By year’s end, the ecclesiastical province of Ontario may have a new misconduct policy to cover the conduct of staff, clergy and bishops when they are doing work or holding meetings at the provincial level.
Most of the time, these people are working in their diocesan capacities, says Alex Pierson, executive officer of the province, who also serves as the financial officer of the diocese of Ontario. As a result, the province has so far depended on diocesan or national misconduct policies to cover any incidents of harassment or sexual misconduct that might arise. However, the province’s ongoing work on safe church policy made it clear that there was a serious gap in safe church policy at the provincial level, he says, and a task force was put together to draft a new policy.
The ecclesiastical province of Ontario covers a similar area to the civil province, with the addition of some land in northern Quebec.
The new draft policy outlines procedures and principles for how the province will investigate alleged cases of misconduct. It names due process, presumption of innocence confidentiality, adherence to gospel values and pastoral care as guiding principles. Among the new elements it lays out is the power of the metropolitan of the province to initiate an investigation without necessarily receiving a complaint if they believe there is good reason to suspect misconduct has occurred. It also creates the position of canon pastor at the provincial level, a role appointed by the metropolitan and charged with investigating misconduct, administering the province’s canons and policy and making recommendations to the metropolitan on how to proceed.
The province solicited feedback from bishops, clergy and parishioners in its constituent dioceses on the draft policy until Oct. 10, says Pierson, as well as from the dioceses’ own canon pastors and chancellors. By the deadline, the task force had received comments on the wording of some passages which will be considered and possibly worked into the final draft, he adds.
One example of a possible change, he says, would be clarification on what is meant by two passages in the document. One states that alleged misconduct, even between consenting adults, “will never be considered a private matter between those directly affected and may be investigated because it is a matter for the entire Body of Christ falling under the Province’s jurisdiction.” The other says, “All records of harassment, violence, and sexual misconduct, as well as subsequent investigations are considered confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone except to the extent required by law.”
Asked how a matter could be considered not private but still confidential, Pierson says an investigation may be necessary even in some cases when a relationship is consensual, such as when there is an uneven power dynamic between those involved. In such cases, privacy cannot be used as a reason not to investigate, he says. But any investigation that does result must still comply with high standards of confidentiality, he says, ensuring the outcome of an investigation is public without broadcasting all the complainants’ and respondents’ related personal information. It may be necessary to more explicitly define the distinction between what is private, what is grounds for investigation and what information will be released publicly for the final draft, he says.
The deadline for Anglicans in the ecclesiastical province of Ontario to submit their feedback was Oct, 10. Now that the feedback period is over, Pierson says, the task force will review and incorporate any changes into a final draft to be presented to a special meeting of Ontario’s executive council in early December. If approved there, it will go into effect, he says.
Even once that version becomes official policy, says Pierson, the document will be reviewed on an annual basis to consider whether it is serving its purpose in ensuring safety in the province’s work or whether it needs updates. It must be a living, evolving document which incorporates experience from elsewhere in the church, he says.
