“If we can’t use the law to stand up for our rights—and to defend the rights of others—then our rights are meaningless. Access to justice is as basic a human right as our right to safety, to security, to freedom of expression.”
Chief Commissioner Marie-Claude Landry, 2017
The central principle of Canada’s federal human rights law is that it is available to everyone no matter their financial circumstances. When Parliament created the Canadian Human Rights Act, it was intended to be the most affordable remedy available to Canadians when they experience discrimination.
In a recent case before the Supreme Court of Canada, known as Matson and Andrews, the right to use this remedy to challenge a discriminatory law was called into question.
The Commission argued that anyone who has been denied access to a government benefit because of a discriminatory law has the right to argue their case before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. This option is a more affordable and accessible alternative to a Charter challenge. Without this right, these people would have to initiate and fund a Charter challenge to change their situation – a costly and daunting undertaking for anyone, let alone someone experiencing financial difficulty.
The case has far reaching implications as it could determine the level to which people in vulnerable circumstances are able to access the justice system. Advocacy groups and legal aid clinics – representing Indigenous people, women, persons with disabilities, racialized groups, as well as low-income and other marginalized populations – also intervened in the case.
The Supreme Court’s decision is expected in the summer of 2018.
The Commission continued to work on behalf of vulnerable prisoners: Indigenous women; people illegally in Canada; inmates with mental disabilities; trans inmates; and people being held in solitary confinement. Through mediation settlements, work with Correctional Service Canada, public messaging and Parliamentary appearances, the Commission continued to call for federal leadership and action to improve how vulnerable offenders are treated within the Canadian justice system.
Over the past few years, the Commission has heard directly from its stakeholders and from individuals across Canada that its complaint process was too difficult, too complex, too intimidating.
During this last year, the Commission revamped its website and launched an interactive online complaint form to make it easier to find human rights information and to file a complaint. The Commission also established a Registrar’s office to help complainants navigate the complaint process.
The new online complaint form has resulted in an unprecedented engagement with our website and complaint process, which immediately confirmed that many people needed a clearer and simpler way to access information and submit complaints.
“When we threw open our doors, we discovered a large number of people who had been looking for support online,” said Marie-Claude Landry. “We are working as fast as we can to give these people the answers and support they need. We are continuing to explore ways to respond to this heightened demand for help navigating the human rights process in Canada.”
This improved online presence is providing real-time information about the reasons people visit the website and access the Commission’s complaint process – from not receiving services because of disability, to being denied employment because of race. This data will help guide the Commission in future policy development and resource allocation – helping all human rights defenders better understand the human rights landscape.
“When we threw open our doors, we discovered a large number of people who had been looking for support online. We are working as fast as we can to give these people the answers and support they need. We are continuing to explore ways to respond to this heightened demand for help navigating the human rights process in Canada.”
Chief Commissioner Marie-Claude Landry, 2017
October 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017
When the Commission made its complaint process easier and more accessible, there was an immediate spike in the number of inquiries and the number of submitted complaints. Here is what the first three months looked like:
