ENFORCING HUMAN RIGHTS CLN4U

Human Rights The Charter applies to governments and their agencies, while the actions of individuals are governed by various pieces of human rights legislation While, generally speaking, discrimination is not allowed, all human rights codes allow for bona fide (made in good faith) occupational requirements However, an employer must attempt to accommodate an individual, as long as it doesn’t cause undue hardship

Affirmative Action Programs Affirmative action programs are controversial, as they are create favorable conditions for an identifiable group However, these programs are not considered discriminatory, as they are created to rectify past discrimination

Enforcement under the CHRA Complaints that fall under the CHRA must generally be filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission within one year of the incident If the event occurred earlier than one year, you can apply to the Commission for consideration In extenuating circumstances, the complaint may be pursued anyway

Enforcement under the CHRA If you feel you have a valid complaint, you contact the Commission and an officer determines if your complaint falls within their jurisdiction If it does, they send you a “complaint kit” The process goes like this:

Step 1: Mediation Most legitimate cases are sent to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Services Branch to consider mediation If mediation is accepted and successful, the Commissioner will review the resolution to ensure it is in the public interest If mediation is not accepted, the case will be sent to an investigator If mediation is not successful, the case will be sent to an investigator

Step 2: Investigation The investigator will interview both parties as well as any witnesses to the issue The investigator then prepares a report, which is presented to the Commission

Step 3: CHRC Evaluation The Commission evaluates the report, and if they feel there is adequate evidence to support the complaint, the case is sent to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal There are up to eight commissioners at a time Various professional backgrounds The Chief Commissioner and Deputy Chief Commissioner have terms of not more than seven years (these are the only full-time commissioners) Balance of men and women

Step 4: The Tribunal The Tribunal holds public hearings, which are very similar in format to a trial The Tribunal will decide whether discrimination occurred under the provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act Appropriate remedies will be granted

Appeals? If either party wishes to appeal the decision of the Tribunal, they would apply to the Federal Court of Canada

More on discrimination… Racial Profiling

Usually defined in a law enforcement context One study published in the Canadian Review of Policing Research defined it as "a racial disparity in police stop and search practices, customs searches at airports and border-crossings, in police patrols in minority neighbourhoods and in undercover activities or sting operations which target particular ethnic groups."

Racial Profiling The Ontario Human Rights Commission takes a broader approach, defining it as "any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin rather than on reasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment."

Non-Law Enforcement Profiling The OHRC gives some non-police-related examples of what it considers racial profiling: School officials suspend a Latino child for violating the school's zero tolerance policy while a white child's behaviour is excused as being normal child's play. An employer insists on stricter security clearance for a Muslim employee after the Sept. 11 attacks. A bar refuses to serve aboriginal customers because of a belief they will get drunk and rowdy.

Racial Profiling The key here is that authorities are executing some discretion If police stopped every single car, there could be no argument for racial profiling Racial profiling is based on the assumption that members of certain ethnic groups are disproportionately more likely to be involved in certain criminal activities

Evidence? A 2002 investigation by the Toronto Star suggested that blacks in Toronto were over- represented in certain offence categories like drug possession and in what were called "out-of- sight" traffic violations, such as driving without a licence The analysis also suggested that black suspects were more likely to be held in custody for a bail hearing, while white suspects facing similar charges were more likely to be released at the scene.

Evidence? A study of police statistics in Kingston, Ont., released in May 2005 found that young black and aboriginal men were more likely to be stopped than other groups The data showed that police in the predominantly white city were 3.7 times more likely to stop a black as a Caucasian, and 1.4 times more likely to stop an aboriginal person than a white

Evidence? Many other studies in the United States and Britain suggest that racial profiling does exist In England, police routinely record the racial background of everyone stopped and searched by police Stats from found that black people were stopped and searched at a rate of 142 per 1,000 Whites were stopped and searched at a rate of just 19 per 1,000