the investigation/review and where applicable, may  include corrective actions to be taken by one or more of the involved parties and/or disciplinary  sanctions to be reviewed the Board of Directors for final approval. The final decision will normally be communicated in writing to the complainant and respondent within five (5) business days of the Board's decision.

If it is determined through the resolution process that an individual has made a false general  dispute or made the general dispute with the intent to harm another individual, this will be  investigated separately, and disciplinary action may be taken.  

Decision 

The complainant and the respondent, and other parties as applicable, will be notified of the  findings and the conclusions made because of the investigation. Whenever any individual is  found to have engaged in conduct that constitutes a breach of club/Skate Ontario/Skate Canada  policies, including but not limited to the Code of Ethics Policy, the Club will take appropriate  disciplinary and remedial action to address and correct the situation.  

The decision will be distributed by registered mail or email to all applicable parties, including information regarding any applicable appeal process, within five (5) business days of the Board's decision. 

Disciplinary Action 

Disciplinary steps range from informal (e.g. a verbal or written reprimand/warning and/or  education) to formal (e.g. probation, privileges of membership may be temporarily suspended,  skater or member  participation be restricted, suspended, or cancelled) and from less serious to more  serious up to and including permanent suspension/expulsion, or any other sanctions/penalties  that the club and committee deems appropriate and proportional.  

Remedial steps that may be recommended range from a verbal or written apology, verbal or  written warning, letter of reprimand on the respondent’s membership file, etc. to a defined  requirement (e.g., payment of a fine/levy, probation, requiring formal counselling or training  curriculum, etc.).  

Records of all decisions and supporting documentation (including, without limitation, reports,  initial assessment, investigation reports, resolution, corrective action, etc., as applicable) will be  maintained by the board in a secure location.  

Appeal Process 

Appeals may only be submitted based on procedural grounds as stipulated in the General  Disputes Reporting and Resolution Policy.  

The individual appealing the decision will bear the onus of proof in the appeal, and must  demonstrate, on a balance of probabilities, that the decision-maker has made an error. In  addition, the individual appealing the decision must have abided by the terms of the resolution  process in all respects, including complying with the confidentiality restrictions as outlined in  this Policy. 

The decision is final and binding on all parties, subject to the right for an independent appeal.  

• Decisions of the club and committee may be appealed to Skate Ontario, in accordance  with the relevant Skate Ontario policies and procedures.  

• Decisions of Skate Ontario may be appealed to Skate Canada, in accordance with the  relevant Skate Canada policies and procedures.  

A decision may be appealed by delivering a written Notice of Appeal addressed as outlined  below within thirty (30) days from the date that the initial general dispute decision letter is sent  to the individuals involved from the club and committee.  

The Notice of Appeal must indicate:  

• intention to appeal;  

• name and address of individual appealing;  

• identity of the individual whose decision is being appealed and any affected parties;  

• copy of the decision being appealed or description of decision if a written decision or  document is  

• not available;  

• grounds for the appeal as outlined in the policy;  

• why the sanction is inappropriate; and  

• all evidence to support their position of appeal.  

Appeals can be submitted as follows:  

Attention: Skate Ontario via email to complaints@skateontario.org  

Subject Line: Appeal of Decision from Orillia Figure Skating Club dated DD/MM/YYYY  

Any documentation which the parties wish to have considered as part of the appeal must be in  writing.  

Skate Ontario will review and determine next steps in the appeal process as per their General  Dispute and Resolution Policy.  

Exceptions 

If the complaint contains any allegations of misconduct, the complaint will be automatically  redirected to the Skate Canada external independent third-party Case Manager process by way  of the following channels:  

Online: www.skate-safe.ca 

Telephone: 1.833.723.3758 

Timelines 

The timelines set out in this Procedure are intended as reasonable administrative targets rather than mandatory deadlines. Failure to meet a timeline does not invalidate the complaint process or any decision made under this Procedure, provided the parties are advised of any material delay.

RECORD RETENTION: 

All records relating to complaints, investigations, decisions, and any associated documentation will be maintained in a secure and confidential manner by the Club. Unless otherwise required by law, these records will be retained for a period of seven (7) years following the conclusion of the matter, after which they may be securely destroyed. Records relating to permanent disciplinary sanctions may be retained for a longer period as determined by the Board of Directors.

Misconduct means acts, conduct and/or behaviours that result in or have the potential to result  in physical or psychological harm, which for the purposes of Policy includes: maltreatment,  behaviours, acts and/or conduct of abuse including physical, psychological, and sexual; neglect;  grooming; and interference or manipulation with the processes related to the implementation of  this Policy, including retaliation, aiding and abetting, failure to report maltreatment of a minor,  failure to report inappropriate conduct, and intentionally filing a false allegation, abuse of  authority, bullying, harassment, and discrimination.