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Ethics Hotline

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This is a separate, confidential reporting channel for reports of misconduct — not a general contact request.

Submit a confidential report through our independent reporting mechanism if you have a concern that constitutes malpractice or an ethical breach, including sexual exploitation and abuse. CANADEM has a zero tolerance policy on all forms of exploitation and abuse.

Submit a confidential report

Read CANADEM’s complaints policy

General contact and feedback

CANADEM Complaints Policy

October 2026

Policy Statement

Receiving feedback and responding to complaints is an important part of improving CANADEM’s accountability. Ensuring our stakeholders can hold us to account will improve the quality of our work in all areas. This policy applies to CANADEM and is global in its application. A complaint can be made by any supporter, partner organisation, community or individual with whom we work, or any member of the public whether an individual, company or other entity, in Canada or anywhere else in the world.

Definitions

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the standards of service, actions or lack of action, by CANADEM or its staff and associated personnel. It is a criticism that expects a reply and would like things to be changed. Complaints could include the following (not an exhaustive list):

  • Concern from someone we work with about the quality of programme delivery
  • Concern from a member of the public or supporter about a particular fundraising approach or campaign (publicity) action
  • Concern about the behaviour of staff or associated personnel

A complaint has to be about some action for which CANADEM is responsible or is within our sphere of influence.

A complaint is not:

  • A general inquiry about CANADEM’s work
  • A request for information
  • A contractual dispute
  • A request to amend records, e.g. to correct an address or other personal details
  • A request to unsubscribe from a CANADEM service, e.g. a newsletter or a recruitment email.

Complaints procedures do not apply to complaints that are subject to current investigation by any regulatory body or other legal or official authorities in Canada or other countries in which we operate. Such issues will be dealt with by the relevant regulatory body.

Procedures for making a complaint

It is hoped that most complaints or concerns about CANADEM’s work or behaviour can and will be dealt with informally by staff or associated personnel at a local level. However, it is recognised that not all issues can be resolved in this way and that a formal complaints mechanism is required for those occasions when an individual or organisation wishes to make their complaint a matter of record and to receive a formal response.

How to make a complaint

CANADEM provides an external reporting mechanism through MNP’s Ethics hotline to support the confidential submission of concerns regarding ethical breaches.

Ethical breaches are violations of established moral rules, professional standards, or codes of conduct and may include, but are not limited to:

  • Fraud
  • Corruption
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Harassment, including sexual harassment
  • Discrimination
  • Abuse of power, including sexual abuse
  • Retaliation
  • Other conduct that violates CANADEM’s code of conduct or policies

All information provided to MNP is handled in a safe, secure, and confidential manner. Individuals may decide how much information they wish to provide when making a submission. When submitting a concern, the individual will receive a submission reference number. This number can be used to communicate anonymously with MNP and to track the status of the submission.

Please find CANADEM’s Ethics hotline here: https://whistleblower.mnp.ca/canadem

For any general feedback regarding CANADEM, individuals can contact CANADEM at [email protected]. Feedback may include comments, suggestions, or other input about CANADEM’s programs, services, or operations.

CANADEM

CANADEM is an international not-for-profit NGO dedicated to advancing international peace and security through the rostering, rapid mobilization, and mission.

Respect for the environment
An ever-increasing awareness that caring for the environment is the responsibility of us all, regardless of our area of expertise or profession, has propelled CANADEM to place more focus on our own global footprint as well as that of our sector. During this Period, we have embarked on a challenge to enhance our learning regarding the environment and how we interact with it – including efforts to create a baseline and targets for improving how we deal with our natural environment. We are therefore making a conscious and transparent effort to measure and manage the way we affect the natural world around us, hopefully becoming better caretakers along the way.
Impact Driven
CANADEM has always valued the positive impact we make in the world as a foundation of our work. It is this guiding principle that has led us to form lasting partnerships, in support of other entities, if we feel they can add greater value than we can at CANADEM. Searching for our comparative advantage, while avoiding falling into a simple race to find funding opportunities, is therefore essential to CANADEM. As we see an increasing number of individuals suffering from the consequences of conflict in the world, and prepare for even greater numbers of environmental disasters, the need to prioritise the areas where we can make a real difference and combine our efforts with like-minded entities, is vital to achieving success.
Efficiency
The objective of CANADEM’s leadership has always been to find the most innovative and cost-effective ways to contribute to communities in need, and not to place the growth of numbers and our budgets at the centre of our efforts. As a result, we have adopted a light footprint in terms of our human resources complement and infrastructure, making use of the latest technology, and empowering our small team to be as innovative and flexible in solving problems as our procedures allow. Our structures allow us to scale up and down as required, and for staff to work in different teams, according to the needs of the moment. Our 30 years of experience has taught us what our core capacities are and how to allocate precious resources.
Accountability & Transparency Values
From CANADEM’s earliest beginnings as a Government of Canada project, and during its rapid evolution into an independent NGO with its roots in international service, the principles of accountability and transparency have been a component of CANADEM’s DNA. Accountability for the use of public funds has been incorporated into procedures that needed to respond to the high standards of government. Transparency has been the vehicle to ensure the vital accountability that CANADEM maintains. CANADEM’s headquarters team is a well-trained group of committed individuals who believe in the important work they do – including the conviction that providing the best value possible to the communities and donors we serve is a primary component of our job. CANADEM’s rules and procedures are therefore established to ensure that every step of the way we are confident of our work, and can demonstrate its efficiency and effectiveness.
People-Centered Values
Our work is about deploying people to help people. It is therefore of paramount importance to us that we are all relating to individuals in our chain of service delivery in a way that is respectful, understanding, considerate, and that brings out the best in us. Our internal working context is designed to foster humanity, fairness and support among our staff, which in turn aims to foster those same qualities among the experts we deploy. We have invested in a team of individuals (our Duty of Care Team), who provide a safety net for those experts we deploy. By taking care of our staff members and our deployed experts, we ensure that we have an effective flow of communication between all aspects of our operation. Our experienced and motivated staff feel supported, and are in turn able to support our experts in times of stress and prevent any potential problems from occurring.
Diversity & Inclusion Values
Ensuring an inclusive workplace that integrates diversity in terms of gender, language, culture, ethnicity and religion, is of prime importance for CANADEM both internally and with regards to our work with partners. We have made significant progress in attracting experts from 178 countries around the world – including from countries that are recipients of international assistance – so that a diversity of perspectives, understanding and expertise may be integrated into all operations that CANADEM supports. From our fair and transparent selection process, to our supportive Duty of Care Team (which ensures that individuals deployed have the resources they need to feel comfortable and confident in their work), we have invested significant energy in fostering diversity and inclusion within our roster system, in our election monitoring deployments, and in our own direct implementation of programming, at headquarters and in the field.
Partnership Values
The majority of our experts work within the assistance operations of our partners. Partnership is therefore of primary importance and value to us, and is key to the way we operate. Our many long-term relationships with other actors have been forged by promoting trust and understanding. The ability to work together with other actors, and not in competition, has allowed CANADEM to enhance the work of governments or organizations by injecting vital expertise, and targeting it where it is needed most. We believe that we can create a greater impact, when we work in partnership.