Procedure:

1. On completion of the Ombudsman Service Request for Facilitation form, you will receive an acknowledgement email.
   All emails sent by the IRCM are sent from the @IRCM-CIC.org domain.  To ensure that you receive your acknowledgement email and all others, please can you white-list the @IRCM-CIC.org domain name.  If you do not receive your email, please check your local spam folder or even the spam folder of your email host.
2. The Head of Ombudsman Service will review the details and provide both Complainant and the Respondent with a copy of the facilitation request and the link to the Ombudsman Service policy and procedure.  Included in this notification, the Head of Ombudsman Service will notify both the Complainant and the Respondent with the position in the current Facilitation and Complaints Schedule.
3. The Head of Ombudsman Service must openly declare any areas of conflict or of interest prior to the progress of this grievance, dispute, or complaint.
   • Where there is a conflict of interest, the Director of Compliance no later than the third Tuesday of the month, will appoint a member of the Board or refer the matter to the IRCM’s Board of Directors, who will appoint a member of the Board, to lead as Head of Ombudsman Service, the policy and procedure of this complaint.
4. The Head of Ombudsman Service will request that, within a period applicable to the position in the current Facilitation and Complaints Schedule, the individual who submitted the request (the Complainant) confirms that they have no further information to submit.
5. The Head of Ombudsman Service will request the individual named in this request (the Respondent) to, within a period applicable to the position in the current Facilitation and Complaints Schedule, to:
   • Revisit how they dealt with the grievance, dispute, or complaint.
   • Provide a summary of points identified during the revisit of how they dealt with this grievance, dispute, or complaint.
   • Consider any further action that they could take now that may resolve this grievance, dispute, or complaint.
   • If they feel that they have undertaken every step that they can, please explain the steps they took and the reason(s) these steps did not work.
6. The Head of Ombudsman Service will review the information within the Facilitation and Complaints Schedule and if point 5 provides a resolution, the Head of Ombudsman Service will provide this detail to the Complainant and ask for a response within the next 7 calendar days.
7. If the Complainant accepts the resolution, the Head of Ombudsman Service will issue a Notice of Resolution, the details of which will be added to the IRCM’s Register (Complaint Summary, Complaint Details, Outcomes, and Sanctions Raised/Lifted) and request that the resolution is completed within the timeframe determined on the Notice of Resolution.
   • At this point the Head of Ombudsman Service will determine this complaint as ‘Resolved through information shared’ (Step 3: Outcomes and Sanctions) and proceed to 5 under Step 3: Outcomes and Sanctions.
   • On receipt of confirmation that the resolution has been completed, the Head of Ombudsman Service will proceed to 5 under Step 3: Outcomes and Sanctions and close the complaint on the IRCM’s Register (Complaint Summary, Complaint Details, Outcomes, and Sanctions Raised/Lifted) and no further action will be taken.
8. If 5 does not bring a resolution, the Head of Ombudsman Service will convene the Panel (within the Facilitation and Complaints Schedule).
   • The Head of Ombudsman Service will notify both parties that a Panel has been convened which will review all documentation.
   • The Panel will collate an Outline of Information document with Suggested Resolutions within 14 calendar days after the review.
   • The Head of Ombudsman Service will share the Outline of Information document with both parties and request their responses within the next 14 days.
9. On receipt of the responses requested in 8, the Head of Ombudsman Service will, if the Suggested Resolutions in the Outline of Information document is:
   1. accepted by both the Complainant and Respondent, the Head of Ombudsman Service will follow the process in 7 above.
   2. not accepted by either or both the Complainant and Respondent, the Head of Ombudsman Service will follow the process in 10 below.
10. The Head of Ombudsman Service will call a Round the Table Discussion.
    1. In advance of the discussion, the Head of Ombudsman Service will decide whether any legal advice needs to be obtained from the IRCM CIC’s legal advisors.
    2. Where the discussion or legal advice sought incurs a cost, it is understood and agreed by all parties that this cost will be incorporated into the outcome of this Facilitation.
    3. Where possible, the Round the Table Discussion will be arranged using the IRCM CIC’s Meeting and Conference platform.
       • Where the Complainant or Respondent requests that the Round the Table Discussion is held in a face-to-face venue, all costs will be covered by the individual requesting the face-2-face discussion.
    4. The invite to the Round the Table Discussion will be issued within 7 days of point 9.2 above and will include the date, time and relevant attendance information of the Round the Table Discussion.
       • The invite will include the names and company positions of the IRCM CIC Panel.
       • The date and time offered will be 21 calendar days from point 9.2 above.
    5. The Head of Ombudsman Service will attend and will chair the Round the Table Discussion.
    6. The Complainant and Respondent may bring one support person to any Round the Table Discussion.
       • The support person is there to support the Complainant or the Respondent and will not participate in the activities of the discussion.
    7. The Panel, Complainant, Respondent, and any relevant third parties will attend.
    8. Witnesses can be called to attend the discussion and the names of such witnesses with the reason for their attendance; must be submitted to the Head of Ombudsman Service no later than 14 calendar days prior to the date of any discussion.
       • All witnesses must be prepared to be questioned by any member of the Panel, the Complainant or the Respondent.
    9. Any additional information (i.e. witness statements, correspondence, etc.) must be received by Head of Ombudsman Service not less than 14 calendar days prior to the date of any discussion.
       • On receipt, this information will be shared with the Panel and all parties.
       • The Head of Ombudsman Service may decide to include any information received after the deadline.
    10. The Head of Ombudsman Service will decide if new evidence can be accepted on the day of the discussion.
    11. If either the Respondent or the Complainant fails to attend the discussion, the Head of Ombudsman Service has the right to:
        1. continue with the Round the Table Discussion in their absence, or
        2. terminate and conclude the Round the Table Discussion, or
        3. adjourn and reset the Round the Table Discussion for no later than 14 calendar days from the date of the original discussion.
    12. On conclusion of the Round the Table Discussion, the Head of Ombudsman:
        • will request outcome details from each member of the Panel.
        • will proceed to 2 (Outcomes Procedure) under Step 3: Outcomes and Sanctions.

If the matter is not resolved to the Complainant’s satisfaction, they may raise a formal complaint, through Step 2: Formal Complaints.