Respect for People and Property

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Everyone should be able to access and benefit from City recreational and cultural sites, services and resources in a safe, enjoyable and respectful manner.

Respect for People and Property Guidelines

These guidelines apply to:

Anyone, including members of the public, user groups, license holders, and customers, who access sites, services and resources within the Community Recreation and Culture Branch
Behaviour towards employees and other members of the public
Treatment of City property and the property of our guests and on-site partners

If these guidelines are not followed, measures will be put in place to limit or ban:

Your interactions with employees including who you communicate with and how
Your access to sites and services

Inappropriate Behaviours and Actions

Not following City of Edmonton rules, guidelines or safety protocols - See Safety and Security
Not allowing other people to enjoy the use of City sites and spaces in a safe and respectful manner
Not allowing City employees to perform their duties
Any illegal activity

Examples of Inappropriate Behaviour

This is not an exhaustive list and there may be other behaviours that are not appropriate and are not included.

Examples of Inappropriate Behaviour

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Forceful and targeted yelling or swearing
Sarcasm, insults, or minor intimidation in the attempt to bully or coerce such as making unreasonable demands, not accepting outcomes of decisions or service, not allowing employees to speak or respond, or making derogatory comments such as threats to an employee's job or negative comments about an employee’s body
Excessive and/or persistent communications (telephone calls, e-mails, phone texts, visits) that are not warranted and/or they are related to a concern, question or topic that has already been addressed
Behaviours that are discriminatory, prejudiced against or antagonistic towards others related to a protected ground under the Human Rights Act (for example: their race, religious belief, age, gender, sexual orientation or disability). Behaviours may include negative comments, jokes, innuendos, or the displaying of hurtful or inappropriate messaging through symbols, body art, words/phrases spoken or in music, or videos.
Breach of employee confidentiality
Any continued, unwelcome physical or verbal behaviour towards others that offends, humiliates or causes someone to feel uncomfortable, including unwanted advances
Deliberately interfering with operations, services and/or duties being performed/provided by employees
Entering proof of admission areas without approval or purchasing admission during operational hours
Failure to follow posted guidelines for the use of the site/amenity or public health measures
Consuming or in possession of alcohol or illegal drugs while on site
Individuals exhibiting signs of impairment from alcohol, drugs or other substance while on site
Behaviours or actions that may result in physical harm to the individual themselves, employees or other members of the public. For example: roughhousing, wrestling and/or throwing items.
The disruptive and/or inappropriate use of electronic devices, such as taking photos or the recording of employees or other members of the public without consent, or excessively loud music
Not complying with posted City of Edmonton Bylaws, such as smoking or vaping within the building
Behaviours which are inappropriate for public spaces and which may alarm or cause distress to others, but does not appear to have the intent to offend, insult or be sexual towards others, such as nudity or watching pornography in public spaces
Not complying with any request to leaves or bans, including trespassing on restricted City property on or after operational hours (no damage to property)
Not complying with requests to modify or limit communications with employees or teams (telephone, email and/or other correspondence)
Inappropriate, sexual self touching in public spaces, such as masturbation
Intentional fecal contamination of aquatic spaces
Direct threats to physical safety, such as making threatening comments to cause injury or death to a person or threats to bind someone against their will
Selling of illegal drugs
Theft or damage on site of a person’s or City of Edmonton’s property, including breaking and entering
Indecent or lewd act committed on site with the intent to offend or insult, including the threat of unwanted touching, be sexual towards others, showing or playing content (music, video) of a sexual or discriminatory nature to others
Stunting or any unsafe use of City parking lots
Hate or discrimination crime
Sexual assault of another person, including any unwanted touching of a sexual nature
Causing or creating risk where a child will suffer physical, sexual or emotional harm
Possession and/or use of a weapon (or an item that resembles a weapon or may be used as a weapon), including but not limited to firearm(s), air or bb guns, ammunition, pepper spray, explosives, knives. Use may include using the weapon to intimidate, scare or create mischief for the purpose of causing others to feel fearful, uncomfortable or intimidated
Physical assault of another person, including when someone intentionally applies force to a person without their consent or spitting
Robbery (taking property from a person or place using force or threat of force)
Criminally harassing employees or members of the public on, around and/or outside City property, and/or through social media
Any activity that violates or breaches the Criminal Code of Canada, Human Rights legislation or any other law

What happens if someone does not follow these guidelines?

We strive to ensure everyone is treated with respect, and is engaged, if safe to do so, when not following these guidelines.

However, bans or restricted access to sites, services and communication with employees may be implemented if:

The person does not stop their behaviour
The behaviour or action is moderate to severe
The person's behaviour impacts employees or other members of the public
Emergency service such as Edmonton Police Services is needed

Individuals may be asked to leave the site or have their correspondence unaddressed for 1 day or 7 days.

Bans include the full removal of access to all branch sites for 90 days, 1 year or 2 years.

When a measure or ban is put in place, the person will receive via registered mail a letter that contains what occurred, the details of the ban and the appeal process.

Appeals

To ensure fair, reasonable and impartial decisions have been made with regards to service restrictions, an appeal process provides an opportunity to:

Reconsider the matter when additional information is presented
Examine and evaluate the process that was used to reach and communicate the decision
Address individual circumstances fairly and consistently
Discuss with the individual the details of the event(s) that lead to the ban

The City of Edmonton and Community Recreation and Culture Branch will refuse an application for an appeal should the following apply:

The ban duration is 7 days or less, and/or
The request is submitted after the 30 day period of receiving the ban letter

Appeal Process

Apply to Appeal

Banned individuals may apply to appeal the terms of a ban within 30 days after receiving a ban letter.

The appeal request must be submitted to the Branch Management team in writing to the Community Recreation & Culture Public Safety & Security Office at:

crfsafetyandsecurity@edmonton.ca OR

PO Box 2359, Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 2R7

Upon Receipt the Management Team will:

Upon receipt, the Management team will review the request and make contact to either set up an appeal meeting or to refuse the request for an appeal.

When an appeal meeting is held, minutes of the meeting will be taken and a decision will be rendered with respect to the ban after the appeal meeting.

The written decision arising from the appeal meeting with respect to the ban will be sent by registered mail.

Appeal Meetings

Banned individuals may request for additional third parties to be present, such as their lawyer.
Bans will not be stayed (stayed or stay definition: to stop or put on hold a legal charge, contract or proceeding) during the appeal process, but every effort will be made to hold the appeal meeting as soon as possible after receiving the request. An attempt will be made to schedule the meeting on a date and time that works for all parties. Once set, requests to change the date and/or time of the meeting may be considered upon application by any of the parties with reasonable grounds.
Appeal meetings, decision making and taking minutes will not be completed by those employees who issued the ban. Any employee with a real or perceived conflict of interest (i.e. a personal relationship with the banned individual, not limited to family) will not be part of the ban or appeal process, including decision making, taking minutes at the appeal meeting, or other administration.
The CRC Branch Manager will attend all 1 and 2 year ban appeals, and will attend 90 Day ban Appeals at their discretion, or delegate attendance to a Director of the impacted site/operational area. The Branch Manager or delegated Director will be the decision maker.

Evidence Review and Decisions

Following the appeal, the decision maker will review all evidence that was used to determine the ban, along with any new evidence brought in by the banned individual, as soon as possible after the appeal meeting. No decisions are to be made during the meeting.

Based on all the evidence and the Branch’s guidelines and policies on safe use of sites, the decision maker will make their own decision to determine if the evidence substantiates that the individual contravened and that the type(s) of contravention(s) meet the appropriate criteria for that type and length of ban.

The decision maker may decide to either:

End the ban,
Issue a different ban length,
Issue a modified measure, and/or
Keep the ban in place

If a formal ban is changed as a result of the appeal process, the reason for the change will be documented, and communicated to the restricted individual as an appendix to the ban letter.

All appeal decisions will be communicated via registered mail to the banned individual in writing, including denials, approvals, or changes to terms. This appeal will be final and no additional appeals are possible.

Contact Us

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