Alberta Human Rights Information Service November 4, 2003
In this issue:
Commission news
Notable court decisions from other jurisdictions
Alberta Community Development diversity news
Other human rights and diversity news:
Commission news
The Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission Diversity Leadership Award of Distinction is one of the Alberta Business Awards of Distinction, which are hosted by the Alberta Chambers of Commerce in association with numerous corporate sponsors. You are invited to apply if: your organization embraces diversity in the workforce, encourages respect and inclusion, and works toward eliminating discrimination and barriers to fair employment practices. Please submit your application by the deadline of Monday, November 17, 2003. The Diversity Leadership Award of Distinction has been funded with the support of the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund.
In the first six months of this fiscal year (April to September 2003), the Commission received 422 written complaints. This is the highest number of complaints ever received during this period in any fiscal year to date. Commission statistics for last fiscal year are available in the Commission's 2002-2003 Annual Review.
The Commission has revised its bylaws:
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Section 11 (1) has been changed to allow the respondent sufficient time to respond to submissions of the complainant and/or the director.
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The addition of a new Section 11 (2) allows for the panel to determine what evidence will be admitted.
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Section 19 has been revised to reflect an extension in the timeline for the panel to serve a copy of the decision or a statement of when the decision will be made. The timeline was previously 30 days; it is now 60 days.
The Commission has updated the annotated bibliography Exploring Human Rights with Children and Teens.
PLEASE NOTE: In the following sections of the newsletter, we publish news and information provided by other organizations. We also cite other Web sites related to human rights and diversity. The Commission is not responsible for the content provided by other organizations on their Websites or by other means. Comments or inquiries regarding these organizations or their Websites should be directed to the organization in question.
Notable court decisions from other jurisdictions
Reid et al v. Vancouver (City) et al 2003 BCSC 1348
This decision dealt with a complaint by employees of the Police Department of Vancouver that they were being discriminated against because they were women and were not treated equally to their counterparts in the Vancouver Fire Department. The argument was that employees in their job classification, who were mostly female, were paid less than their counterparts in the the fire department, who were mostly men. Both groups of employees (police and fire department) had different employers, but the source of their funding was from the identical source, the City of Vancouver. The Supreme Court of British Columbia conducted a judicial review of the Human Rights Tribunal's decision to dismiss the complaint.
The Court dealt with several issues of law as well as fact. In the comprehensive decision, the Court outlined the issues of standards of review and determined that the test to be applied in this case was one of reasonableness. In applying the standard of reasonableness, the Court decided that while the City may not have been the individuals who were responsible for the alleged discrimination, they were still the funding body who had the power to remedy the discrimination.
In overturning the decision of the tribunal and sending it back for reconsideration, the Court determined that the tribunal had found that there was evidence of differential rates of pay between the police (women) and fire department (men). The issue of the differential pay rates was the issue that had to be reconsidered by the tribunal.
The importance of this decision is that differentiation among employees' rate of pay based on a protected ground is something that all employers will have to consider. This can even apply to public employees who work in different departments or under a different collective agreement.
This unresolved 1986 pay differential complaint, which has just been returned to the BC Human Rights Tribunal, has been in arbitration, human rights and court processes for the past 17 years. The Human Rights Tribunal held 59 days of hearings into this complaint during 1997 and 1998.
Alberta Community Development diversity news
Alberta Community Development, in partnership with media sponsor Global Television, is launching the Make a Difference initiative to create awareness about the benefits of intercultural understanding.This awareness-raising activity also encourages Albertans to contribute to building a fair and respectful society through their own actions. The initiative begins on November 4, 2003 with a series of public service announcements on Global TV and the launch of the Make a Difference Web site. Visit the Web site at http://www.helpmakeadifference.com/ to view the public service announcements and learn how you can make a difference. The Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission is also a partner in this initiative. The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund provided funding support for the campaign.
The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund has released its 2002-2003 Annual Review.
Vitalize 2004 Annual Provincial Voluntary Sector Conference will be held in Edmonton, Alberta on June 10th, 11th and 12th, 2004. Vitalize 2004 is dedicated to recognizing the many faces of multiculturalism in Alberta and across Canada. The conference organizers are accepting proposals for sessions until the end of November 2003.
Other human rights and diversity news
Conferences and events
The Continuing Education Society of British Columbia is presenting Human Rights 2003, a course that will inform participants about the first direct access model human rights system in Canada. The BC Human Rights Commission was eliminated recently, and the new system has been operating since April 2003.
YouCAN presents its Fourth International Youth Conference on Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution. The conference will be held in Edmonton, Alberta from November 13 to 16, 2003. YouCAN!'s mission is to promote nationwide youth-led non-violent conflict resolution and violence prevention initiatives.
Workplace issues
Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers responsible for the Status of Women recently released the results of a key economic project. Workplaces that Work highlights bottom-line business reasons for making changes to workplace cultures to increase the recruitment, retention and promotion of skilled women workers.
Visit the Canadian Policy Research Networks' (CPRN) Web site to view the presentation Women's and Men's Quality of Work in the New Canadian Economy. This resource looks at the difference between what men and women want in a job.
The Progressive Aboriginal Relations Program, an initiative of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, provides "a way for businesses to earn the right to use an identifying hallmark indicating that they are committed to increasing Aboriginal employment, assisting business development, building individual capacity, and enhancing community relations. . . It is about creating mutual opportunities for Aboriginal people and the business community."
Statistics Canada recently released a new publication in its Evolving Workplace series. Empowering employees: A route to innovation investigates the relationship between workplace practices (for example, financial incentives such as compensation pay, as well as non-financial benefits such as employee involvement practices and training) and the innovative performance of Canadian firms. In addition to this new topic, the series covers topics such as gender pay differentials, a portrait of job vacancies in Canada, and part-time work and family-friendly practices in Canadian workplaces.
The Cultural Diversity Institute has posted Diversity in the Workplace on their Web site. Prepared by the Calgary Public Library, this is a list of resources that are available at the library.
Disability issues
Statistics Canada has released the Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental health and well-being. The survey reports that "as many Canadians suffer from major depression as from other leading chronic conditions, including heart disease, diabetes or a thyroid condition. While all mental health disorders could not be included, major depression was one of five mental health disorders assessed by the survey. The others were mania disorder, panic disorder, social phobia and agoraphobia, as well as alcohol and illicit drug dependence."
The Ontario Human Rights Commission has released its consultation report on issues affecting students with disabilities. The Opportunity to Succeed: Achieving barrier-free education for students with disabilities details the actions required to remedy the barriers faced by students with disabilities seeking accommodation of their disabilities in elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools throughout Ontario.
The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada has published Learning Disabilities and the Law: A Canadian Resource in response to the growing number of court cases involving learning disabilities. The publication is designed to help Canadians who have learning disabilities, parents of children who have learning disabilities, and other advocates for people with disabilities understand their legal rights and gain access to those rights.
The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada has also developed the Roadmap on Learning Disabilities for Employers. This resource provides employers who want to create and sustain an effective and motivated workforce with the most up-to-date information on learning disabilities and their impact on the workplace.
Multiculturalism and diversity issues
The Ethnic Diversity Survey: portrait of a multi-cultural Canada is a new Statistics Canada publication. The introduction to the publication states, "This article presents some key findings from a new survey, the Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS). It examines Canada's ethno-cultural mosaic in 2002, providing a portrait of the different generations of Canadians who today make up this country. It also analyses the level of attachment that people in the different generations and ethnic groups have to their own ethno-cultural backgrounds and to the broader Canadian society." One of the many findings reported was that "among the places and situations asked about, the most common situation where perceived discrimination or unfair treatment was experienced was at work or when applying for a job or promotion."
The new national Law Enforcement Aboriginal and Diversity Network (LEAD) is a joint initiative between the Multiculturalism Program at Canadian Heritage and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. The LEAD network responds to an urgent need for a coordinated approach by all policing agencies to better serve Aboriginal and diverse ethnic, racial, and religious communities. It will consist of police officers at the national, provincial/territorial, regional, municipal, and Aboriginal community levels across Canada. The goal is to create a network with the infrastructure to connect the officers so they can share best practices, establish links in the community, devise a Canadian training program, set up a Web site and an electronic newsletter, and conduct research.
Related Websites
Visit http://www.aniw.ca/, the Website of the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women. ANIW is a provincially based collective of immigrant women's organizations. ANIW provides a forum for member organizations to discuss relevant issues and facilitate the sharing of ideas between parties.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission has launched an Equity section on its Website to serve those with an interest in developing inclusive classrooms and workplaces. The site provides a window on the progress of equity sponsors and a forum for highlighting issues and best practices.
Due to confidentiality concerns, the Commission cannot reply
to complaints of discrimination using the Internet.
Please contact the Commission by telephone or regular mail
if you have a specific complaint.
The Commission will make publications available in accessible multiple formats upon request. Multiple formats provide access for people with disabilities who do not read conventional print.
