Discipline Procedures
9. Purpose: PGA of Canada Professionals, Apprentices, Applicants or Participants are expected to fulfill certain responsibilities and obligations including, but not limited to, complying with PGA of Canada policies, By-law, rules and regulations, and PGA Code of Professional Conduct and Safe Sport Policy. Non-compliance may result in sanctions pursuant to this Policy.
10. Report an Incident
a. Any person may report a breach of the PGA Code of Professional Conduct and Safe Sport Policy to the PGA of Canada’s Independent Third Party (ITP).
b. The Independent Third Party is ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
i. Online Form: https://app.integritycounts.ca/org/itpsport
ii. The ITP will identify if the complaint falls within the PGA’s Code of Professional Conduct, and if the matter is considered Maltreatment, a Code of Professional Practice violation, or a Field of Play violation
11. Field of Play Violations: Any matters involving a Field of Play violation as described below will be directed to the PGA Discipline Committee.
a. Violations of the Rules of Golf
b. Cheating
c. Any other field of play matter as determined by the ITP or the PGA, at their sole discretion.
12. Field of Play violations will be addressed by the PGA Discipline Committee directly or the applicable Zone depending on where the infraction occurred.
13. The Discipline Committee or Zone may:
a. Ask the Complainant and the Respondent for either written or oral submissions regarding the Complaint or incident; or
b. Convene the parties to a meeting, either in person or by way of video or teleconference in order to ask the parties questions.
14. Following the Discipline Committee's or Zone’s review of the submissions, they will inform the parties of the decision, and include in the decision if they find a Field of Play violation occurred, and if so, the appropriate sanction or remedy, which will take effect immediately.
15. Maltreatment and Code of Professional Practice Violations:
a. The ITP has an overall responsibility to ensure procedural fairness is always respected during the disciplinary process, and to carry out this process in a timely and discrete manner.
b. Review of Reported Incidents
c. Determination and Disclosure
i. When a complaint is submitted in accordance with the PGA of Canada’s Safe Sport and Code of Professional Conduct Policy, the Independent Third Party (ITP) will determine if such complaint was a breach of the PGA of Canada’s Safe Sport and Code of Professional Conduct.
d. The ITP is responsible for ensuring that all complaints, allegations, incidents, or referrals related to Maltreatment and Code of Professional Conduct are dealt fairly and equitably. In particular, and without limiting that responsibility, the ITP shall:
i. Upon receipt of a Complaint, undertake a preliminary confidential review of the Complaint and determine if the Complaint is admissible according to PGA policies. The ITP may request witness information, evidence, or further information to determine admissibility of the matter. This information must be submitted within 14 days of the complaint being filed. This timeline may be extended at the discretion of the ITP upon notification to the PGA of Canada’s Privacy Officer and Zone Executive Director(s).
ii. If the Complaint is deemed admissible, make a preliminary assessment of the allegation and determine the appropriate course of action to be taken. The assessment will determine the course of action wherever possible to resolve the Complaint.
iii. Notify the PGA and the appropriate Zone that a complaint has been deemed admissible and provide a summary of the allegations and the anticipated timelines and next steps to the PGA of Canada and the respective Zone(s).
iv. Contact the person against whom the Complaint has been filed (the Respondent), provide them with a copy of the PGA Code of Professional Conduct and any other relevant policies or legislation against which the Respondent’s behaviour will be measured, as well as the complaint and allow them a maximum of 14 days to submit a response to the allegations. This timeline may be extended at the ITP’s discretion upon notification to the PGA of Canada’s Privacy Officer and the Zone Executive Director(s).
v. The PGA of Canada and the Independent Third Party will adhere to all disclosure and reporting responsibilities required by the Government of Canada and, if applicable, any government entity, local police force, or child protection agency.
vi. Appoint a case manager or team of investigators should the Complaint require a full investigation. The Investigator must be an independent third-party skilled in investigating. The Investigator must not be in a conflict-of-interest situation and should have no connection to either party.
- When there is an investigation, the ITP will contact the parties to inform them of the steps of the investigation process, the assigned timelines, what the investigation will cover, the timeframe of the investigation, and that the case manager or investigator will be providing a report to the PGA.
- When there is an investigation, it may take any form as decided by the case manager or Investigator, guided by any applicable Federal and/or Provincial legislation. The investigation may include:
a. Complainant interviewed;
b. Witness interviewed;
c. Statement of facts (complainant’s perspective) prepared by Investigator and acknowledged by Complainant;
d. Statement delivered to Respondent;
e. Respondent interviewed;
f. Witness interviewed; and
g. Statement of facts (respondent’s perspective) prepared by Investigator and acknowledged by Respondent.
- Should the Investigator find that there are possible instances of offence under the Criminal Code, particularly related to Criminal Harassment (or Stalking), Uttering Threats, Assault, Sexual Interference, or Sexual Exploitation, the Investigator shall advise the Complainant to refer the matter to police. The Investigator will further inform the PGA of Canada that the matter should be directed to the police.
- The investigation will proceed in any event, even if a Party chooses not to participate in the investigation.
vii. When the investigation is complete, the Investigator will provide a report to the PGA of Canada and the appropriate Zone(s) within 14 days after the completion of the investigation. This timeline may be extended at the discretion of the investigator for valid and justifiable reasons upon notification to the PGA of Canada’s Privacy Officer and the Zone Executive Director(s). The Investigator’s report will make findings about whether, on a balance of probabilities, the complaint is substantiated. The Investigator’s report, or a summary, will be shared with the parties and the Discipline Committee.
e. The case manager will:
i. Advise both the Complainant and the Respondent of their right to be represented by legal counsel or accompanied throughout the process by another individual of their choice, so long as they are not involved or implicated in the allegations of the Complaint.
ii. Advise the Complainant, the Respondent, that they are not to discuss the complaint, incident, investigation, or their testimony with others unless necessary to obtain legal advice with respect to any legal issues.
iii. Keep both the Complainant and the Respondent informed as the case progresses.
iv. Will review the submissions by the parties, and compile an ITP Report taking into consideration all the information made available by all parties, including information discovered in the course of an external investigation that may have taken place. The ITP has the discretion to review all information and where possible, communicate a finding to the PGA, in which circumstances a hearing may be waived at the discretion of the Discipline Committee, and an appropriate sanction will be issued by the Discipline Committee. In matters where, in order to determine a finding, a hearing required, the ITP will recommend the case proceed to a hearing in front of the PGA Discipline Committee, in which circumstances the PGA will issue a finding and decision on a balance of probabilities.
v. Will inform the appropriate statutory agency (the police and/or the Local Authority Children’s Social Care Department) where a report is made relating to concerns about suspected or actual Maltreatment of a Minor, and to comply with any directions or requirements they may make regarding the case.
f. At any time in the process the ITP has the authority to mandate mediation if they feel that a negotiated settlement may be the best course for complaint resolution.
g. The Disciplinary Committee will receive the ITP Report and provide it to the parties. The Committee will determine if a conference call hearing involving the parties and their counsel or representatives (when applicable) is required or simply administer a decision. The Committee will invite oral submissions from the parties during the hearing. No more than seven (7) days following the hearing, the Committee will issue a written decision on the complaint, which may include sanctions as deemed appropriate by the Committee consideration Section 5.0. The decision will be distributed to the respondent, the complainant, the Zone Executive Director, and the National Board of Directors.
h. The Disciplinary Committee’s decision may be appealed per Section 8.0.