Alberta Human Rights Information Services June 27, 2007

In this issue:

Human rights and diversity news from Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture

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

Commission news

The Commission has recently updated its website with these panel decisions:

Robert Baum v. City of Calgary (June 20, 2007; Delano W. Tolley, CD, Panel Chair)

Dennis "Lee" Warren v. Western Canadian Industries Limited (May 23, 2007; Beth Bryant, Panel Chair)

Mark Abrams v. Calgary Board of Education (April 10, 2007; Lori G. Andreachuk, Q.C., Panel Chair)
Summary of important court decisions related to human rights:

Laidlaw Transit Ltd., operating as Yellow Cab v. The Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission and Donna Martyn 2006 ABQB 874
Important decision about discrimination on the basis of physical disability:
The complainant alleged discrimination after she was unable to obtain 24-hour wheelchair accessible taxi service. A panel held it had jurisdiction over the City on the basis that the City and Taxi Commission (ETC) were "persons" and "service providers," and found discrimination which was neither reasonable nor justifiable. The respondent City sought a declaration from the Court that the Commission panel did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate on the issue as against the City and the ETC. Further, it argued the panel erred in finding discrimination and that the discrimination was neither reasonable nor justified. The Court found that the panel did not err in finding discrimination against the City and the ETC. There did not appear to be any evidence of hardship to the taxi companies themselves with respect to any steps that might be taken by the taxi companies to ensure taxi service for disabled persons such as is customarily available to the public. The panel was correct in finding the discrimination was not reasonable and justifiable in the circumstances as accommodation was not shown by any of the parties to have been made to the point of undue hardship.

Two court decisions regarding concurrent jurisdiction of the Commission:
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 583 v. City of Calgary and Labour Arbitration Board 2007 ABCA 121
An arbitration board had declared that it had exclusive jurisdiction over the Commission with respect to this particular grievance. The Commission intervened at Court of Queen's Bench, and the Court said that based on an analysis recently outlined by the Supreme Court of Canada, an arbitration board could not oust the jurisdiction of the Commission. The union did not raise the discrimination issue directly, and the Court said the discrimination should be a separate issue before the Commission. The employer appealed, and the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal saying that the arbitration board and the Commission had concurrent jurisdiction.

Calgary Health Region v. Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission and Diana Hurkens- Reurink 2007 ABCA 120
Here the union directly raised the discrimination issue before the arbitration board. The arbitration board said there was concurrent jurisdiction between the board and the Commission. Both the union and the employer appealed, and the employer judicially reviewed the Commission Director's decision to proceed with the complaint. The three matters were heard together at Queen's Bench, and the Court held that the arbitration board had jurisdiction over all issues. The Commission and the union appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that there was concurrent jurisdiction between the arbitration board and the Commission. The Court of Appeal found there was concurrent jurisdiction, and it was a mistake in law to say the arbitration board had exclusive jurisdiction. The Court did say that the arbitration board was a better fit in the fact scenario of Hurkens-Reurink to proceed with the case given the other employment issues; however, the Commission was not barred from proceeding with the complaint.

Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony 2007 ABCA 160
Hutterite's Charter rights upheld:
The Province appealed a chambers judge's holding the mandatory photograph requirement for a driver's licence infringed the respondent Hutterites' Charter rights to freedom of religion and equality. In 2003, the Province eliminated the regulatory exception which allowed the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to grant individuals exemptions to the photo requirement on religious grounds. The appeal was dismissed. The majority held the chambers judge did not err in concluding that the regulatory amendment, which created a mandatory photo requirement for drivers' licences, constituted an unjustified infringement of the respondents' Charter rights. Even if rationally connected to a valid objective, the regulation removing the Registrar's discretion to grant non-photo licences did not minimally impair the rights of the respondents. Their rights were totally infringed while the risk of harm was minimal. The Charter infringements caused by the regulation could not be justified. The Province is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Meeting Your Duty To Accommodate Conference: The Commission's Senior Legal Counsel, Audrey Dean, is presenting at an upcoming Infonex Conference, Meeting Your Duty to Accommodate: Strategies for Exceptional Accommodation Management on August 21 and 22, 2007 in Calgary. The session entitled Recent Legal Issues and Other Emerging Trends will include updates and developments on recent accommodation cases, arbitration rules and jurisprudence, as well as employer's and employee's obligations regarding accommodation.

PLEASE NOTE: In the following sections of the newsletter, we publish news and information provided by other organizations. We also link to 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.

Human rights and diversity news from Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture

June 27 is Canadian Multiculturalism Day: Canadian Multiculturalism Day is intended to bring Canadians together in order to strengthen mutual understanding and respect. We are encouraged to celebrate the achievements and history of all Canadians and to participate fully in the life of our country. The importance of multiculturalism is recognized in the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act as a fundamental principle and a matter of public policy that "all Albertans should share in an awareness and appreciation of the diverse racial and cultural composition of society and that the richness of life in Alberta is enhanced by sharing that diversity." Charlach Mackintosh, Chief Commissioner, will be attending the City of Edmonton's public event where they will sign the declaration of the Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination. Thomas Lukaszuk, MLA Edmonton-Castle Downs and Chair of the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund, will be presenting the City with a cheque from the Education Fund to support their work on this initiative. The Commission has been a champion of the Coalition in Alberta and recently co-hosted the national launch of the Coalition, held in Calgary earlier in June. Read more.
Other Significant Days:

June 21 was National Aboriginal Day: Canadians had an opportunity to celebrate the rich cultures and contributions to Canada of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples on National Aboriginal Day. Many events were held across the country. Read more.

August 6 is Alberta Heritage Day: Celebrated annually, Alberta Heritage Day recognizes and celebrates the province's cultural heritage. This special day has been recognized since 1974, when legislation was passed to dedicate the first Monday of August as Alberta Heritage Day.

September 21 is International Day of Peace:
United Nations member countries are calling for worldwide observance of a 24-hour cease-fire and a day of peace and non-violence on September 21. Read more. To learn more about various events and observances planned around the world, visit this website.

See the list of significant days on the Help Make a Difference website.
The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund:

The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund provides financial assistance to organizations that are making changes in their communities to help foster equality, promote fairness and encourage the inclusion of all Albertans in the economic, social and cultural life of the province.

Increase in funding: The HRCM Education Fund received a $400,000 increase in funding in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. The additional funding raises the budget of the Education Fund to $2.2 million, and will supplement grants and support services for community groups and public institutions that help build inclusive communities. Read the news release.

Grant application deadline: The next deadline for grant applications for the HRCM Education Fund is October 1, 2007.

Scholarship awarded: A University of Calgary PhD student was granted the Alberta Award for the Study of Canadian Human Rights and Multiculturalism to support her studies, which aim to improve the educational achievement of immigrants who are learning English. The annual $10,000 scholarship was created to help develop expertise about effective ways to reduce discrimination and to support the full participation of Albertans in all aspects of life. The HRCM Education Fund provided funds to create an endowment for this scholarship. Read the news release.
Recent projects completed:
- With support from the HRCM Education Fund, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) has developed an online resource, Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Toolkit, designed to support municipalities wanting to combat racism and discrimination and build welcoming and inclusive communities. It will be helpful to both municipalities that join the Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination (CMARD), as well as those that decide not to join, but want to take action to create social inclusion. The toolkit aligns closely with the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission's goals to foster equality and reduce racism and discrimination. The Commission has led the development of CMARD in Alberta.
- The HRCM Education Fund helped fund a number of the learning resources found on The Alberta Online Encyclopedia, developed by the Heritage Community Foundation and the Famous 5 Foundation. These learning resources include those described below.
  
  Understanding Canadian Diversity in Alberta Edukit is a tool for students and teachers that was developed to help improve understanding of Canadian multiculturalism, human rights, and diversity in Alberta. A variety of Edukits are offered on the site, covering topics including the history, Canadian settlement, culture and issues of various enthnocultural groups in Canada.
  
  Black Heritage and Latino Canadian are two of the Heritage Diversity Edukits that the HRCM Education Fund supported.
  
  The HRCM Education Fund also helped to enhance the Famous 5 Edukit, which was developed to encourage students to become creative in their approach to communicating ideas and developing problem solving skills for eradicating racism and discrimination. Funding was also given to support in-service training for teachers to encourage use of the website and Edukit.
- The Boys and Girls Clubs of Alberta received a grant from the HRCM Education Fund to identify barriers to establishing successful Boys and Girls Clubs on First Nations reserves. The report entitled Enhancing and Expanding Boys and Girls Club Services for Aboriginal Children, Youth and Families: An Exploration of Needs and Possibilities is the result of a collaborative process with identified Aboriginal communities. The study assessed current issues and needs of the youth from First Nations communities. During the project, awareness about the benefits of Boys and Girls Clubs was increased in those communities and among the youth and the adults. With the help of the Aboriginal community, the organization reviewed and assessed the Boys and Girls Club model for cultural appropriateness, relevancy, and effectiveness.
Read about other projects that the HRCM Education Fund has funded.
2006 Queen's Golden Jubilee Citizenship Medal: Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong and Hector Goudreau, Minister of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture, presented the 2006 Queen's Golden Jubilee Citizenship Medal to eight high school students from across Alberta. The recipients received royal recognition for their outstanding contributions to their communities through good citizenship, leadership, community service and volunteerism. In addition to receiving a citizenship medal, each award recipient received a letter of commendation and a $5,000 scholarship. Read the news release and background information about the recipients.

Other human rights and diversity news

Alberta news

New immigration agreement: A new Agreement for Canada Alberta Cooperation on Immigration was recently signed by the Alberta government. One of the highlights of the agreement includes Alberta's ability to nominate more immigrants possessing skills needed in the province for quicker processing by the federal government. A new pilot project will also be in place to speed up the entry of certain foreign health-care professionals who have applied to come to Alberta. Canada and Alberta will also enjoy enhanced cooperation in overseas immigration marketing initiatives. Read the news release.
Service Dogs Act amendment: The Alberta legislature recently passed a bill that protects Albertans with disabilities who use service dogs from being discriminated against or denied access or services. The bill also gives service dog owners an identification card to prove they have certified service dogs. The law will take effect January 1, 2009. Read the Service Dogs Act and the amendment.
Bullying in the workplace online resources: Two new tip sheets focusing on bullying in the workplace are available online from Employment, Immigration and Industry. The tip sheets define bullying, its effects, and how to identify and deal with bullying:

Bullies at Work: What To Know, What You Can Do
Employers: What You Need To Know About Bullying in the Workplace
Reach Out, Speak Up! Ignite Change Now: The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights presents Reach Out, Speak Up! Ignite Change Now, a youth forum to be held in Edmonton on August 1-4, 2007. This forum will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss and strategize how to break down barriers and prejudice and to understand the link between local and global issues. The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund provided funding to support the youth leadership training that will begin prior to the forum and for reaching out to other youth following the event. The Education Fund also supported the development of the educational resources to continue this work.
Cultural Collaborations-Voices Less Heard: Voices Less Heard is a program designed to use the arts to give expression to voices less heard within the Edmonton community. From the Voices Less Heard guidelines: "The Cultural Collaborations program will bring imaginative people and committed people together to create new art, and new possibilities for our city. We encourage people in diverse communities to gather the stories that matter most to them, and work with a professional artist, curator, historian or researcher to share their imaginative vision with Edmonton's citizens." Grant applications are available.
Human Trafficking Symposium: The Alberta Coalition Against Human Trafficking presents The Alberta Symposium on Human Trafficking, to be held October 12-14, 2007 in Red Deer. From the symposium's brochure: "Besides providing the general public with a basic understanding of human trafficking, the symposium will begin to develop a human trafficking protocol for the province of Alberta by bringing together key stakeholders in government agencies, law enforcement, faith-based groups, service agencies and the immigrant-serving community." Victor Malarek, keynote speaker, is an award-winning Canadian journalist, and the author of The Natashas: The New Global Sex Trade.

The symposium is the first phase of a larger project that endeavors to engage, inform and educate the community about human trafficking, in particular the effects it has on women and its possible inherent racism and exploitation. The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund has provided financial support for the project.

Canadian news

Family status resources from the Ontario Human Rights Commission: The Ontario Human Rights Commission recently released Policy and Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Family Status, along with the report The Cost of Caring, which elaborates on the Commission's research and public consultation on issues related to the ground of family status.
Four related fact sheets are also available:

Human Rights and Family Status
Family Status and the Ontario Human Rights Code
Employment Discrimination Based on Family Status
Housing and Family Status
Report on the needs of Muslim students: The Canadian Federation of Students released a report on the needs of Muslim students. The report was compiled based on the statements of nearly 1,000 Muslim students at Ontario colleges and universities, and in consultation with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Recommendations are made for improved responsiveness to the growing Muslim community at colleges and universities and on the issue of Islamophobia on campuses. The report examines positive approaches currently in place at some institutions and provides recommendations for improvement. Read the report.

International news

40 measures for combating racism at school: The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe published its General Policy Recommendation No. 10 on Combating Racism and Racial Discrimination in and Through School Education. This recommendation proposes 40 concrete measures to ensure free education for all, combat racism at school, and train teachers to work in a multicultural environment. Read the recommendations.
Human rights syllabi website: The Amnesty International USA Educators Network, in conjunction with the Interdisciplinary Studies Field Major at University of California-Berkeley, have created a human rights syllabi website. This website is a collection of human rights syllabi designed for college and university instructors. It includes over 100 syllabi used in human rights courses currently or recently offered in colleges and universities in the United States and other countries. Learn more about the website and read the table of contents. Instructors are invited to submit their syllabus for posting on the website to ritam@berkeley.edu

Related publications

All Different - All Equal: The Council of Europe has produced a campaign guide to support the Youth Campaign for Diversity, Human Rights and Participation, All Different - All Equal. The goal of the campaign is to bring attention to the issues of diversity, participation and human rights and the methods used to address them. The guide is intended to support campaigners, activists and educators, and is available online.

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.

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Alberta Human Rights Information Services June 27, 2007