Ontario Girl Guides of Canada

• Remember, any document requiring a signature must be forwarded to the Provincial office for authorized signature on behalf of Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council. Members are prohibited from signing contracts and leases, as per Safe Guide.
• Contracts will only be accepted when submitted via the online Contract Submission form.
• If you have any questions, please contact on-contracts@girlguides.ca.

For units that meet in a facility requiring a permit (school board or municipality)
We are unable to obtain permits for some indoor spaces due to COVID-19 or fees added to existing permits make them cost-prohibitive. Units should be considering alternative meeting space and options within their community.

The permit status resource has been created to keep units up to date on the status of permits by school board or municipality. This resource is updated regularly.

Permit status resource

As space is confirmed, Contact Guiders will receive renewal information from a GGC staff member. Units MUST have a copy of the approved permit with them each time they are in the school or municipal building.

For units that meet at locations that do not require a permit
Please designate someone from your unit to reach out to the location to determine if space is available. When determining if your unit can move forward with securing unit space, please consider the following:

• Is the space free of charge?
  • If yes, please proceed with the booking. Any contracts or agreements need to be reviewed and signed by the Provincial Operations Team Lead. Contracts or agreements that need signing should be submitted by completing the Contract Submission Form.
• Is there a fee for the space?
• If yes, connect with your with your Provincial support to ensure that the cost is permitted. It is strongly encouraged that any contracts or agreements for spaces requiring payment contain termination or amendment clauses should space needs change due to government/GGC protocols relating to COVID-19. Please review this before submitting any contracts or agreements for review and signature. Any contracts or agreements need to be reviewed and signed by the Provincial Operations Team Lead.
• Contracts or agreements (including any invoice) should be submitted by completing the Contract Submission Form.

For units that meet in a facility requiring a permit (school board or municipality)
Certificate of Insurance is provided at the time of booking the permit by GGC staff. Units do not need to provide this information.

For units that meet at locations that do not require a permit
Insurance certificates are automatically mailed by the broker each summer to existing locations, to ensure they are in place by unit start-up in the fall (your unit does not need to submit a new application each year). If your facility has not received a copy of the insurance certificate, please contact Unit User Space at membersupport.admin2@guidesontario.org for a copy. Note: Due to COVID-19, the insurance mailing was delayed, and facilities will begin receiving updated insurance certificates in the fall.

Girl Guides of Canada has its own insurance coverage; facilities do not need to include us under their policy. Please complete the INS.02 Request for Certificate of Insurance form, which includes instructions on where to submit it. Please note, this request can take seven working days or more to process.

Information you need to know if your unit uses a school permit
Please review the permit carefully, to ensure the information is correct as issued. Note exclusion dates, including school breaks and statutory holidays when use is not allowed. Contact the Unit User Space at membersupport.admin2@guidesontario.org immediately to investigate missing bookings.

Guiders should ensure the school has their contact information in case they need to be contacted directly. Units are responsible for ensuring that the conditions to use the facilities are always upheld.

Each school board's Inclement Weather process is different; check the instructions distributed with the permit or listed on the school board website and listen to the local radio station.
Cancellation dates are only sent to the Contact Guider of a unit; it is that person’s responsibility to check email regularly and make alternate arrangements for nights that have been cancelled.

If a date is not shown on the calendar, the custodian has been directed not to allow groups entry into the school so they would not become responsible/liable should an accident/incident occur. Do not put the caretaker in an awkward position by asking them to adjust their hours to accommodate you (or the room you use) instead of what is listed on the permit. Custodial hours and Community Use of Schools costs are based on the time/space input in the system. Remember that all permits are only to be used for their intended purposes.

If your unit meets in a school, each school board has different cancellation procedures. Many boards charge no-show and late cancellation fees. Units are directly responsible for these fees. Please refer to the information in the email you received with your permit for the procedures specific to your school board. Dates that are not being used by a unit, should be forwarded to the office so they can be cancelled at the school board for a credit. Please forward these to Unit User Space at membersupport.admin2@guidesontario.org. If your unit meeting space at a school is cancelled, you may wish to take advantage of alternative meeting options.

Remember that cancellation dates are only sent to the Contact Guider of a unit; it is that person’s responsibility to check email regularly and make alternate arrangements for nights that have been cancelled.

Yes, Guiders are allowed to hold unit meetings in their homes. However, you should be aware that while Girl Guides of Canada's insurance policy provides some coverage, individuals are still subject to liability as owners of the house. Girl Guides of Canada does not provide coverage for damage to homes. Therefore, it is recommended that Guiders check with their personal insurance broker to ensure they have sufficient coverage in place under their Homeowner’s policy, before opening their home to a unit meeting. See COVID 19 FAQs for more information.

Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council is responsible for submitting all permit applications to school boards. Due to COVID-19 and the unknowns for units already meeting at schools, we are not accepting new school permit requests this Guiding year.

It is the policy of Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council to provide notice of service disruptions when any facility that a person with a disability usually uses is temporarily unavailable or is expected to be temporarily unavailable in the near future.

If you need to post the details of a service disruption use the Notice of Service Disruption form and include the following information:

• Type of disruption
• Reason for disruption
• Anticipated duration of disruption
• Description of alternate facilities, if any
• Contact information