Board of Governors Approved May 5, 2018

Purpose

Since adventure always carries some element of risk, this policy outlines how we plan for safety and manage risk.

Our Commitment

Safety is top of mind in all we do. We plan, conduct, and review our programs so all members have adventures where nobody gets hurt.

We care deeply about the safety of all members.

Our Policy

1. We empower our members to be safety leaders, for themselves and for others.
2. We ensure members — youth and adults — focus on identifying and managing risk as an essential part of their activities.
3. We use the plan-do-review process^[1] as a tool to identify and manage risks.
4. We believe all incidents are preventable; therefore, we learn from incidents, so we can prevent them from happening again.
5. Since we care about each other, we discuss safety performance in terms of the impact on people, not simply metrics.
6. We provide resources and training to all of our members to help plan safe, fun adventures and activities

Related Policies & Standards

• Drug and Alcohol Policy
• Property Policy
• Discipline, Temporary Suspension and Termination of Membership Policy
• Member Disclosure Protection (Whistleblower) Policy
• Youth Protection Policy
• Animals at Scout Properties and Activities Standards
• Camping Facilities Standards
• First Aid Standards
• Knives, Axes, Saws, Stoves, Lanterns and Other Camping Tools Standards
• Prohibited Activities Standards
• Safety Equipment Standards
• Shooting Sports Standards
• Firearms and Weapons Standards
• Transportation Standards

Related Procedures

• Complaint Procedure
• Contracts Procedure
• Non-member Individual Hold Harmless Agreement Procedure
• Temporary Suspension and Termination Procedure
• Third Party Use of Scouts Canada Property Procedure
• Third Party Waivers, Indemnification and Hold Harmless Agreements Procedure
• Volunteer Screening Procedure

Resources 

• Adventure Application Form
• Emergency Plan / Action Plan
• FAQs — Scouts Canada Online Support Centre 
• Liability Insurance Summary

Effective Date

March 2, 2019

^[1] There are Four Elements that make up The Canadian Path:

• Youth-led: The program is directed by its youth members — not the Scouters.
• Plan-Do-Review: A three-step process that informs all activities in the Canadian Path program.
• Adventure: Scouts explore new things, share new ideas, learn new skills and create new paths.
• SPICES: Social, Physical, Intellectual, Character, Emotional and Spiritual are the six dimensions of personal development for the Canadian Path program.