CHRC… more relevant than ever
Posted on June 19, 2012 in Child & Family Policy Context
Source: National Post — Authors: David Langtry
NationalPost.com – FullComment – CHRC commissioner David Langtry: We’re more relevant than ever
Jun 19, 2012. David Langtry, National Post
Canadians can trust Parliament to ensure the Canadian Human Rights Act remains relevant in today’s society. The proof is that MPs have voted to amend the Act many times.
MPs voted this month to strike down the section of the Act that prohibited hate speech. Parliament had actually expanded that section to include hate on the Internet 11 years ago, in the very different climate following 9/11.
While hailed as a victory for free speech, this latest change will actually not have all that much impact on the administration of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Here’s why: Of the 1,914 human rights complaints under the federal Act in 2011, only one complaint regarding hate on the Internet was given consideration. The overwhelming majority of complaints deal with allegations of discrimination on the grounds of disability or age.
Filing a human rights complaint is a last resort for people who believe they have suffered discrimination. Stories of sexual harassment or job loss due to depression illustrate chronic and enduring realities of the modern workplace. Our law protects our right as Canadians to enjoy equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination.
Recognizing this important purpose, Parliament broadened the scope of the Canadian Human Rights Act in 2008, voting to give over 700,000 aboriginal people, mostly residents of First Nations communities, the same protections as everyone else in Canada.
I believe this change was consistent with the government’s new approach to working with Canada’s First Nations. It quietly became law on June 18, 2008, exactly a week after Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s historic apology to former students of Indian residential schools.
Thanks to this change, for the first time in over 30 years, people living on reserves can avail themselves of the protections of federal human rights law when they are victims of discrimination, whether as a result of the actions and decisions of the federal government or their own First Nations governments.
Aboriginal people and First Nations groups have welcomed this new access to justice. They have filed over 300 complaints against the federal government and their own governments since the law took effect. They are determined to use the Act as a tool to end discrimination and improve their quality of life, just as other Canadians have done over more than three decades. Today, more than 10% of the human rights complaints received by the Canadian Human Rights Commission are from aboriginal people. Such a surge is reasonable to expect, after decades of neglect.
Complaints against First Nations governments have to do with things like on-reserve housing or eligibility to vote in Band Council elections. Complaints against the federal government often deal with the provision of services. Several of these allege that federal funding for services on-reserve is inequitable when compared to provincial and territorial funding for the same services off-reserve.
A key test case on this issue involves a complaint from the First Nations Child and Family Services Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations, in which it is alleged that disparities in funding for child welfare services on reserves constitute racial discrimination.
The Attorney General has argued that federal funding of services on reserves is outside the jurisdiction of the Canadian Human Rights Act, and has challenged this complaint in court. If that challenge succeeds, it may set a precedent that could give the federal government sweeping immunity.
Regardless of the outcome, it is certain that Parliament’s decision to expand the Canadian Human Rights Act to include people governed by the Indian Act, principally First Nations residents, will have a greater impact than any other recent amendment.
It gives some of the most vulnerable members of our society the right to challenge systemic and often unconscious prejudices. It reinforces a vision of Canada where everyone has equal opportunity. Sadly, Canada is still not free from the shackles of bigotry.
Extending human rights protections to First Nations people furthers this government’s commitment to strengthen access to justice and the onus on First Nations governments to be accountable to the people they serve. These objectives, a constant of recent electoral platforms, are echoed in the Speech from the Throne, and are brought to life in the government’s legislative agenda.
I am privileged to play a part in the implementation of a major change to Canadian society, and to help ensure the Canadian Human Rights Act remains a cornerstone of our democracy.
National Post
David Langtry is acting chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
< http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/06/19/chrc-commissioner-david-langtry-were-more-relevant-than-ever/#more-82195 >
Tags: crime prevention, disabilities, Indigenous, participation, rights, standard of living
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 at 10:20 am and is filed under Child & Family Policy Context. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Recent Comments