Joint Annual Meetings of The Entomological Society of Canada

Authors: C. MacQuarrie, B Riel.

Preamble

The drafting of this Code of Conduct (CoC) was initiated in 2018 at the request of the Entomological Society of Canada (ESC) Executive Council and then ESC President, Patrice Bouchard. This CoC was developed after reviewing CoCs published by the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Entomological Society of America, and the International Marine Conservation Congress.

This CoC will be used at any meeting of the ESC, including joint annual meetings with an affiliated regional entomological society and any other meetings the ESC may organize or support. For meetings co-hosted with non-affiliated societies, this CoC serves as a reference document or a template for a joint CoC to be developed by the ESC in collaboration with the co-hosting non-affiliated society. If the organizers of such meetings fail to develop a CoC, this CoC will be used.

History

The first draft of this document was reviewed by Staffan Lindgren and Joanna Konopka in October 2018. The ESC Board of Directors reviewed a draft of this CoC at a meeting held in November, 2018. This version was authored on 12 December 2018 and was approved in principle by the Board in April 2019. It was reviewed by the ESC lawyer and minor changes made as a result.  This final version was approved by the ESC Board on 21 April 2020 for use in future ESC meetings.

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Entomological Society of Canada Meeting Code of Conduct

[Date code adopted: 21 April 2020]

This Code of Conduct applies to all meetings and events of the Entomological Society of Canada (ESC).

By attending any ESC meeting or event you agree to abide by this Code of Conduct. This Code applies to all participants including, but not limited to: attendees, speakers, guests, staff, service providers, vendors and sponsors.

Authorship

All authors listed on a presentation or abstract must agree with all information that is contained in the presentation. Failure to agree will result in the presentation being withdrawn.

Submission of a presentation to an ESC Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) indicates the intent of one of the listed authors to attend the meeting. Repeated or consecutive last-minute cancellations may result in the denial of future submissions.

Photography

The ESC requests that there be no photography or videography of presentations or posters without the explicit permission of the presenter.

 

Expected Behaviour

• Treat all other participants with kindness, respect and consideration.
• Communicate openly and with respect for others, and in the language of your choice.
• Personal attacks are not acceptable. Critique ideas, not people.
• Alert the meeting organizers or staff if you notice a dangerous situation or someone in distress.
• Respect the rules and policies of the venue.

Unacceptable behaviour

Violent or discriminatory behaviour or harassment in any form will not be tolerated. Harassment means engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against another person that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome. Note that it is possible for a single incident, if sufficiently serious, to constitute harassment.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to: offensive gestures or comments (verbal or written) related to a person’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, or disability; deliberate intimidation; unwanted photography or recording; sustained disruption of presentations and events; or any form of unwelcome attention, including physical contact. Participants asked to stop harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately.

Other examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

• Physical or verbal abuse of any participant.
• Use of sexual or discriminatory images in public spaces or in presentations.
• Bullying behaviour.
• Retaliation for reporting of unacceptable behaviour.

Immediate serious threat to personal or public safety

Anyone experiencing or witnessing behaviour that is an immediate threat to personal or public safety should contact local law enforcement (by calling 911) and immediately notify venue security.

Reporting Unacceptable Behaviour

If you are the subject of unacceptable behaviour or have witnessed such behaviour, please immediately notify a Code of Conduct Advocate. Code of Conduct Advocates will be wearing identification so as to assist you in identifying them.

Notification may be done on-site or by emailing your concern to [notification email address[1]] or phoning [phone number¹].

Reporting should never be done via social media to protect the confidentiality and fairness of the reporting process, and to ensure that reports are received in a timely manner.

Regardless of whether a notification is made, you are encouraged to document the unacceptable behaviour in writing as soon as possible in the event that further investigation is required.

ESC Investigation and Response to Complaints

Investigations into alleged unacceptable behaviour pursuant to this Code of Conduct shall be the responsibility of a person or committee appointed by the ESC Board of Directors.

The person assigned to conduct the investigation may be internal or external to the organization. The investigator will interview and collect documents from the person who allegedly experienced the violence or harassment, the alleged harasser(s), and any other relevant witnesses.

Information that is provided about an incident or complaint will not be disclosed, except as necessary to investigate the complaint / incident, to take corrective action, or as otherwise required by law. While the investigation is ongoing, the person who has allegedly experienced harassment, the alleged harasser(s), and any witnesses should not discuss the incident or complaint or the investigation with each other or with other ESC members unless necessary to obtain advice about their rights.

Depending on the severity of the alleged incident(s), ESC may impose interim measures to ensure the health and safety of its members, staff and volunteers, including but not limited to suspension from employment with pay or suspension from board/committee duties, pending completion of an investigation.

At the conclusion of the investigation, ESC’s Board of Directors will reach a decision as to whether there was violence or harassment and will report its findings, including any corrective action that will be taken, to the person who allegedly experienced the violence or harassment and to the alleged harasser.

In addition to any interim measures taken, violators of this Code of Conduct will receive a written summary of actions taken in response to an investigation or incident report.

The ESC Board of Directors shall be responsible for implementing all responses and sanctions that may result from an investigation of a complaint.

ESC shall maintain all records relating to the investigation for at least one year from its conclusion.

Consequences

The ESC reserves the right to remove an individual from any meeting without warning or refund, prohibit attendance at future meetings and suspend or rescind membership in the ESC for failing to abide by this Code of Conduct.

[1] *This is a generic version of the code that will be used at all ESC meetings. For each meeting, meeting-specific notification contact information will be substituted for these items

Click here to download the Meeting Code of Conduct and all relevant documents