Preliminary statement

The Parity Committee for the building services, Montreal region is an organisation under the responsibility of the Government of Quebec to supervise the observation of the Decree respecting building service employees in the Montreal region.

The mission of the Parity Committee is to supervise and ensure observation of the decree. This goal meets with the concern of the union which ensures protection of the rights of the workers and also meets the concern of the employers which ensure that the wages and the working conditions of the employees are not a factor of competition between the employers, which supports a healthy and equitable competition for all.

The members of the Board of directors of the Parity committee for the building services, hereafter called the Committee, declare that it is their duty to protect the integrity of the Committee, its relation with the industry and partners and its public reputation.

They acknowledge their responsibility to report to the industry and to be able, upon request, to assure the employers and employees of the industry, that they took all necessary means to put in force the Committee’s mission.

Consult the Code of Ethics and Conduct of the Parity Committee for the Building Services – Montreal region

Subject

The present Code of ethics allows its administrators to fulfill their mandate and to carry out their duties confidently, independently and objectively as to accomplish the Committee’s mission in the best possible manner.

Commitment

The administrators, the substitutes commit themselves to:
Behave in a manner as to preserve the Committee’s reputation, both in their private and professional lives;

Perform their activities by upholding high standards such as loyalty, truth, honesty, integrity, exactness and good faith in all things, as well as standards applied in good management practices;
Follow the Code of conduct applied to members of the Board of directors;

Support all efforts deployed to increase the efficiency and excellence in managing the Committee.

Ethical standards

  • 1. The administrator or his substitute is elected with a mandate to contribute to the realization of the Committee’s mission and to the good administration of its assets, in the collective interest of its members and in compliance with the laws and policies adopted by the Board of directors.

  • 2. The administrator or his substitute is bound by a nondisclosure agreement in regards to information acquired through his function as administrator and must respect the confidential nature of such information.
  • 3. The administrator or his substitute must make sure not to reveal or publicly discuss the content of privileged documents to which he is entitled as administrator and he must take the appropriate measures to dispose of such documents.
  • 4. In his functions, the administrator or his substitute must take decisions independent of any political consideration and must be discreet when displaying his political views.
  • 5. The administrator or his substitute may not publicly criticize a decision that was taken at a Board meeting. During the voting process, he can record his dissent, or simply vote against it, but once the decision is adopted, he must support it.
  • 6. The administrator or his substitute may not accept any hospitality benefits or any other benefits that are not within the bounds of normal standards of courtesy and hospitality and of modest value.
  • 7. The administrator or his substitute, who is no longer a member of the Board, must not disclose any confidential information he may have obtained through his function as administrator for the Committee.

Obligation of the administrator

  • 1. The administrator or his substitute must, within the scope of his functions:
    • Abide by the obligations provided by law, the Act Respecting Collective Agreement Decrees (L.R.Q., Chapter – D-2), the regulation and the policies in place.
    • Avoid to be placed in any situation bearing conflict between his personal interests and his administrator’s obligations.
    • Not use, to his own profit or to the profit of a third party, any privileged or confidential information he may have obtained in the scope of his functions.
    • Not abuse of his powers or take advantage of his position to gain a personal benefit.
  • 2. The person who is no longer an administrator or his substitute must, within the year following the end of his mandate as an administrator:
    • Abstain from taking part, in his personal name or in the name of a third party, to any procedure, negotiation or other operation in which the Committee is part of.
    • Abstain from using any confidential or privileged information related to the Committee for his personal benefit and refrain from giving advice based on non-public information.
    • Return the Administrator Manuel that was entrusted to him upon his election or his appointment to the corporate secretary of the Committee.

Rules regarding conflict of interest

1. An administrator or his substitute must avoid situations open to a conflict of interest may it be real, apparent or potential.

2. As soon as an administrator or his substitute become aware that he is in a situation of conflict of interest- real or apparent – he must disclose it and abstain from voting or taking part in a decision regarding this situation and refrain from influencing the vote or decision regarding this matter.

3.The other members of the Board can ask him to be absent from discussions or decision-making.

4. He may withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the discussions and the decision-making process regarding this matter.

5. The denunciation of the conflict of interest and the withdrawal of the meeting must be entered in the minutes of the meeting.

6. The decision rendered in his regard and the justification for the decision must be entered in the minutes of the meeting.

Code of conduct

The Board of directors assures employers, employees and partners that the Committee is worthy of confidence and takes all means to maintain such confidence.

1. The administrator or his substitute does not receive any material or financial benefits as a board member of the Committee.

2. The administrator or his substitute commits himself to behave and act in transparency regarding matters of the Committee.

3. The administrator or his substitute commits himself to take into account the interests of the Committee and to avoid any conflict of interest or any apparent conflict of interest while performing his duties. Therefore, he must avoid all situations where he would be in a position to favour his personal gain or that of a related person, to the detriment of the Committee.

4. The administrator or his substitute must, following his election or his starting date, and on a yearly basis after that, on the first meeting of the Board of directors, disclose to the Committee any ties with a related person or any interest that he may have, personally or through a related person, in an organization, a company or an association which could place him in a situation of conflict of interest, as well as any privileges that he might use, personally or through a related person, against the Committee.

If any changes occur during the year, that might place him in a situation of conflict of interest between his personal interest or the one of a related person and the interest of the Committee, he must disclose it immediately, in writing and must withdraw himself from the Board meeting and abstain from voting or taking part in any discussion or decision related to the organization, the company, the association, or the moral person in which he has such an interest.

5. The administrator or his substitute may not accept any bonus or benefits for himself or a third party, regardless of its nature or origin. Likewise, he must not influence a transaction or decision by offering someone a bonus or benefits.

6. The administrator or his substitute or any representative or executive manager may not accept any personal gift from any company or organization who wish to extend/underline/show their gratitude.

7. The administrator or his substitute commits himself to avoid any discrimination as provided by the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

8. The administrator or his substitute commits himself to submit to an audit of his criminal record by the police service or any other body mandated by the SQ in order to verify his criminal record. This verification will be done annually or at the start of the mandate, when the administrator changes.

9. At any given time, the activities organized by and/or for the Committee as well as its publications should be tasteful and abide by the present policy.

10. The administrator or his substitute commits himself to keep up to date with laws and regulations, as well as with any important study regarding the development, the conduct and practices which may be related with an orientation or a stake with short, middle or long term impact for the organization.

11. Any complaint related to a situation that does not respect the Code of Ethics and Conduct must be notified to the general director and/or to the president of the Board of directors.

In case a Board member is in breach of its commitment, duties and responsibility, the administrators of the Board of directors will meet in a closed session to discuss the matter.