Alberta Human Rights Information Service November 1, 2005

In this issue:

Commission news

Alberta Community Development human rights and diversity news

Other human rights and diversity news:
Alberta news
Other Canadian news

Commission news

  1. Educational workshops: The Commission is offering public workshops on human rights in the workplace. The workshops are designed to help employers, employees and organizations create respectful and inclusive work environments and to demonstrate the impact of human rights legislation in the workplace. See the schedule.

  2. Call for nominations for Diversity Leadership Award of Distinction: The Alberta Business Awards of Distinction are accepting applications for the 2005 Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission Diversity Leadership Award of Distinction. Businesses and organizations that embrace diversity in their workforce, encourage respect and inclusion, and work toward eliminating discrimination and barriers to fair employment practices are encouraged to submit an application. Businesses, not-for-profit and public sector organizations are all eligible. There is no cost to submit an application. Awards will be made in two categories: one for larger employers, and one for small and medium-sized employers. Deadline for entries is close of business, November 16, 2005.

  3. The Commission recently updated its website with these panel decisions:

    Leona Smith v. Fawcett Truck Stop (Remedy) (September 27, 2005; Diane Colley-Urquhart, Panel Chair)

    Ayris v. Volker Stevin Contracting Ltd. (August 26, 2005; HColonel (Ret.d) Delano W. Tolley, Panel Chair)

    Les Halter v. Ceda-Reactor Limited (Remedy) (July 28, 2005; Beth Bryant, Panel Chair)

  4. Court decisions

    Alberta Court of Appeal upholds broad role of the chief commissioner in human rights process:

    The roles of the Commission investigator and the chief commissioner were discussed in three recent Alberta court decisions.

    In August, the Alberta Court of Appeal released its reasons for judgment in two cases heard concurrently: Economic Development Edmonton v. Wong, 2005 ABCA 278 and Economic Development Edmonton v. Baah, 2005 ABCA 279. In Wong, the complainant alleged that she was not paid as much as male chefs doing similar work. The chief commissioner disagreed with the investigation report and the director's dismissal of the complaint and found there were issues in the complaint that could only be thoroughly examined at a panel hearing. Accordingly, the chief commissioner appointed a human rights panel to hear the complaint. The employer appealed, arguing that the chief commissioner could not revisit the factual underpinnings of the investigation report. In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal stated that the chief commissioner's decision was subject to the standard of review of reasonableness. The court emphasized that the chief commissioner's role is one of gate keeping, mindful that the panel is charged with the responsibility to assess credibility and weigh evidence. However, the court also stated that the chief commissioner's duties include evaluating the quality of the evidence gathered by the investigator. The court further commented that both the investigator and the chief commissioner could assess credibility to some degree and that the chief commissioner could take into account fresh evidence not considered by the investigator.

    In Baah, the Court of Appeal held that the same principles of judicial review enunciated in Wong applied. In Baah, the complainant was terminated from employment after receiving a lump sum payment and signing a release. The complainant alleged discrimination on the basis of race. As in Wong, the employer appealed the dismissal of its judicial review application regarding the chief commissioner's decision to refer the complaint to panel for hearing. The chief commissioner decided there was good and sufficient reason to advance the case to the panel hearing stage. The Court of Appeal held that the chief commissioner's decision was reasonable and accordingly dismissed the appeal.

    In September, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench released its decision in Neumann v. Alberta (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission), 2005 ABQB 694. There, the complainant sought judicial review of the chief's refusal to appoint a human rights panel to hear Neumann's complaint. Mr. Neumann was terminated from his employment, in part, because of his objectionable body odour, which he argued was the result of his having suffered childhood polio. The chief commissioner dismissed the complaint because there was no evidence presented by the complainant linking his objectionable body odour to physical disability. In dismissing the application, the court held that the investigation was thorough and the decision of the chief commissioner was reasonable. The court commented that the chief commissioner and the investigator were reasonably entitled to attach some significance to the complainant's refusal to allow the investigator to interview the complainant's physician regarding a possible medical link to the complainant's body odour.

    Court clarifies duty of employer to act reasonably in the accommodation process and in requests for medical information:

    Gary Trick v. Federated Co-operatives Ltd.-Panel Decision-February, 2005; Appeal to Alberta Court of Queen's Bench referenced as Alberta (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission) v. Federated Co-operatives Limited, 2005 ABQB 587

    Gary Trick was a 16-year employee of Federated Co-operatives who went on disability leave. He attempted to return approximately 10 months later after intensive treatment for bipolar disorder. Federated asked Trick to fill out some company-initiated medical forms; however, the doctors would not fill out these types of forms. Trick advised Federated of this problem. Cooperators, the disability insurer for Federated, arranged a medical assessment, which Mr. Trick attended. Cooperators then advised Federated that Mr. Trick was cleared to work with no restrictions; however, Cooperators did not forward the actual doctor's letters to Federated. Federated received a copy of a letter from Cooperators addressed to Mr. Trick stating that Mr. Trick was medically cleared to work with no restrictions and that, as Federated was not able to accommodate Mr. Trick, Mr. Trick was to mitigate his damages. When Mr. Trick received the letter, he telephoned Federated, and they refused to accommodate him without the company-initiated forms being filled out.

    The panel decided that the requirement of the forms was justified on the basis of safety and that Mr. Trick was responsible for the non-accommodation because he did not provide medical information. On appeal, however, the Court of Queen's Bench found that the panel's decision was not supported by the evidence and must be overturned. The court found that: Mr. Trick did not know that Federated required additional information; Federated did not request any further medical evidence; and Mr. Trick in fact cooperated with the Federated to the extent he was able in providing medical information. The court ordered Federated to pay compensation to Mr. Trick for lost wages, top-up wages, loss of pension, and general damages in the amount of $6000, plus interest and costs.

    Court reinforces importance of employers' duty to comply with their own policies:

    In Alberta (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission) v. Elizabeth Metis Settlement, 2005 ABCA 173, the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned previous Court of Queen's Bench and human rights panel decisions, which had allowed the dismissal of employees who refused to drug test. The employer, Elizabeth Métis Settlement, had required employees in the administrative offices of the Settlement to be drug tested prior to implementing a random drug and alcohol testing policy. The Settlement stated that the policy was being put into place in an effort to deal with the problem of widespread alcohol and drug use in the community. Two employees who worked in administrative positions refused to undergo drug and alcohol testing, and the Settlement fired them. The employees each brought a human rights complaint against the employer.

    At both the human rights panel hearing and Court of Queen's Bench, the Settlement defended the drug testing as pursuant to the drug and alcohol policy that they were implementing in the community. The Court of Queen's Bench found that the policy was discriminatory on its face, however, it decided that the policy was a necessary requirement for the job in the case of this community, where drug and alcohol abuse and dependency were a serious community problem.

    The Alberta Court of Appeal, however, overturned the previous decisions. The court decided that the testing was not in accordance with the policy because the policy only allowed for testing of employees in safety-sensitive positions, and there was no evidence to support the employer's assertion that the administrative positions in question were safety-sensitive. Further, the Settlement's stated goal of addressing general drug and alcohol use in the community was not set out in the policy and could not now be used as justification for the testing. Since the Settlement indicated that it might have other grounds on which to justify the testing, the court referred the complaints back to a human rights panel to consider other reasons the Settlement had for the testing.

  5. Re-appointment of commissioner: Lori Andreachuk, QC, has been reappointed as a member of the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission. See the Order in Council. Read the biographies of all commissioners.

  6. New publications: The Commission has developed two publications to help the parties involved in human rights complaints understand the Commission's complaint process:

    The Human Rights Complaint Process: A guide for complainants

    The Human Rights Complaint Process: A guide for respondents

    The Commission recently posted the Human Rights Awareness and Education Survey in English and French. This survey provides information about human rights awareness and educational initiatives undertaken by member commissions and fair practice offices of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA) between 1998 and March 2003. Read the reports:
    / (English)
    / French)

  7. Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism: Together with other human rights commissions across Canada, the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission is providing support in principle for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO's (CCU) proposal to establish a Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism. The proposal shares 10 common commitments for combating racism in areas including community development, employment, policing, housing, culture, and education, among others. The Commission is also a member of a Canadian Commission for UNESCO Pan-Canadian Working Group of government and non-governmental organizations that has prepared a Preliminary Proposal Calling for a Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism. This work in Canada is part of an International Coalition of Cities Against Racism--an initiative launched by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to establish a network of cities around the world interested in sharing experiences in order to improve their policies to fight racism, discrimination, exclusion and intolerance. Recent presentations on the initiative were made at the Alberta Community Economic Development Network Conference in Red Deer (October 17-19, 2005) and at the 10th Annual Metropolis Conference in Toronto (October 17-21, 2005).

PLEASE NOTE: In the following sections of the newsletter, we publish news and information provided by other organizations. We also cite other websites related to human rights and diversity. The Commission provides this information as a service and is not responsible for the content provided by other organizations on their websites or by other means. Please direct comments or inquiries regarding these organizations or their websites to the organization in question.

Alberta Community Development human rights and diversity news

  1. Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund:

The HRCM Education Fund provides financial assistance to community organizations that are undertaking human rights and diversity initiatives that lead to change.

Application forms for the Alberta Award for the Study of Canadian Human Rights and Multiculturalism are now available through the Alberta Learning Information Service (ALIS) website. This $10,000 award is made annually to a graduate student attending an Alberta post-secondary institution whose area of study will contribute to the advancement of human rights, cultural diversity and multiculturalism. The deadline for applications is March 1. This award was made possible through the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund.

The University of Alberta is hosting the One Vision/Many Voices Conference from November 17 to 19, 2005. This cross-cultural, anti-racism educational conference "envisions an educational system which brings together multiple voices to support and build inclusive and equitable learning environments. These learning environments will reflect a deep understanding of, and commitment to, a just ethical and caring community." (--from the conference website) The HRCM Education Fund is one of the conference funders.

You can read more about projects that the HRCM Education Fund has funded.

  1. New resources available on the Help Make a Difference website:

    DVD discussion guide

    34 ways to build stronger, better relationships between people of all backgrounds

    Read about the Help Make a Difference initiative.

  2. Significant days:

    International Day of Tolerance, November 16
    "At the initiative of UNESCO, 1995 was declared the United Nations Year for Tolerance, and it saw the launching of a world-wide campaign for tolerance and non-violence. The International Day for Tolerance grew out of the momentum of that Year."(--from the UNESCO website) UNESCO has published 10 ideas for observing the International Day of Tolerance. 

    International Day of Disabled Persons, December 3
    International Day of Disabled Persons, proclaimed by the United Nations, celebrates and acknowledges the experience and capabilities of people with disabilities.

    National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, December 6
    "Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, [the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women]  coincides with the sad anniversary of the death of fourteen young women who were tragically killed on December 6, 1989 at l'École Polytechnique in Montréal because of their gender."(--from the Status of Women Canada website)

    International Human Rights Day, December 10
    The Commission encourages Albertans to plan ahead for International Human Rights day. The Commission's Human Rights Day Kit offers ideas on how to celebrate Human Rights Day and how to plan educational activities related to human rights.

    See the list of significant days on the Help Make a Difference website.

Other human rights and diversity news

Alberta news

  1. Order of Canada awarded to former commissioner: Muriel Stanley Venne, a former commissioner of the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission, has been named as a member of the Order of Canada. Read the announcement. Read her biography from the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women website.

  2. Alberta Human Resources and Employment has published several new educational publications with information on human rights topics:

    Welcome to Alberta: Information for Immigrants includes information on human rights.

    Talking About Invisible Disabilities

    Human Rights and You: What can employers ask?

    Sexual harassment: What you need to know

  3. Alberta's new social studies curriculum: Kindergarten to Grade 3 students will be introduced to a new provincial social studies curriculum with an increased focus on citizenship, identity and Canadian history. Read the news release.

Other Canadian news

  1. Study finds systemic discrimination against aboriginal students: A study released by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) and prepared by the Aboriginal Institutes' Consortium, representing eight aboriginal post-secondary education and training institutes in Ontario, has found that there is a consistent pattern of systemic discrimination in the way the federal and provincial governments handles the education of aboriginal students. Read the news release. Read the study.

  2. Ontario reviews its human rights system: The Ontario Human Rights Commission released a Consultation Report in October called Strengthening Ontario's Human Rights System: What We Heard. It reflects the feedback of a broad range of individuals and organizations that participated in a critical review of Ontario's human rights system. Read the news release.

  3. BC releases strategic framework on multiculturalism and elimination of racism: The publication states that"the purpose of the Strategic Framework for Action is to identify opportunities to improve the quality and effectiveness of British Columbians' approaches to the promotion of multiculturalism and the elimination of racism."

 

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