ANTI-HARASSMENT & NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

Below is our full anti-harassment and non-discrimination policy. If you have any questions about Bad Dog's nondiscrimination policy or causes for concern please email the Board of Directors at board@baddogtheatre.com, or the Board Chair Brian Jantzi, brian@baddogtheatre.com. You may also use our Anonymous Reporting Form.

Reports will be handled on a case by case basis, beginning with a conversation between the complainant and a two person panel made up of one board member and one staff member. The complainant will be given an opportunity to choose between a selection of staff and board members. It is our hope to make this process as comfortable and unbiased as possible as we navigate the delicate nature of our of our community/work environment and the uniqueness of each situation. The conversation will help inform any future action and will take into account the complainant's wishes as well as the best practices for our company.

We will maintain the anonymity of those making reports and share pertinent information with our staff and community as each situation dictates - much like we have in the above message. Please note, should you choose not to identify yourself during the reporting of the incident we will not be able to contact you, and may not be able to enforce the policy to the fullest extent.

We would also like to share this resource list created by Generator of 24-hour crisis lines, shelters, organizations, movements, etc. that relate to harassment in the workplace, sexual harassment, violence against women and more. The resources are mainly Toronto-centric and Canadian focused.

The Bad Dog Theatre Company is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination and harassment, where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, can contribute fully and have equal opportunities.

Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, every person has the right to be free from harassment and discrimination. Harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated, condoned or ignored at The Bad Dog Theatre Company. If a claim of harassment or discrimination is proven, disciplinary measures will be applied, up to and including termination of employment.

The Bad Dog Theatre Company is committed to a comprehensive strategy to address harassment and discrimination, including:

regularly monitoring organizational systems for barriers relating to Code grounds
providing an effective and fair complaints procedure
promoting appropriate standards of conduct at all times.

Policy Objectives

The objectives of this policy are to make sure that members, instructors, performers, students, clients and associates of The Bad Dog Theatre Company are aware that harassment and discrimination are unacceptable practices and are incompatible with the standards of this organization, as well as being a violation of the law.

Application

The right to freedom from discrimination and harassment extends to all employees, including full-time, part-time, temporary, probationary, casual and contract staff, as well as volunteers, co-op students, interns and apprentices.

It is also unacceptable for members of The Bad Dog Theatre Company to engage in harassment or discrimination when dealing with clients, or with others they have professional dealings with, such as students, instructors, performers, rental companies, or service providers.

This policy applies at every level of the organization and to every aspect of the workplace environment and employment relationship, including recruitment, selection, promotion, transfers, training, salaries, benefits and termination. It also covers rates of pay, overtime, hours of work, holidays, shift work, discipline and performance evaluations.

This policy also applies to events that occur outside of the physical workplace such as during festival travel and company parties.

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.

Definitions

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.

Examples of harassment include:

Epithets, remarks, jokes or innuendos related to a person’s race, gender identity, gender expression, sex, disability, sexual orientation, creed, age, or any other ground
Posting or circulating offensive pictures, graffiti or materials, whether in print form or via e-mail or other electronic means
Singling out a person for humiliating or demeaning “teasing” or jokes because they are a member of a Code-protected group
Comments ridiculing a person because of characteristics that are related to a ground of discrimination. For example, this could include comments about a person’s dress, speech or other practices that may be related to their sex, race, gender identity or creed.

If a person does not explicitly object to harassing behaviour, or appears to be going along with it, this does not mean that the behaviour is okay. The behaviour could still be considered harassment under the Code.

Sexual and gender-based harassment: sexual harassment is a form of harassment that can include:

Gender-related comments about a person’s physical characteristics or mannerisms
Paternalism based on gender which a person feels undermines his or her self respect or position of responsibility
Unwelcome physical contact
Suggestive or offensive remarks or innuendoes about members of a specific gender
Propositions of physical intimacy
Gender-related verbal abuse, threats or taunting
Leering or inappropriate staring
Bragging about sexual prowess or questions or discussions about sexual activities
Offensive jokes or comments of a sexual nature about an employee or client
Rough and vulgar humour or language related to gender
Display of sexually offensive pictures, graffiti or other materials including through electronic means
Demands for dates or sexual favours.

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

All persons present in The Bad Dog Theatre Company are expected to uphold and abide by this policy, by refraining from any form of harassment or discrimination, and by cooperating fully in any investigation of a harassment or discrimination complaint.

Managers, instructors, and show directors have the additional responsibility to act immediately on observations or allegations of harassment or discrimination. Managers and supervisors are responsible for creating and maintaining a harassment-free and discrimination-free organization, and should address potential problems before they become serious.

EDUCATION PROGRAM POLICIES

ANTI-HARASSMENT & NON-DISCRIMINATION

The Bad Dog Theatre Company is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination and harassment, where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, can contribute fully and have equal opportunities. Please read our full Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination policy here.

If you have any questions about Bad Dog's Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination policy or causes for concern please email info@baddogtheatre.com to get in touch with Managing Artistic Director Alia Rasul. You may also use our Anonymous Reporting Form.

CLASS CANCELLATIONS

Bad Dog Theatre Company reserves the right to cancel class sections without sufficient enrollment. Should a class be canceled, students will be notified along with their options for transfers, credits, and refunds.

LATECOMERS

We have a lot of content to pack into our time together, so we intend to start classes on time. As such, please come to class ready to go - preferably 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time.

MISSED CLASSES

The Bad Dog Theatre Company is not able to provide refunds for missed classes, nor are we able to provide make up classes for students. Students have the option of attending a Drop-in workshops for extra practice in lieu of missed classes.

PAYMENT

At this time, we only accept online payments via our website.

REFUND POLICY

Please note all sales are final. Tuition is non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Please hold on to your receipts- they are not re-issued at tax time.

STUDENT ADVANCEMENT & REPEATING CLASSES

Since our curriculum builds in difficulty, Bad Dog Theatre Company reserves the right to require students to repeat classes as needed. In the rare event that a student is asked to repeat a class, Bad Dog will offer a discount for the repeated course.

SUBSTITUTE INSTRUCTORS

Bad Dog reserves the right to have substitute instructors for all classes. Substitute instructors will receive a lesson plan and curriculum to ensure the class is not disrupted.

QUESTIONS?

Email us at education@baddogtheatre.com.

PRIVACY POLICY

The Bad Dog Theatre Company understands and respects the importance of your personal information and privacy. We are committed to the accuracy and security of such information, and that it is used only according to your wishes. Please see below for a summary of our website’s privacy policies.

Analytics

This website collects personal data to power our site analytics, including:

Information about your browser, network, and device
Web pages you visited prior to coming to this website
Your IP address

This information may also include details about your use of this website, including:

Clicks
Internal links
Pages visited
Scrolling
Searches
Timestamps

We share this information with Squarespace, our website analytics provider, to learn about site traffic and activity.

Order Emails

We may email you with messages about your order or account activity. For example, we may email you to tell you that:

You’ve made a purchase of a gift card
You’ve made a purchase of a Bad Dog Theatre class
You’ve made a donation to Bad Dog Theatre

It’s not possible to unsubscribe from these messages. We share your contact information with Squarespace, our website hosting provider, so they can send these emails to you on our behalf.

Fonts

This website uses font files from Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts. To properly display this site to you, servers where the font files are stored may receive personal information about you, including:

Information about your browser, network, or device

Your IP address

Visitor Data for Customers

When you buy something on this website, we collect personal information from you to fulfill the order. We may collect information like your:

Billing address
Details relating to your purchase (for example, the type of class you purchased)
Email address
Name
Phone number

We share this information with Squarespace, our online store hosting provider, so that they can provide website services to us.

As you go through checkout, this site may auto-complete your shipping and billing address by sharing what you type with the Google Places API and returning suggestions to you to improve your checkout experience.

Visitor Data for Website Visitors

This website is hosted by Squarespace. Squarespace collects personal data when you visit this website, including:

Information about your browser, network and device
Web pages you visited prior to coming to this website
Your IP address
Squarespace needs the data to run this website, and to protect and improve its platform and services. Squarespace analyzes the data in a de-personalized form.

Cookies

This website uses cookies and similar technologies, which are small files or pieces of text that download to a device when a visitor accesses a website or app.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Bad Dog Theatre is a theatre company based in Toronto, Canada that offers entertainment and education in improvisation, sketch comedy, and other disciplines. Bad Dog Theatre is also a registered charity. By using this website, users should note that the following terms apply:

OUR CLASS POLICY:

Please note we reserve the right to consider all sales are final. Please consider fees and gift cards are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Students unable to attend a class for which they are registered are encouraged to contact us as early as possible (education@baddogtheatre.com). We will try our best to assist, but reserve the right to consider the original purchase final.

Please hold on to your receipt - they are not re-issued at tax time. A charge of $10 per receipt is applied if you need it to be re-issued.

Payment for donations, classes and other services can be made via Credit Card.

MISSED CLASSES and MAKE UP CLASSES:

Due to full class sizes and our busy calendar, Bad Dog is not able to provide refunds for missed classes, nor are we able to provide make up classes. Students with absences that would like extra practice time are welcome to attend a Drop In class, though the content may not correspond to that of their missed class.

Students looking to advance into higher levels of the same class stream (ie Improv Foundation 1-4, Longform 1-3, etc.) should attend at least 2/3rds of the preceding level. Advancing with less than 2/3rds attendance may require faculty approval.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:

All images and text on this website is property of Bad Dog Theatre and is protected by copyright laws. Website content cannot be used for commercial purposes without permission from Bad Dog Theatre. To report copyright infringement, please contact: info@baddogtheatre.com.

Users that have questions or concerns regarding the website and/or its terms and conditions should contact:

Bad Dog Theatre Company

PO Box 20001 Lansdowne PO

Toronto, ON

M6K 0G1

Online