How can we help

• A detailed description of what happened.
• We have your consent to proceed with your complaint. This is confirmed by submitting an “Authorization and Consent Form”.

• Deadline: We strongly encourage you to submit or withdraw your complaint within one year of the last occurrence of harassment or discrimination. This deadline can be extended in exceptional circumstances.
• You can withdraw your complaint without any consequences, except if your complaint was made with bad intentions.
• You are required to file your own complaint. We understand this can be difficult, and we can refer you to resources, such as the Student Right Center or your union representative.
• Support persons are welcome to accompany you.
• The HRO is neutral, which means it does not advocate, provide legal advice, or take sides of anyone involved.

All complaints of harassment and discrimination are confidential.  Anyone involved in an incident or complaint is required to maintain confidentiality.

There are exceptions to confidentiality:

1. Under the law
   • You are a safety risk to others
   • You are a safety risk to yourself
   • Other laws require us to share information.

2. Under University policies and procedures:

   When information sharing happens, the disclosure of your information is limited in 2 ways: 1) the least information possible is shared, and 2) the information is only shared among those who need to know the information. 
   By signing the consent form, you authorize the HRO to contact other university departments to obtain information and process your complaint when necessary.

In cases where the Respondent (i.e., the other person(s) involved in the complaint) is a member of a union, the complaint will be resolved following the relevant collective agreement. Policy 67a does not change or invalidate any of the agreement’s provisions.

If your collective agreement does not address harassment and discrimination, the complaint will be handled according to Policy 67a’s procedure. Currently, only the APUO’s collective agreement addresses harassment and discrimination, so all other union members follow Policy 67a’s process.

Depending on whether you are a student, employee, Faculty or another type of uOttawa community member, there are other campus resources that may also help you with the situation you have experienced. For example, employees may also have the option to access to the University of Ottawa’s Human Resources Office.

In addition to filing a complaint with the HRO, we remind you that can also take your complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario under the Human Rights Code or take other legal action on your own or with the help of legal services.

To explain the options and the complaints process, here is a color-coded Flowchart that describes the steps (PDF, 80.1 Kb). For more information, you can contact the HRO.

1. Contact the HRO: If you feel that you’ve experienced harassment or discrimination, you can contact the HRO to access the Case Resolution Request form or complete the online version.  You will need to share details of the incident(s), including:
   • What happened
   • Person(s) involved, or systems involved
   • When did it happen (the date(s))
   • Where did it happen, and
   • Were there witnesses

Systemic discrimination: If you feel that you have experienced systemic discrimination, you can contact the HRO.

2. First review of your complaint: The HRO reviews your Case Resolution Request form and any relevant supporting documents to determine if (1) your complaint establishes a prima facie case of harassment or discrimination, and (2) your complaint was filed within 12 months of the last occurrence of harassment or discrimination.

Prima facie means, if the allegations made are presumed to be true, it would justify a finding of discrimination or harassment.

3. Referral to other resources: If the HRO can’t proceed with your complaint, we can recommend other problem-solving options or refer you to other University resources.
4. Resolution Process: If the HRO can proceed with your complaint, you can request an INFORMAL or the FORMAL resolution option.
   1. INFORMAL resolution process: Some of the informal resolution options are:
      • With the support of the HRO, you may address the concerns directly with the Respondent, where appropriate
      • You can request mediation or other alternative resolution options
   2. FORMAL resolution process: You can choose to proceed with a formal resolution process at any time, including if an informal resolution option fails. The HRO will further assess the complaint and collect more information from the person(s) involved, to determine if it requires investigation.
5. Decision and Outcome: If the investigation indicates that Policy 67a has been breached, the Appropriate Authority decides to impose any necessary remedial measures.

• The submission is made in writing.
• It contains the name of the student who committed the breach of conduct.
• It includes a statement of the facts, the nature and circumstances of the breach of conduct, the dates, and the names and contact information of witnesses.

Initial Assessment

Case Manager:

• Acknowledges receipt of the allegation,
• Reviews the allegation, seeks clarification, and consults internally as required.
• Determines if the allegation:
  1. Falls under policy 130, in which case the Case Manager opens a file and notifies the affected Student in writing with a summary of the allegation and details of this resolution, its related processes, and the subsequent steps set forth in Section 3 (Informal Resolution Process) or Section 4 (Formal Resolution Process) of this Appendix, as appropriate.
  2. Falls under another University Regulation; the allegation is then transferred to another authority pursuant to another University Regulation.
  3. Does not fall within the scope of policy 130 or is not within the jurisdiction of the University. The complaining party shall be informed of this finding. The complainant may request in writing that the Director of the Office of Human Rights reassess this finding. The Director will then inform the complaining party in writing of the result of the reassessment, which is final and conclusive.

Informal Resolution

In consultation with the appropriate authority, the Case Manager may prefer an informal resolution prior to or after the commencement of the formal process as set out in section 4 of policy 130. In making this judgment, the Case Manager will consider the following factors:

1. Whether the nature and circumstances of the case lend themselves to an informal resolution and whether the student involved and those involved are willing to proceed in this manner.
2. Whether an informal resolution is likely to meet the objectives of this policy 130.
   • the informal resolution process may include, for example, educational strategies, mediation, negotiation, facilitated meetings, conflict resolution conferences, restorative justice measures such as healing circles and other dispute resolution techniques.
   • Participation in the informal resolution process is voluntary, subject to any rights, and may be withdrawn at any time.
   • Any information provided or statement made by the Student involved in the Responsible Conduct Breach in the informal resolution process remains confidential and will not be used against him or her at any later stage of the process set forth in this or other University Regulations.
   • The Case Manager shall document the outcome of the informal resolution process and report it in writing to the student involved in the Misconduct and to the other participants while taking appropriate precautions to maintain confidentiality.

Informal Resolution

When informal resolution is inappropriate, or does not work, formal resolution is proposed to the parties in the following steps:

Written Exchange: The Case Manager sends the complaint in writing to the Student involved in the Responsible Conduct Violation indicating, also in writing, that the case is following the formal resolution process set forth in this policy (this is the "Notice of Initiation of Formal Resolution Process"). The Student shall have five (5) business days to respond in writing. The Case Manager may forward the affected Student's response to the complainant or others to clarify or verify the allegation or the Student's response. The Case Manager will inform the Student in writing of any relevant allegations or statements that were not included in the original allegation and will again provide the Student with time to provide a written response and additional information and documentation to support the allegations.

• Investigation: The Case Manager shall conduct an investigation of the allegation or, in consultation with the Director of the Human Rights Office, assign a specially trained person to do so. The investigation shall be conducted in a timely manner and in accordance with the timelines set out in section 6.1(b) of policy 130.
• Investigation Report: Transmission of the investigation report to the Competent Authority, and to both parties (the Student involved in the Event of Default and the Complainant)
• Conclusion and Final measure: The Competent Authority shall provide the Student Subject to the Breach of Responsible Conduct and the Complaining Party, if applicable, an opportunity to comment on the Investigation Report and any final action, if any.
• The Competent Authority shall review the Investigative Report and then make the following determinations:
  1. Accept or reject the findings of the investigation.
  2. Determine the final measures that fall within its jurisdiction as set forth in paragraphs 6.9 and 6.10 of policy 130;
  3. Recommend to the Senate Appeals Committee any final action that is not within its jurisdiction as set forth in policy 130, Sections 6.9 and 6.10.
  4. Communication: The Competent Authority communicates its decision or recommendation, as the case may be, in writing to the Student concerned by the Case of Responsible Conduct, with a copy to the Case Manager and to other University representatives who require this information for the purposes of applying the measures.

• Decisions and recommendations of the Competent Authority may be appealed to the Senate Appeals Committee.
• The party requesting the appeal must file the request within ten (10) working days of the communication of the decision or recommendation of the Competent Authority.
• The filing of an appeal shall in no way defer the implementation of the imposed measures.
• The decisions of the Senate Appeals Committee shall be final and conclusive.