United Conservative Party
CODE OF CONDUCT
APPLICATION
1. This code of conduct applies to:
(a) the leader,
(b) members of the UCP caucus,
(c) members of the Interim Joint Board, and members who serve on any committee of the Interim Joint Board,
(d) members of the Policy Committee, the Leadership Election Committee, and the Nominations Committee,
(e) members of the boards of UCP constituency associations,
(f) nominated candidates of the UCP,
(g) contestants in UCP candidate nomination contests,
(h) contestants in UCP leadership contests,
(i) employees and other staff of the UCP, and
(j) any other person who agrees or undertakes to be bound by this code.
2. Persons referred to section 1 shall
(a) act honestly, in good faith, with a view to the best interests of the UCP,
(b) in the performance of their duties, exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in carrying out a public trust,
(c) comply with all applicable laws, the UCP bylaws, the UCP Governance Manual, and other rules, policies and procedures of the UCP,
(d) protect the confidentiality of internal UCP information,
(e) disclose any material conflict of interest and refrain from participating in any matter related to the conflict unless specifically permitted to participate,
(f) not cause harm or disrepute to the UCP or its members, and
(g) treat each member of the UCP with courtesy and respect.
3. Members of the boards of constituency associations shall comply with the Constituency Association Governance Manual.
4. Contestants in leadership elections shall comply with the rules established by the Leadership Election Committee and the Interim Joint Board.
5. Contestants in nomination contests and nominated candidates shall comply with the rules established by the Nominations Committee and the Interim Joint Board.
ENFORCEMENT
6. Any conduct that a member of the UCP reasonably believes is a breach of this code shall be reported to the Executive Director, who shall determine whether the conduct complained of, if true, would constitute a breach of this code and whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a finding that this code has been breached.
7. The Executive Director may summarily dismiss a report that is determined to be trivial or without merit.
8. Where the Executive Director makes a determination under section 6, the Executive Director shall report the matter in detail to the Interim Joint Board, who shall refer the matter to a committee of the Interim Joint Board.
9. The committee referred to in section 8 shall investigate the matter, receive submissions and evidence from all interested parties, determine if a breach of the code has occurred, and if so
(a) provide advice and direction to the person in breach,
(b) reprimand the person in breach,
(c) censure the person in breach,
(d) suspend the membership of the person in breach for up to 1 year, or
(e) revoke the membership of the person in breach.
10. A person who has been determined to have breached this code may appeal such determination or the resulting sanction to the full Interim Joint Board, who shall consider the matter based on the materials before the committee referred to in section 8.
11. The Interim Joint Board may make any determination, or impose any sanction, that the committee referred to in section 8 has the jurisdiction to make.
12. No person whose membership has been suspended or revoked may serve in any office of the UCP, the UCP caucus, serve on any UCP board or committee, contest any nomination or contest the leadership while the membership of that person is suspended or revoked.
13. A person whose membership has been revoked may apply to the Interim Joint Board of the UCP to have the revocation set aside.
OTHER PROVISIONS
14. Words defined in the UCP Bylaws and the Rules and Procedures for the Conduct of Business shall have the same meaning in this code.
15. Where there is an allegation that the Executive Director has breached this code, the responsibilities of the Executive Director under this code shall be exercised by the Vice-Chair of the Interim Joint Board, who shall not be a member in any committee referred to in section 8, or participate in the decision of an appeal to the Interim Joint Board.
16. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 8, where the Executive Director makes a determination under section 6 in respect of a member of the UCP caucus
(a) the Executive Director shall report the matter in detail to the leader,
(b) the leader and the caucus shall investigate the matter, and
(c) the caucus may make any determination, or impose any sanction, that the committee referred to in section 8 has the jurisdiction to make.
17. This code of conduct shall be in effect until the first Annual General Meeting of the members of the UCP. If the members do not then enact a code of conduct, this code shall continue to apply and thereafter
(a) a reference to the Interim Joint Board in this code shall be deemed to be a reference to the Board of Directors of the UCP, and
(b) a reference to the Vice-Chair in this code shall be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary.
Approved by the Interim Joint Board on January 13, 2018.