So, are Human Rights Commissions working the way they are supposed to?

• Author: Dickson, Gary

The Canadian Human Rights Commission is undertaking a year long nation-wide consultation on its practices and operation. The Canadian Human Rights Act, 1977 protects against discriminatory acts committed by the federal government, businesses, and individuals in areas of federal jurisdictions such as banking and telecommunications. The Commission is responsible to implement and apply the Act. At least part of the impetus for this review was a number of recommendations from the Auditor General. The review will consider the powers and process of the Commission as well as the basis by which the process is triggered. The Review Panel is required to consider what changes might be necessary to address systemic discrimination as well as individual cases of discrimination.

At the same time, at the provincial level, recent reports question the effectiveness and the accessibility of the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission. The purpose of the reports was to analyze the access and communication needs of the Alberta Commission's complainant populations and to formulate recommendations for meeting these needs.

Tinkering with human rights legislation has been evident for a number of years at both federal and provincial levels. The federal Act was amended in 1996 to add sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Persons with disabilities more recently received additional protection.

The Alberta Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act was itself the product of a number of changes in 1995. There were changes to rename and to update the former Individual Rights Protection Act and to improve the operation of the Commission. The Alberta Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act deals with discrimination in the areas of employment, accommodation, advertising for employment, and services customarily available to the public.

One of the challenges faced by both federal and Alberta Commissions is how to balance two very different roles. One is to provide legal recourse to citizens who have experienced discrimination. The other role is to change broader kinds of discrimination in the community. Irwin Cotler, a prominent Canadian human rights advocate, has described the challenge as one of developing a "culture of human rights, a human rights sensibility".

So, are we there yet? The short answer is no. In fact, the experience of the Alberta Commission is that the number of complaints to the Commission is lower than would...