Rights & Policies

ANHBC’s policies are in place to protect the interests of our organization and its stakeholders.

At ANHBC Neighbourhood Houses and camps, we are committed to creating inclusive, respectful, and safe spaces where everyone feels a sense of belonging. This page outlines your rights and responsibilities as a participant in our programs and spaces. By working together, we can ensure a supportive community built on dignity, care, and mutual respect.

 If you have a question or any complaints please connect with your local Neighbourhood House.

You have the right to:

Inclusive Spaces of Belonging

  • A community and services free from discrimination, bias and harassment.
  • Be treated with respect, dignity, privacy, and care, including freedom from abuse, exploitation, retaliation, humiliation, and neglect.
  • Building strong, supportive relationships and pursue your passions at welcoming and inclusive sites,
  • Access to or referrals for legal help, counselling services, and advocacy support.

Safety & Quality

  • A safe and clean environment.

Privacy & Information

  • Confidentiality, except when required by law.
  • Be informed of the limits of confidentially and the procedures used for releasing your information.
  • Access to any information, if any, we have on file about you.

Share Your Voice

  • Raise concerns, recommend changes, or provide feedback to services.
  • Make a formal complaint if any of these rights have been infringed.
  • Refusal of service.

You are Responsible for:

Inclusive Spaces of Belonging

  • Act in a respectful manner towards others.
  • Follow the rules of the neighbourhood house/camp.
  • Respect the rights of other participants.

Giving Feedback

  • Raise concerns, recommend changes, or provide feedback to services in a timely manner.
  • Make a formal complaint if any of your rights have been infringed.

Health & Safety

  • Stay home if you are feeling sick.
  • Not engage in physical or verbal aggression or violence toward others.

Privacy & Information

  • Let ANHBC neighbourhood house/camp staff know of any change in your personal information.
  • Respect others’ rights to confidentiality and privacy.

At the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of BC (ANHBC), we understand the importance of individual privacy.  We are committed to protecting and ensuring the accuracy of the personal information that is in our control and will only collect information that we require to carry out our work.

ANHBC is responsible for all personal information that we collect, use, disclose and/or retain, provided that the information about our employees, members, volunteers, program and service participants, clients, independent contractors, and donors remains under our control.

Our CEO, Liz Lougheed Green, has been designated as our Chief Privacy Officer.  Liz can be reached at 604-875-9111 or by email at central@anhbc.org.

Identifying The Purpose

Except where required or permitted by law, ANHBC will identify the purposes for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information prior to or at the time of its collection.  We will limit the collection of personal information to only that information which is necessary from appropriate sources for the intended purpose.

No personal information will be used for a purpose other than previously intended and identified, without the consent of the individual, unless ANHBC is compelled or permitted to do so by law.

The following are typical purposes for which ANHBC would be required to collect personal information.  This list is not exhaustive:

  • to establish and maintain relationships with ANHBC’s employees, members, volunteers, program participants, independent contractors and donors
  • for emergency contact information
  • to assess service needs
  • to determine services’ and programs’ eligibility
  • to provide programs and services, and enable integrated case management where appropriate
  • to ensure the safety of employees, members, volunteers, program participants, independent contractors and donors
  • to identify, process and/or collect fees
  • to acknowledge gifts and donations and to issue tax receipts
  • to comply with legal and/or contractual requirements

ANHBC may collect personal information from sources other than the individual, in certain circumstances required or permitted by law, or with their prior consent.  These sources include personal or employment references or other third parties with the right to disclose personal information.

Consent

Except where required or permitted by law, ANHBC will obtain an individual’s consent prior to or at the time of collection for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information (including photos and testimonials) about that identifiable individual.  .

An individual has the right to withdraw their consent for the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information. Withdrawal of consent may result in service, legal or contractual limitations.

In the case of minors, individuals who are incapacitated, or certain other individuals contemplated in the legislation, ANHBC will obtain consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information from parents, caregivers or appropriate alternate decision-makers.

ANHBC may collect, use and disclose of personal information about an identifiable individual without their consent under the following exceptions:

  • as required by ANHBC legal advisors;
  • in an emergency situation where an individual’s life or safety is at risk (use only);
  • when the information is necessary for the medical treatment of the individual, and the individual is unable to give consent to the collection, or lacks legal capacity to give consent to the use of disclosure;
  • as required to collect a debt;
  • in certain circumstances where it is deemed in the best interest of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way;
  • in other circumstances required or permitted by law.

Retention Of Personal Information

ANHBC will retain, for at least one year, the personal information it uses to make a decision that directly affects the individual in question.  We will also retain some personal information as required by funding partners or as required by law.  We will dispose of personal information after the fulfillment of the purposes for which it was collected, and retention is no longer necessary for legal and business purposes.

Individual Access To Personal Information

An individual may request access to their personal information.  Requests will be handled within the time limits set out in the legislation.

Whenever possible, access to personal information will be provided without charge to the individual.  ANHBC may charge a minimal fee to the requester for access to their personal information.

ANHBC must withhold access to an individual’s personal information if access:

  • can reasonably be expected to cause harm to the safety or health of the requesting individual;
  • can reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or health of a third party;
  • would reveal personal information about a third party;
  • would reveal the identity of a third party who has provided personal information about another individual, and the third party has not consented to the disclosure of their identity.

ANHBC is not required to provide access to personal information in certain other circumstances.  If access cannot be provided to the individual, ANHBC will provide a written explanation for the denial.

We respect the right of individuals about whom we have collected, used, disclosed or retained personal information, to request a review of their personal information under our control.

Accuracy

ANHBC is committed to using reasonable efforts to ensure that the personal information collected by us or on our behalf is accurate and complete. If the personal information is likely to be used by us to make a decision that affects the individual to whom the information relates, or is likely to be disclosed by it to another organization, individuals will have the opportunity to request correction of their personal information.

ANHBC expects its employees, members, volunteers, program participants, independent contractors and donors to notify ANHBC of changes to their personal information as required to maintain ongoing relationships.  Where there is a disagreement between ANHBC and the individual requesting correction about the accuracy of personal information, ANHBC will add a document outlining the disputed information for addition into the file.

Protection Of Personal Information

ANHBC staff and volunteers are required to sign the ANHBC Statement of Confidentiality as a condition of their employment or volunteer placement.

Our Privacy Officer will conduct a privacy audit and has established safeguards and procedures for the collection, use and storage of personal information. Our staff and volunteers who come into contact with personal information receive privacy orientation and ongoing training.

PURPOSE

The Association of Neighbourhood Houses of British Columbia (ANHBC) is committed to demonstrating  accountability and transparency to our stakeholders by exercising due diligence in our operations and taking  corrective actions against any violation of laws and regulations, policies and procedures, as well as Code of  Conduct.

The ANHBC expects and requires all employees to comply with laws and regulations, observe the Association’s  policies and procedures, and practice high professional and ethical standards.

This whistleblower policy aims to provide an avenue for employees to raise concerns when they suspect any  wrongdoing in the workplace, and communicates the process that should be followed when reporting any  suspected wrongdoing in the workplace.

This policy is intended to protect any employee against any act of retaliation, who has reasonable grounds to suspect wrongdoing in the workplace, acts in good faith, and reports wrongdoing following the ANHBC’s  procedures and steps outlined in this policy.

This policy is intended to address serious concerns and suspected wrongdoing that could have a large impact on  the ANHBC’s operations. Policies and procedures for addressing other employment-related wrongdoings in the  following categories are outlined in the Respectful Workplace Policy (Section 18 of ANHBC HR Policy Manual):

  • Discrimination and racism
  • Disrespectful conduct (harassment and bullying)

DEFINITIONS

Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing refers to the disclosure of wrongdoing in the workplace by an employee.

Whistleblower

Whistleblower refers to the employee, or employees who disclose potential wrongdoing of another employee, employees or a board member of the ANHBC in the workplace.

Wrongdoing

Wrongdoing refers to any conduct or activity that is illegal, immoral, in serious violation of the ANHBC’s policies, or otherwise illegitimate or unethical practice in the workplace of the ANHBC.

EXAMPLES

Examples of wrongdoing may include, but are not limited to:

  • Violation of any federal or provincial legislations, acts, regulations or bylaws;
  • An act or omission that creates a danger to the life, health or safety of individuals;
  • Mismanagement of funds and assets;
  • Falsification of financial records, statements and reports or any other type of fraud;
  • Unethical behaviors in the workplace, such as corruption or abuse of power;
  • Breaching the Employee Code of Conduct (Section 5 of ANHBC HR Policies);
  • Knowingly directing or counselling an individual to commit wrongdoing.

REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION OF SUSPECTED WRONGDOING – PROCEDURES, STEPS AND PRINCIPLES

Any employee, who has reasonable grounds to suspect wrongdoing in the workplace, is encouraged to report their  concerns to an appropriate Senior Management Team member or a board member within the ANHBC.

Employee (whistleblower) is expected and required to follow the procedures and steps outlined in this policy to  report the suspected wrongdoing, unless such suspected wrongdoing is required by law to be reported to an  external party, such as a law enforcement officer.

The ANHBC is committed to performing a thorough investigation and taking corrective action against any  wrongdoing.

Reporting procedure for whistleblower

Employees who have reasonable ground to suspect wrongdoing in the workplace are encouraged to report their concern. The report may be made either orally or in writing to the following authority in order to investigate and take corrective action:

  • If the suspected wrongdoing pertains to another employee member in the same NH/ Camp as where you work, excluding the Executive Director (ED) of the NH/ Camp, report to the ED of the NH/ Camp.
  • If the suspected wrongdoing pertains to a employee member in another NH/Camp within the ANHBC, excluding the ED of that NH/Camp, report to both EDs of the NHs/Camp.
  • If the suspected wrongdoing pertains to a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), excluding the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and which includes the EDs, Chief Financial Officer and HR Director, report to the CEO.
  • If the suspected wrongdoing pertains to the CEO, report to the President of the ANHBC Board of Directors (BOD).
  • If the suspected wrongdoing pertains to a member of a Community Board, report to the ANHBC BOD via the CEO.
  • If the suspected wrongdoing pertains to a member of the ANHBC Board, other than the President of the ANHBC BOD, report to the President.
  • If the suspected wrongdoing pertains to the President of the ANHBC BOD, report to the ANHBC BOD via  the Vice- President of the ANHBC BOD.

INVESTIGATION PROCEDURES, STEPS AND PRINCIPLES

Timelines of investigation, communication and response

The ANHBC will investigate the suspected wrongdoing and take necessary corrective action to address the  complaint. This may include the appointment of a designated internal or external investigator.

The ANHBC may request the whistleblower to submit a written statement and/or supporting documents during the  investigation. In such cases, the ANHBC will provide the whistleblower with an acknowledgement of receipt for the  statement and supporting evidence within five (5) business days of receiving the documents.

When practical, the ANHBC will, within thirty (30) days of receiving the whistleblowing report, provide a response  to the whistleblower which will outline the process of the investigation and any actions taken.

Principles of Fair Investigation

Fair Investigation

The ANHBC is committed to conduct fair and thorough investigations to protect the rights of everyone involved.

All relevant parties, including the whistleblower or employee(s) accused of wrongdoing and witnesses identified by  the whistleblower or the accused, should be informed about the whistleblowing report, and should be heard during  the investigation.

Investigators appointed by the ANHBC, whether internal or external, should not have any actual or perceived  conflict of interest in the matter being investigated. An Investigator shall disclose any direct or indirect conflict of  interest before accepting the appointment.

Confidentiality

The Investigation will be conducted in a confidential manner and only involve individuals deemed necessary by the Investigator for the purpose of a fair and thorough investigation.

The ANHBC will maintain a high standard of confidentiality and the identity of the whistleblower and any witnesses  identified by the whistleblower will remain confidential when possible. However, in most cases, their identity may have to be disclosed in order to conduct a fair and thorough investigation, so that the accused employee,  employees or board member has their rights of defense.

The identity of the accused employee, employees or board member and their suspected or proved wrongdoings  will only be disclosed to the individuals involved in the investigation; unless such disclosure is required by law or  deemed appropriate by the ANHBC.

NO RETALIATION

Regardless of the outcome of an investigation, the ANHBC will not take action against a whistleblower in any way, when the whistleblower has reasonable grounds to suspect wrongdoing, reports in good faith, and follows the ANHBC reporting policies and procedures.

The ANHBC will not tolerate any act of retaliation directly or indirectly against a whistleblower, or anyone who has  participated in an investigation. Any individual found to have been involved in any act of retaliation will be subject  to appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination. Any employee who is subject to any action of  retaliation is encouraged to report such concerns to the appropriate authority within the ANHBC in accordance with Section 19.3 of this policy.

MALICIOUS ALLEGATIONS

An employee who files a whistleblowing report84 that is found to be frivolous, vindictive or in bad faith may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.

RESPONSE TO WRONGDOING ALLEGATIONS FROM VOLUNTEERS

The principle of this policy also applies to all volunteers of ANHBC. ANHBC is committed to providing the same  safe avenue for volunteers to raise concerns when they suspect any wrongdoing in the workplace, and protect  them against any act of retaliation. A volunteer who has reasonable grounds to suspect wrongdoing in the  workplace shall report the wrongdoing to a employee member they work with and/or trust. The employee shall  follow procedures and steps outlined in this policy and guide the volunteer to report the wrongdoing.