Consultations
Overview
In the last annual report, the Commission outlined five key principles to guide future reform of the Canadian Human Rights Act and its administration.
The Commission made a commitment to discuss these principles with stakeholders. As a result, the Commission consulted stakeholders between October and December 2004. The Commission sought meetings or written comments from federal government departments; private sector organizations; advocacy groups; unions and employer representatives; groups representing the interests of Aboriginal people, visible minorities, persons with disabilities and women; and individual experts.
In general, there was support for the principles, but some issues were identified. The following summarizes main points resulting from the consultations.
The Five Key Principles
The Commission outlined five principles to guide future changes to the Act and its administration. The principles proposed that any reform should accomplish the following:
serve the public interest. Practically, this may mean such measures as non-complaints tools to deal with systemic problems, including legislative and regulatory changes; and alternatives to complaints such as audits;
transform workplace behaviour. This includes encouraging alternate redress mechanisms in the workplace;
be comprehensive. For example, this may mean repealing section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act which restricts the ability of First Nations people on reserve to file complaints with the Commission. It could also mean adding social condition as a ground of discrimination;
be preventive and forward looking. This includes such measures as a prevention strategy, proactive initiatives and periodic reports on the state of human rights in Canada; and
ensure Commission’s independence, impartiality and good governance. This may require changing the Commission’s structure to reinforce its accountability directly to Parliament.
These principles drew broad support. Some said it is important to take into account the special circumstances of disability and race cases when applying these principles.
Recent Changes
Although the consultations focussed on the five principles, organizations also expressed their support for the changes that have taken place at the Commission over the past two years. Some organizations with similar mandates are looking to the Commission’s experience as a model for change in their own organizations. Other stakeholders commented that the improvements in the complaint process resulted in the advancement of human rights in their organizations in general.
Nevertheless, the consultations made it clear that stakeholders also need to be reassured that the introduction of new measures and more flexible tools will not be pursued to the detriment of the Commission’s traditional complaint-handling function, and that there will always be room for litigation in the human rights system.