Policies

Current Size: 100%

Policy Respecting Corporate Relations With Aboriginal Groups

CLC MANDATE

The mandate of Canada Lands Company CLC Limited (CLC), a non-agent federal Crown corporation, is to ensure the commercially oriented, orderly disposition of surplus strategic real properties, optimizing financial and community value, and the holding of certain properties. It accomplishes this by purchasing strategic surplus properties from federal departments and agencies at fair market value, then improving, managing or selling them in order to produce the optimal benefits for the company’s shareholder, the Government of Canada, and local communities.

POLICY OBJECTIVE

CLC has the objective of creating or fostering respectful and responsive relationships with all community stakeholder groups. The objective in creating this policy is to establish a practical and cooperative approach to dealing with aboriginal groups which have expressed interests in any surplus strategic properties transferred by the Government of Canada to CLC, as part of any community consultation on the future development of those properties. In making decisions on the disposal of Crown properties that could affect aboriginal groups’ rights, title, or treaty rights, the Government of Canada must respect the fiduciary relationship between the Crown and aboriginal groups, as confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada, and fulfill any federal fiduciary obligations as they relate to the interests of aboriginal groups. This is the responsibility of the Government of Canada, and not CLC.

POLICY PRINCIPLES

In dealing with aboriginal groups, CLC will:

address aboriginal groups’ business interests when title to a property is transferred to CLC, as part of its development plan for dealing with community stakeholder interests, in accordance with the terms and conditions of transfer;
respect CLC’s existing Marketing and Sales Policy;
respect CLC’s individual business plans for any specific properties; and
follow accepted normal commercial practices in each province or community in which its properties are located.

POLICY APPLICATION

The President & CEO and the operational Vice Presidents of CLC are accountable to the extent of their authorities and responsibilities to ensure the enforcement of this policy.

Original Board Approval Date: October 25, 1996
Revised: January 19, 2005

Contracting Policy

CLC MANDATE

The mandate of Canada Lands Company CLC Limited (CLC), a non-agent federal Crown corporation is to ensure the commercially oriented, orderly disposition of surplus strategic real properties, optimizing financial and community value, and the holding of certain properties. It accomplishes this by purchasing strategic surplus properties from federal departments and agencies at fair market value, then improving, managing or selling them in order to produce the optimal benefits for the company’s shareholder, the Government of Canada, and local communities.

POLICY OBJECTIVE

The objective of this policy is to ensure that well-qualified firms or individuals are selected to undertake contracting work for CLC with optimal value for money, and to ensure that a transparent, fair and objective process of selection is utilized.

POLICY PRINCIPLES

CLC’s contracting and procurement practices will follow accepted normal commercial practices and will be guided by the following principles:

ensure an efficient and productive organization, by supplementing as necessary the skills required for projects and/or varying workloads;
be equitable and transparent;
use competitive process wherever appropriate;
select reputable vendors that are well-qualified in their respective areas of expertise;
ensure that contracts achieve CLC approved financial and service delivery objectives;
require that employees of CLC conduct their contracting activities in a manner consistent with CLC's Code of Conduct & Conflict of Interest Policy and Delegation of Authority; and
keep appropriate and adequate records of the selection process and, upon request, provide feedback to unsuccessful proponents.

ACHIEVING OPTIMAL VALUE

CLC’s acceptance of any contract or procurement of service shall be based on achieving optimal value. Price is not the sole determinant and is only one criterion in determining optimal value. In determining optimal value, CLC will take into consideration:

the price and terms of the offer; and
any other factors including the experience, quality of the product, quantity, service level, timely delivery, reputation and financial capacity of the supplier, references or any other defined criteria related to selecting a vendor.

POLICY APPLICATION

The President & CEO and the operational/functional heads of CLC are accountable to the extent of their authorities and responsibilities to ensure that practices relating to contracting and procurement respect this policy, and that appropriate guidelines are followed by their staff in the conduct of CLC's business.

Execution of contracts under this policy shall be in accordance with the corporation's Delegation of Authority limits in effect at the time.

Original Board Approval Date: March 27, 1997
Revisions: May 31, 2001, January 19, 2005

Environmental Policy

CLC MANDATE

The mandate of Canada Lands Company CLC Limited (CLC), a non-agent federal Crown corporation, is to ensure the commercially oriented, orderly disposition of surplus strategic real properties, optimizing the financial and community value and the holding of certain properties. It accomplishes this by purchasing strategic surplus properties from federal departments and agencies at fair market value, then improving, managing or selling them in order to produce the optimal benefits for the company’s shareholder, the Government of Canada and local communities.

POLICY OBJECTIVE

The objective of this policy is to ensure that CLC operations reflect appropriate environmental stewardship within its core business activities

POLICY PRINCIPLES

With regard to environmental matters, CLC operations are to be conducted in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations as set out, from time to time, by relevant authorities having jurisdiction to protect the environment.

CLC’s environmental practices will be guided by the following principles:

while conducting its business through the application of cost effective, best management practices, CLC shall make all reasonable efforts to evaluate and, where necessary, undertake to manage and resolve environmental matters in an environmentally responsible manner;
environmental protection and safety of employees and the public shall be of foremost concern; and
employees of CLC will conduct their environmental activities in a manner consistent with CLC's Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy and Delegation of Authority.

CLC is committed to continual improvement through regular management reviews of this and other relevant policies

ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

To achieve operational environmental stewardship, CLC will:

assess, plan and undertake in a professional manner its business activities in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations;
develop, maintain and implement appropriate procedures and systems to manage operations in accordance with this policy and ensure that suitable documentation of environmental matters, including relevant facts or information affecting or potentially affecting CLC's business are up to date;
provide training for environmental matters related to its business to employees required to discharge their responsibilities in accordance with regulatory requirements;
maintain the position of Corporate Environmental Coordinator (CEC) to oversee the corporate environmental activities as they relate to the environment;
have each operational vice president appoint one or more Environmental Specialist (ES) for their operating group, who shall be responsible for working with the CEC; the ES will assist the CEC to establish, maintain, and improve the corporate environmental program;
require the CEC to regularly provide relevant information, on at least a quarterly basis, to the President and CEO and senior management team with respect to environmental matters;
the President and CEO will communicate the CEC’s environmental report, on at least a quarterly basis, to the Board of Directors; and
ensure the clear organizational assignment of responsibility and accountability within CLC with respect to environmental matters.

POLICY APPLICATION

The President and CEO and the operational/functional vice presidents of CLC are accountable to the extent of their authorities and responsibilities to ensure that practices relating to the environment respect this policy and are followed by their staff in the conduct of CLC's business.

Original Board Approval Date: June 4, 1996
Revised: January 19, 2005

HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

MANDATE

The mandate of Canada Lands Company CLC Limited (CLC) is to ensure the commercially oriented, orderly disposition of surplus strategic real properties, optimizing financial and community value, and the holding of certain properties. It accomplishes this by purchasing land at fair market value, then improving, managing or selling it in order to produce the optimal benefits for the company’s shareholder, the Government of Canada, and local communities

POLICY OBJECTIVE

In conducting its business, CLC is considered a “private sector employer” and falls under Provincial jurisdiction with regard to occupational health and safety. The objective of this policy is to promote the practice of high degrees of safety for all construction projects taking place on CLC owned or managed workplace sites and to comply with the occupational health and safety laws and regulations applicable in the province or territory of the workplace location

POLICY PRINCIPLES

The corporation is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment on its construction sites, and will be guided by the following principles:

Advise any contractor(s) selected to carry out work on CLC owned or managed workplace sites of CLC’s policy and its commitment to site safety.
Select contractor(s) with the knowledge and skills to exercise safe work practices, that have the ability to comply with the requirements of the applicable provincial / territorial health and safety regulator, and that are covered for their workers’ compensation.
Where permitted by legislation, properly assign full and overall responsibility (and inherent liability) for workplace safety and for the planning, establishing, monitoring, and enforcing of a comprehensive construction health and safety program, to the contractor deemed to be in control of the workplace site and best able to comply with the health and safety laws and regulations of the authority having jurisdiction at the workplace location (often defined as the “Prime Contractor” or other such titles depending on jurisdiction).
In those jurisdictions where legislation requires the project owner to remain liable for workplace safety, diligently manage any contracted work operations in a manner that ensures compliance with the obligations of occupational health and safety laws and regulations.
Provide CLC’s project staff the necessary familiarization with the contractor’s health and safety program, with the applicable health and safety legislation, and with the contractor ‘s safety procedures.
Require that CLC employees and guests report to the contractor when visiting the workplace site and to comply with the contractor’s health and safety program.
Require employees to report all hazardous conditions when observed.
Require that project consultants consider construction safety in their designs

POLICY APPLICATION

The President & CEO and the operational/functional heads of CLC are accountable to the extent of their authorities and responsibilities to ensure that practices relating to occupational health and safety on construction sites respect this policy, and to appropriately guide their staff in the conduct of CLC’s business. Where required, project staff shall be provided with appropriate training in the application of occupational health and safety on construction sites.

Execution of contracts under this policy shall be in accordance with the corporation’s Delegation of Authority limits in effect.

Original Senior Management Team Approval Date: 9 November 2005
Revised: 4 May 2006

Heritage

Application
This policy applies to Canada Lands Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Policy Statement
In carrying out its commercial mandate of realizing the best optimal value through an orderly disposal of certain strategic properties on behalf of the Federal Government, Canada Lands Company ("Canada Lands") is committed to demonstrating sensitivity to heritage and respect for the communities in which it conducts business. In most cases, this is handled through its active subsidiaries.

This sensitivity shall be demonstrated through the proactive recognition of the relevant aesthetic and economic benefits of heritage relating to a site, and the maintenance of working relationships with other levels of Government on items relating to heritage.

The Components of Heritage
Canada Lands Company recognizes that heritage is a broad concept referring to inherited objects, traditions and other meaningful linkages to the past. It encompasses historic events, artifacts, emotive attachments to the site, geographic features, buildings and other humanmade physical structures.

A Proactive Approach to Heritage
Upon receiving a property transfer for management, development or sale, Canada Lands, as part of its due diligence, shall review the nature and extent of heritage aspects and issues associated with the property. This internal process shall serve as the basis for interaction with other levels of Government and aid in the objective completion of external heritage assessments. The company will take into consideration previously comleted heritage assessments which may have been carried out on the property by the Government of Canada's Federal Heritage Bureau (FHBRO). Additional studies will be undertaken by Canada Lands if required.

Interaction with Others
Canada Lands is committed to fulfilling its obligations and working with both Provincial and Municipal levels of Government to objectively identify and, if appropriate, designate historical structures and other heritage aspects of a site. Consultations with the public may be necessary to acquire needed information. Once the reasonable and fair results of this cooperative effort have been attained, appropriate measures will be considered to address the particular situation.

Seizing Heritage Opportunities
While heritage can sometimes be viewed as restrictive to development, Canada Lands will endeavour to realize the intrinsic and economic benefits that heritage opportunities offer. A property's heritage gives it a unique sense of place and can be used to promote both public education opportunities for good community relations, and profitable heritage-themed business opportunities.

Authority
The Vice Presidents, Eastern and Western Canada shall have authority to incur reasonable expenditures relating to heritage as required on a project-by-project basis, in accordance with budgets established in the Corporate Plan.

Original Board Approval Date: August 24, 1998
Revision: June 1, 1999

Marketing and Sales Policy

CLC MANDATE

POLICY OBJECTIVE

The objective of this policy is to ensure that CLC obtains the optimal value in the sale of its assets by balancing financial returns and community benefits.

POLICY PRINCIPLES

CLC’s sales practices will follow accepted normal commercial practices and will be guided by the following principles:

be equitable and transparent;
encourage the use of competitive process;
select reputable purchasers that are well-qualified in their respective areas of expertise;
ensure that contracts achieve CLC approved financial and service delivery objectives;
require that employees of CLC conduct their sales activities in a manner consistent with CLC's Code of Conduct & Conflict of Interest Policy and Delegation of Authority; and
keep appropriate and adequate records of the selection process, and provide feedback to unsuccessful proponents upon request.

ACHIEVING OPTIMAL VALUE

CLC’s acceptance of any offer shall be based on achieving optimal value. Price is not the sole determinant and is only one criterion in determining optimal value. In determining optimal value, CLC will take into consideration:

the price and terms of the offer;
the experience, reputation, financial capacity and credit worthiness of the purchaser, product quality, references or any other defined criteria related to the specific property; and
any other direct or indirect benefits which could accrue to CLC and/or the community.

POLICY APPLICATION

The President & CEO and the operational/functional heads of CLC are accountable to the extent of their authorities and responsibilities to ensure that practices relating to sales respect this policy and that appropriate guidelines are followed by their staff in the conduct of CLC's business.

Administration of sales agreements under this policy shall be in accordance with the company’s Delegation of Authority limits in effect at the time the sales agreement is signed.

Original Board Approval Date: June 14, 1996
Revisions: October 18, 2001, January 19, 2005

Internal Disclosure of Information Concerning Wrongdoing in the Workplace

APPLICATION

This policy applies to all employees of Canada Lands Company CLC Limited (CLC).

OBJECTIVE

CLC is committed to high standards of transparency and accountability in its operations. This policy outlines the internal process by which employees can bring forward information concerning any wrongdoing (refer to definition below), and ensures that they are treated fairly and are protected from reprisal, when they do so in a manner consistent with this policy.

DEFINITIONS

Wrongdoing is defined as an act or omission concerning:

a violation of any law or regulation; or
a breach of CLC’s code of conduct; or
the taking of a reprisal against an employee in relation to this policy; or
misuse of company funds or assets; or
gross mismanagement; or
a substantial and specific danger to the life, health and safety of Canadians or the environment.

Disclosure is defined as information raised within the organization in good faith, based on reasonable belief, by one or more employees, concerning a wrongdoing that someone has committed or intends to commit.

POLICY

Employees are encouraged to initiate their disclosure of wrongdoing using the disclosure mechanism outlined in section 5 below including, but not limited to, contacting the President & CEO or Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. In cases where it is believed that the issue could not be raised in confidence within CLC, or the issue involves an immediate risk to the life, health or safety of the public, an employee is justified in making an external disclosure to the appropriate authority. An employee may also be justified in making an external disclosure where the employee has exhausted all internal procedures.

Protection from Reprisal
No employee shall be subject to any reprisal for having made a disclosure in good faith in accordance with this policy. This includes employees who may have been called as witnesses.

Reprisal refers to any administrative or disciplinary measure.

Employees who believe they are subject to reprisal as a direct result of having made a disclosure in accordance with this policy should bring the matter to the attention of the Vice President, Administration & Chief Governance Officer, the President & CEO or the Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

Confidentiality
No confidential information will be disclosed that is protected under Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) or CLC’s Protection of Personal Information policy, unless required by law. The management team member receiving the complaint (the manager) will explain the parameters of confidentiality the employee can expect when making a disclosure. The manager will provide information on the policy and informal advice to assist an employee who is considering making a disclosure.

Access to information concerning such disclosure will be limited to those individuals directly involved in or investigating the matter. Other than the Vice President, Administration & Chief Governance Officer, the President & CEO and the Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, the employee will be advised of any other employee to whom the information will be disclosed in order to conduct an investigation.

At no time will the party disclosing the wrongdoing be named to the parties whom the allegations of wrongdoing are being made against, unless required by law, or with the explicit written permission of the disclosing party.

All records concerning the disclosure and any follow up required will be kept in a locked cabinet within the human resources department.

Disclosure of any information concerning apparent criminal activity or action will be referred to proper authorities by CLC, such as the RCMP, for investigation. Confidentiality in such circumstances will be subject to the discretion of the applicable law enforcement authority.

Discipline
An employee is subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including termination of employment, if he or she:

commits a wrongdoing; or
makes a disclosure that is frivolous or vexatious or in bad faith; or
makes a disclosure of company confidential information entrusted to an employee in the normal course of business to outside parties, unless otherwise lawfully required to do so.

PROCEDURE

An employee who is aware of or believes that a wrongdoing has been committed or will be committed should first attempt to raise the matter with his/her manager. If that approach is not successful or is not possible, the employee may communicate directly with the President & CEO, the Vice President, Administration & Chief Governance Officer or the Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. In circumstances where the alleged wrongdoing involves a member of the senior management team, the issue should be addressed directly with the President & CEO and/or the Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

The disclosure must include the nature of the wrongdoing, the name of the person alleged to have committed the wrongdoing, the date and description of the wrongdoing, and other pertinent information. The information should be as precise and concise as possible. Anonymous reports will be accepted, but the corporation encourages employees to identify themselves as it might otherwise hinder the corporation’s ability to investigate the allegation. Employees are encouraged to bring forward information regarding a wrongdoing within 30 days of knowledge of the event in order that CLC can expediently and effectively investigate the allegation.

The manager will review the information and determine if there is sufficient grounds for further action in consultation with the President & CEO or the Vice President, Administration & Chief Governance Officer. The disclosure may be rejected if it is determined that it is trivial or vexatious, fails to allege or give adequate particulars of a wrongful act, or if it is determined that it was not given in good faith or on the basis of reasonable belief.

The manager will inform the employee in writing of whether the investigation will proceed further. If it is decided to proceed further, the manager, in consultation with the President & CEO or the Vice President, Administration & Chief Governance Officer, will decide based on the nature and particulars of the wrongdoing what the most appropriate next steps are, which will include an attempt at resolution and/or investigation.

Attempt at Resolution
It is expected that most situations will be addressed by discussing the matter with the employees concerned, identifying avenues of resolution and taking appropriate action.

Investigation
If the matter cannot be resolved, the manager, in consultation with the President & CEO or the Vice President, Administration & Chief Governance Officer, may initiate an investigation. He/she may decide to investigate immediately following the preliminary review of the disclosure.

Decision
The manager will inform the parties in writing of the outcome of the investigation. When required, corrective measures will be taken. The President & CEO will provide to the Audit Committee a full report of the allegation and findings at its next committee meeting, or earlier through the Chair of the committee, if warranted.

Original Board Approval Date: December 10, 2003
Revisions: March 4, 2004, June 2, 2004

Official Languages Policy (Parent Company, CLCL)

Mandate
The mandate of Canada Lands Company Limited (CLCL), a non-agent federal Crown corporation is to ensure the commercially oriented, orderly disposition of surplus strategic real properties, optimizing financial and community value, and the holding of certain properties. It accomplishes this by purchasing strategic surplus properties from federal departments and agencies at fair market value, then improving, managing or selling them in order to produce the optimal benefit for the company’s shareholder, the Government of Canada, and local communities.

Application
This policy applies to CLCL and the subsidiary company Canada Lands Company CLC Limited (CLC), ‘the Corporation’.

Policy
Canada's Official Languages Act recognizes that our country has two official languages - French and English.

CLCL and CLC are committed to respecting this law and offer bilingual services where required by the Act. This policy may be applied in a number of ways that may differ depending on need.

Complaints
CLCL is committed to responding to any complaint which may occur from time to time on the application of this Policy, either complaints directly from its employees, from the public or from the office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. These matters will be directed to the Vice President, Public and Government Affairs for action.

Communications
The Corporation will fully communicate the policy in electronic format on its Intranet site, which is accessible to all employees, and on its Internet site, which is accessible to the general public.

General
All communications must be in the official language that an individual or group chooses, whether it is verbal, written, or visual. When the language of choice is not known, communications such as corporate advertisements, announcements and signage will be in both languages or noted on the bottom or back of the material that it is available in the other official language.

All written materials produced in only one language will have the following advice on the back or bottom of the document to notify the reader that the document is available in the other language:

“Ce document est aussi disponible en français”. (on English documents)
“This document is also available in English”. (on French documents)

CLCL will periodically conduct a “needs requirement” survey on official languages in cities where it conducts business and where there may be a greater requirement to offer services in the minority official language.

Public Consultations
All public consultation sessions in Montréal, Ottawa and Moncton will be conducted in both languages as well as providing bilingual handouts. Elsewhere in Canada, public consultation meetings are held in the predominant language.

In the event that an individual attending the meeting requests minority language service, a bilingual person will contact them directly to answer their questions.

Meeting documentation will be provided in both languages upon request.

Special Events
Montréal, Ottawa, Moncton
Written materials in CLCL’s information packets during special events will be made available in both languages as well as a bilingual verbal component.

Elsewhere in Canada
Special events are primarily conducted in the predominant language. Anyone requesting minority language materials will receive it in a timely manner, or if they have any questions, a bilingual staff member will contact them.

Media Releases
All media releases distributed by CLCL are sent in both official languages regardless of geographic location.

Signage
All corporate signage, both indoor and outdoor, will be bilingual.

Advertising
Montréal, Ottawa, Moncton, Toronto, Corporate departments
All advertisements whether they are corporate or operational in nature will be placed in both English and French media.

Elsewhere in Canada
Operational advertisements such as tenders, home/builder sales will be placed in the predominant language media. Corporate advertisements such as announcements, special events will be placed in both French and English media.

Human Resources
CLCL will make every attempt to recruit bilingual personnel where appropriate.

Web Sites
All information on CLCL hosted web sites is posted in both official languages at the same time and in comparable quality.

Training
Appropriate language training is 100% reimbursable to the employee with the prior approval of their manager.

Original Board Approval Date: March 27, 1997
Revisions: 9 June 2005

Risk Management Policy

CLC MANDATE

POLICY OBJECTIVE

The objective of this policy is to ensure that CLC systematically identifies, analyzes and evaluates, cost effectively controls and monitors risk, which could threaten our people, property, reputation and the financial stability. Furthermore, it is the company’s objective to seek to transfer those operational risks for which the fixed cost of transferring the risk (premium) is less than the perceived but uncertain cost to retain the risk, subject to reasonable deductibles or self-insured retentions.

DEFINITION OF RISK MANAGEMENT

Risk management is the systematic identification of opportunity and threats to the company’s assets and resources, and the development of strategies, which maximizes opportunities and minimizes threats and other adverse effects. It covers the following three broad risk categories impacting CLC:

business/strategic risks (changes in legislation, regulations, organizational structure and business processes);
operational risks (business continuity, people risks, project management, documentation, security and IS); and
financial risks (financial targets, budgets, financial monitoring and controls).

POLICY PRINCIPLES

Risk management protects and adds value to the company and its stakeholders through supporting the Policy Objective by:

providing the framework that enables future activities to take place in a consistent and controlled manner;
improving decision-making, planning and prioritization by a comprehensive understanding of business activity, project opportunity and threat;
protecting and enhancing CLC assets and image; and
developing and supporting business unit management and staff and the company’s knowledge base.

The Policy Objective will be achieved by the following guiding principles:

establishing clear roles and responsibilities and reporting lines within the company for risk management;
incorporating risk management in the company’s decision-making, business planning and performance management processes;
monitoring risk management and related internal control measures on a regular basis;
reinforcing the importance of effective risk management through training, general guidance and providing opportunities for shared learning for CLC staff; and determining and providing suitable insurance coverage to manage the impact of unavoidable risks.
The risk management process will be well integrated with other corporate planning and management activities.

RISK TRANSFER AND INSURANCE

Not all types of risks can be transferred to conventional insurers, and it may be determined by CLC that it is preferable to manage certain risks in-house. Wherever feasible and viable, risk transfer must be used to address all potential catastrophic events. The price of a particular risk transfer mechanism such as insurance will play a key role in determining the extent to which operational risk will be transferred. This risk transfer will only be undertaken by CLC with highly reputable and solvent insurers with a better than average A.M. Best Property & Casualty insurance rating or its equivalent. (Note: A.M. Best is an internationally recognized rating agency reporting on the financial condition of insurance companies).

AUTHORITY

The implementation of this policy is primarily the responsibility of those management and staff responsible for the assets of the corporation.
The Director, Risk Management & Internal Controls is responsible for arranging and managing all of CLC’s corporate insurance coverages in a cost-effective manner as well as directly conferring and negotiating terms and conditions with the company’s appointed insurance broker, claims adjusters and various insurance companies.

TRAINING

All CLC operational staff involved in the acquisition or management of real property assets, and CN Tower operational managers will receive the appropriate training in order to fulfill their responsibilities under this policy.

POLICY APPLICATION

This policy will apply to all areas and entities within CLC.

Original Board Approval Date: 9 June 2005