Community Code of Conduct

NewWest.tv supports creators in New Westminster to tell stories and be creative. Every individual who engages with NewWest.tv should feel safe and supported. This Community Code of Conduct was created to enable creators - emerging, independent and just starting out - to hone their skills and take risks; defy expectations; and bring the projects they care about to life.

Spaces created by and presented with the support of NewWest.tv engage people of diverse backgrounds, abilities and experiences. We are a community committed to facilitating spaces without racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression, so that every person who engages with NewWest.tv is inspired to share of themselves and their stories

To whom this policy applies:

Everyone participating in NewWest.tv projects agrees to the following Code of Conduct, including all applicants, funded creators, training and organizing partners, speakers, and staff. NewWest.tv will remove people completely at our own discretion based on the guidelines below.

Where the Community Code of Conduct applies:

Participation in NewWest.tv is contingent upon following these guidelines in all associated activities, including but not limited to:

Working in NewWest.tv spaces and with NewWest.tv team members, including full-time staff and consultants;
Engaging with NewWest.tv community members virtually or co-located;
Representing NewWest.tv at public events;
Representing NewWest.tv on social media (official accounts, staff accounts, personal accounts);
Participating in NewWest.tv training;
Participating in NewWest.tv-supported events, group or person-to-person meetings, and related correspondence;
Our values guide our decisions and actions at NewWest.tv and are the foundation of our community. We encourage our partners and community members to uphold our values with one another.

Inclusion is essential and must be holistic

Inclusion is about creating an environment of involvement, respect and connection, where a diversity of ideas, voices and perspectives is expressed and listened to. At NewWest.tv, we involve people of diverse backgrounds to share power and responsibility. We design our community and our work for inclusion. Our community holds itself accountable for inclusive behaviors and seeks diverse perspectives. We are respectful of people with different cultural practices, attitudes and beliefs, and actively listen to them. We strive to accommodate all abilities and facilitate people’s participation whether they are:

Remote (on video or phone);
Not native language speakers;
Using pronouns other than “he” or “she”;
Facing other challenges to participate.

And provide alternative ways to contribute or participate when possible. As part of NewWest.tv’s commitment to gender parity, we do not participate in or support any events with all-male panels or facilitation teams. We are thoughtful about how much time is taken up by dominant members of the group and/or members of a dominant group.

Systemic oppression is real

History, culture, policies, institutional practices, and personal behaviors and beliefs interact to maintain a hierarchy — based on race, class, gender, sexuality and/or other group identities. The ways that these dynamics afford the dominant group privileges and disadvantage oppressed, targeted or marginalized groups is systemic oppression (Definition derived from Aspen Institute, via Open Source Leadership). It persists in our schools, offices, criminal justice system, film sets, production offices and elsewhere. They can manifest as micro-aggressions and unconscious bias. These types of oppression are about everyday actions and discourse by everyday people, causing real harm, sometimes despite our best intentions. These issues are all relational. We are invested in disrupting patterns and individual actions that reproduce systemic oppression and colonial violence. NewWest.tv will establish measures for accountability, determined by the communities we serve because there is no inclusiveness without accountability. We prioritize marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort.

Words matter

Language and communication can reinforce systemic oppression related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, age, race, or religion. We refer to individuals by the pronouns they identify with and respect all dimensions of diversity by using language that respects everyone’s:

Background;
Family status;
Gender;
Gender identity or expression;
Marital status;
Sex;
Sexual orientation;
Language;
Age;
Ability;
Race and/or ethnicity;
National origin;
Neurotype;
Physical appearance;
Body;
Socioeconomic access;
Religion;
Geographic location;
Lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment.

Acknowledging our relationships to space and place

We acknowledge that many Indigenous communities and cultures survive on the land we work, live and play on, even in the face of Canada’s colonial past and present. At events, NewWest.tv and/or our partners must acknowledge the territory that we are on and pay respect to the Indigenous people who call the land home. We also continually work to understand our individual positionality within this history. In our work together, we take conscious steps to involve Indigenous people in decision-making processes and address inequities in the Canadian screen-based production sector.

Dealbreakers

The following behaviors are considered to be unacceptable in the NewWest.tv community. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Violation of these guidelines can result in being asked to leave an event or online space, either temporarily or permanently or being banned from participation in NewWest.tv programs, or future events and activities in perpetuity at the discretion of NewWest.tv.

Harassment

We do not tolerate harassment in any form. This also includes repeated subtle and/or indirect discrimination. Harassment includes behaviours such as:

Deliberate misgendering
Deliberate use of 'dead' or rejected names (i.e. A name assigned to a person at birth which they no longer identify with.);
Deliberate intimidation;
Stalking or following;
Harassing photography or recording;
Pattern of inappropriate social contact, such as requesting/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others;
Deliberate 'outing' of any private aspect of a person's identity without their consent;
Knowingly making harmful false claims about a person
When asked to stop, stop.

Violence and threats of violence

Violence and threats of violence are not acceptable, online or offline. This includes incitement of violence toward any individual, including encouraging a person to commit self-harm. This also includes posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxxing”) online.

Discrimination

Aspects of identity should not cause a person’s contributions to be routinely devalued or minimized, or for the person to be excluded, diminished or harassed. Bias — explicit, hidden and unconscious — can also help perpetuate a dominant culture that works to discriminate some and privilege others. Unchecked bias that harms any community member should be discussed with a NewWest.tv team member.

Personal attacks

Conflicts will inevitably arise, but frustration should never turn into a personal attack. It is not okay to insult, demean or belittle others. Attacking someone for their opinions, beliefs and ideas is not acceptable.

Unwelcome sexual attention or physical contact

Sexual attention or physical contact without affirmative consent is not acceptable. This includes sexualized comments, jokes or imagery in interactions, communications or presentation materials, as well as inappropriate touching, groping or sexual advances. This includes touching a person without permission, including their hair, pregnant stomach, mobility device (wheelchair, scooter, etc) or tattoos.

Influencing unacceptable behavior

We will treat influencing or leading such activities the same way we treat the activities themselves, and thus the same consequences apply.

Reporting

If you experience or observe behavior, in person or online, that makes participation in the NewWest.tv community not a safe and positive community experience for all, please report the incident to hello@NewWest.tv. If an incident happens in an in-person space where a NewWest.tv team member is present, you may report it directly to them. If the person in violation of the Community Code of Conduct is a NewWest.tv team member, they will recuse themselves from handling your incident.

Emails to hello@NewWest.tv reach Deepak Sahasrabudhe and Susan Millar, NewWest.tv’s Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Officers. After receiving a concise description of your situation, they will review and determine next steps. In addition to conducting any investigation, they can provide a range of resources, from a private consultation to other community resources. They will involve other colleagues, including legal counsel, only as needed to appropriately address each situation. All reports will be handled in confidence.

We reserve the right not to act on complaints regarding “reverse” -isms, including “reverse racism,” “reverse sexism,” and “cisphobia.”
While this code of conduct is specifically aimed at NewWest.tv’s work and community, we recognize that it is possible for actions taken outside of NewWest.tv spaces—and which happened in the past—to impact community health. We are open to discussing these such situations and finding appropriate actions to provide safe and respectful environments for creativity and community. Please contact Deepak Sahasrabudhe or Susan Millar, NewWest.tv’s Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Officers, at hello@NewWest.tv to discuss.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

Reports of harassment/discrimination will be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the people responsible for the safety of the space, event or activity. NewWest.tv may take any action we deem appropriate to address the situation. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Violation of these guidelines can result in being asked to leave an event or online space, either temporarily or permanently or being banned from participation in NewWest.tv programs, funding, or future events and activities in perpetuity at the discretion of NewWest.tv.

In addition to these guidelines, NewWest.tv staff are held accountable to the NewWest.tv Code of Ethics & Conduct. NewWest.tv staff in violation of either set of guidelines may be subject to further consequences, such as disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. For contractors or vendors, violation of these guidelines may affect continuation or renewal of contract.

License, attribution & modifications

This document is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.
It remixes much of Mozilla’s Community Participation Guidelines, and is inspired by several codes of conduct including those adopted by Telus, ImagineNATIVE, Seed&Spark, xoxo festival and Geek Feminism. Verbiage under “Systemic Oppression Is Real” is informed by Robert Jensen, Rain Daniels, Chelsey Branch, and Jeff Corntassel. This document and all associated processes are informed by creators, partners and other community members who work alongside NewWest.tv to make screen-based storytelling more diverse and inclusive. Accordingly, NewWest.tv may amend the guidelines from time to time and may also vary the procedures it sets out where appropriate in a particular case. Your agreement to comply with the guidelines will be deemed agreement to any changes to it. In case NewWest.tv amends the guidelines, the most up-to-date version can be found at NewWest.tv/community-code-conduct.

Questions? Contact us.

Everyone is encouraged to ask questions about these guidelines, and we will respond as quickly as we can. Your input is welcome. If you are organizing an event or activity, we are happy to advise on how to make it inclusive. Please reach out to hello@NewWest.tv.