Policy Statement 

Bell Press is committed to fostering a harassment-free space where all contributors, freelancers, and employees are treated with respect and dignity. Harassment at Bell Press is not tolerated. Contributors or employees who are found to have harassed another individual may be subject to removal from future reprints or current ebooks or audiobooks, end of employment, and/or disciplinary action.

Strategy

Bell Press is committed to creating a safe and supportive space for all employees and contributors. Our strategy to create this space and prevent harassment and discrimination includes:

• Providing clear information to all employees and contributors on this policy to make sure everyone knows their rights and responsibilities
• Revising and monitoring our organizational systems to remove barriers relating to discrimination
• Providing an effective and fair complaints procedure
• Promoting appropriate standards of conduct at all time
• Including compliance with this policy in all contracts for employees, freelancers, and contributors
• Removing contributors who violate this policy from all reprints, current ebooks, and audiobook, in compliance with their publication contract
• End of employment and/or disciplinary action for employees or freelancers who violate this policy

Prohibited Grounds of Discrimination

The Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in five parts of society, called “social areas” – employment, housing, services, contracts and membership in trade, vocational and professional associations. Protection is offered based on the following 17 grounds. This policy prohibits discrimination or harassment based on the following grounds, and any combination of these grounds:

• Age
• Creed (religion)
• Sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding)
• Sexual orientation
• Gender identity
• Gender expression
• Family status (such as being in a parent-child relationship)
• Marital status (including married, single, widowed, divorced, separated or living in a conjugal relationship outside of marriage, whether in a same-sex or opposite-sex relationship)
• Disability (including mental, physical, developmental or learning disabilities)
• Race
• Ancestry
• Place of origin
• Ethnic origin
• Citizenship
• Colour
• Record of offences (criminal conviction for a provincial offence, or for an offence for which a pardon has been received)
• Association or relationship with a person identified by one of the above grounds
• Perception that one of the above grounds applies.

The following behaviour is prohibited:

Discrimination: means any form of unequal treatment based on a Code ground, whether imposing extra burdens or denying benefits. It may be intentional or unintentional. It may involve direct actions that are discriminatory on their face, or it may involve rules, practices or procedures that appear neutral, but disadvantage certain groups of people. Discrimination may take obvious forms, or it may happen in very subtle ways. Even if there are many factors affecting a decision or action, if discrimination is one factor, that is a violation of this policy.

Harassment: means a course of comments or actions that are known, or ought reasonably to be known, to be unwelcome. It can involve words or actions that are known or should be known to be offensive, embarrassing, humiliating, demeaning or unwelcome, based on a ground of discrimination identified by this policy. Harassment can occur based on any of the grounds of discrimination.

Sexual Solicitation: this policy prohibits sexual solicitations or advances by any person who is in a position to grant or deny a benefit to the recipient of the solicitation or advance. This includes managers and supervisors, as well as co-workers where one person is in a position to grant or deny a benefit to the other. Reprisals for rejecting such advances or solicitations are also not allowed.

Poisoned environment: a poisoned environment is created by comments or conduct (including comments or conduct that are condoned or allowed to continue when brought to the attention of management) that create a discriminatory work environment. The comments or conduct need not be directed at a specific person, and may be from any person, regardless of position or status. A single comment or action, if sufficiently serious, may create a poisoned environment.

Roles and Responsibilities

Bell Press employees, freelancers, and contributors are expected to uphold and abide by this policy, by refraining from any form of harassment or discrimination, by cooperating fully in any investigation of a harassment or discrimination complaint, and by bringing any form of harassment or discriminatory behaviour of which they become aware to the immediate attention of the Publisher. Personnel are not to be penalized or disciplined for reporting an incident or for participating in an investigation involving workplace harassment.

The Publisher is responsible for creating and maintaining a harassment and discrimination-free environment, and should wherever possible address potential problems before they become serious. The Publisher will investigate and deal with all complaints or incidents of workplace harassment in a fair, respectful and timely manner. Information provided about an incident or about a complaint will not be disclosed except as necessary to protect staff, to investigate the complaint or incident, to take corrective action or as otherwise required by law.

We encourage anyone who has a complaint against a Bell Press staff member, freelancer, editor, or contributor at any time to please contact the Publisher, Angela Caravan and angela [at] bellpressbooks.com. If further assistance is required, a party may contact BC Human Rights Code.

Other available resources are available online at BC Human Rights Code or WorkSafe BC Resource Took Kit.