Memo: Torstar updates conflict of interest provisions in Code of Business Conduct
New paragraph states employees are in conflict of interests if the the employee is engaged in a close personal relationship with an employee who reports directly or indirectly to them, unless approval has been obtained.
The following memo was sent to Star Media Group employees on Aug. 2, 2016, from Brian Daly, Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer
As part of Torstar Corporation, Star Media Group is committed to strong corporate governance practices across all of its businesses. As part of this commitment, the company has a long-standing practice of adhering to a core set of corporate policies that form a bedrock for how we operate on a day to day basis. All employees are expected to adhere to these policies in the course of their employment.
The Code of Business Conduct is one of these key policies. Recently, Torstar’s Board of Directors approved a change to the Code of Business Conduct. This change amplifies the section of the Code that addresses conflict of interest situations. More specifically, an additional illustrative example has been added that explicitly addresses situations where an employee has a close personal relationship with an employee who reports directly or indirectly to him or her. Here is a full copy of the additional wording that has been added to the Code:
“…an Employee will be considered to be in a conflict of interest situation if the Employee is engaged in a close personal relationship (including a romantic, sexual, family or other similar relationship) with an Employee who reports directly or indirectly to him or her, unless approval has been obtained from the Chair, CEO, President or Publisher of the Employee’s company, an appropriate oversight arrangement has been put in place, and the situation has been reported through the Declaration of Conflict of Interest procedure described in Section 18”.
A full copy of the revised Code of Business Conduct is attached, and is also available on the various shared information sites that exist across Star Media Group businesses.
If you have any questions, please speak to your manager or business unit leader.
Brian Daly
Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer
Star Media Group
H.G. Watson was J-Source's managing editor from 2015 to 2018. She is a journalist based in Toronto. You can learn more about her at hgwatson.com.