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Workplace Squabble Can Cost You Your House

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Created on Friday, 04 February 2011 05:09
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Many of those who support reforms to the human rights system are particularly troubled by Section 13 of the federal act, and similar provisions in provincial human rights codes. This section prohibits the publication of discriminatory speech, which is rightly viewed as a severe and unwarranted infringement on our freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. If there was a referendum on Section 13, there is little doubt that Canadians would want it scrapped.

But many of those who oppose Section 13 are lukewarm or supportive of the rest of the human rights legislation, along with the bureaucracy and quasi-judicial tribunals that they create. It is a tougher challenge to convince Canadians of the necessity to reform, replace, or remove these institutions in their entirety. The Commissions and Tribunals have for years engaged in successful public relations campaigns to trumpet their success and stoke fears of what might happen should their comfortable jobs be eliminated.

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Alberta Human Rights Panel Attempts to Create New Responsibilities for Employers

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Created on Friday, 28 January 2011 04:39
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The Alberta Court of Appeal recently struck down an Alberta Human Rights Panel decision that extended employer-employee human rights obligations to contractor arrangements. In its original decision, the AHRP was asked to rule whether Syncrude could be named as an employer in a complaint, even though the complainant worked for a subcontractor. The complaint centered on whether the project’s drug-testing requirements infringed upon the rights of an employee who was fired after failing a test.

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Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Probed for Toxic Work Environment

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Created on Thursday, 06 January 2011 17:41
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By Kathryn May, Postmedia News January 5, 2011: The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is facing an outpouring of anger from workers who complain of a toxic workplace that is undermining the quasi-judicial agency's ability to do its job. More than half of the 25-member staff, including middle and senior level managers, have left, taken sick leave or retired over the past year. At least three have filed formal harassment complaints. Unions representing workers confirmed they received numerous complaints of abuse of authority, intimidation and personal harassment. They say employees describe a work environment that has deteriorated "to the point of toxicity." Read More

Human rights agency's goal to lead Canada

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Created on Monday, 20 December 2010 17:40
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Saskatoon StarPhoneix, Dec 16 2010: Following is the viewpoint of Arnot, chief commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

Professor Ken Norman recently observed that the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission is "marching to a different drum" (SP, Dec.3). He is absolutely correct. The commission has proposed innovative changes to the Human Rights Code designed to give it the tools to provide the best service to Saskatchewan citizens. That is our goal. Read more

Tribunal dramatically expands family rights for desirable shifts

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Created on Thursday, 09 December 2010 17:37
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Howard Levitt, Financial Post (Dec 8, 2010): Is Canada becoming a nanny state? A recent decision by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal dramatically expanded employers' obligations to staff with children, and the impact could be far-reaching. Fiona Johnstone and her husband were border services officers at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Her job processing goods and travellers entering Canada was part of a 24-hour operation, with irregular rotating shifts and six different start times. Read more...

Freedom under attack in the name of human rights: group

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Created on Friday, 12 November 2010 20:50
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Toronto Sun: By Brian Lilley, Nov 12 2010 - OTTAWA - A new lobby group says it wants to warn Canadians that their fundamental freedoms – such as freedom of expression, belief, thought and religion - are being threatened by the groups sworn to uphold them.

The campaign, from a group called Stand Up For Freedom Canada, claims human rights commissions and tribunals at the federal and provincial level are a threat to Charter-protected rights for all Canadians.

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New Campaign Launched Opposing Canada’s Beleaguered Human Rights Commissions

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Created on Friday, 12 November 2010 17:47
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By Patrick B. Craine, VANCOUVER, B.C., November 11, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As Canada remembers today those fallen soldiers who offered their lives to preserve the country’s freedom, a new grassroots campaign is launching to protect those hard-won freedoms from a new and unlikely threat – our own government’s human rights commissions and tribunals.

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A golden opportunity to kill human-rights censorship

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Created on Friday, 12 November 2010 17:44
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Karen Selick, National Post · Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010: The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to reconsider 20-year-old jurisprudence that limits free speech. The case under appeal is The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission vs. William Whatcott.

Back in 2001 and 2002, Whatcott, a social conservative activist, distributed flyers in Regina and Saskatoon bearing headings such as "Keep Homosexuality out of Saskatoon's Public Schools" and "Sodomites in our Public Schools." He was hauled before the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission for having "exposed to hatred, ridiculed, belittled or affronted the dignity" of gays and lesbians, and was ordered to pay compensation totaling $17,500 to four complainants. That decision was upheld on its first appeal to the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench in 2007. But in February, 2010, three members of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal overturned it. Read more

Saskatchewan to Dissolve Tribunal

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Created on Wednesday, 03 November 2010 16:59
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Saskatchewan StarPhoenix, Oct 30 2010: The provincial government plans to introduce human rights legislation that will dissolve the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal in favour of having a court hear the complaints.

Justice Minister Don Morgan said the change, among other reforms to the Human Rights Code, is being undertaken at the suggestion of Judge David Arnot, chief commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. The commission is the body that receives human rights complaints and occasionally refers a matter to a tribunal for a hearing. "There seemed to be a lot of support for going forward with it so we felt it was an appropriate piece of legislation to bring at this time," said Morgan, whose Sask. Party government signalled its intent in the throne speech to move forward with changes, which were first discussed in the spring. Read more

Complaint dismissed against County Weekly News

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Created on Thursday, 28 October 2010 19:35
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October 27, 2010: PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY - The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has dismissed a complaint against the County Weekly News for an editorial that appeared in the paper in 2009. Alan Whiteley, a lawyer who lives in Picton, filed the complaint, arguing the contents of the editorial discriminated against an identifiable group — newly arrived "imports" to Prince Edward County. Adjudicator David A. Wright decided the tribunal "has no jurisdiction to scrutinize the content of newspaper editorials." Read more

More Articles...

  1. Alberta Continues Reformes With New Director
  2. Death of Kangaroo Court?
  3. Private Member's Bill to insert "Social Condition" into CHRA
  4. ARCHIVE: Ottawa urged to scrap hate speech law
  5. ARCHIVE: Canadian HRC Grilled in Parliamentary Committee