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Saskatchewan's justice minister has introduced legislation to eliminate the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal and transfer its power to a provincial court, sparking human rights concerns among labour groups and other interested parties.
On November 29, Justice Minister Don Morgan introduced amendments to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code that propose eliminating the tribunal and transferring its powers to the Court of Queen's Bench. The changes will allow the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to resolve more complaints through the use of alternate dispute resolution processes, while decreasing the use of litigation, says a statement from Saskatchewan Justice and Attorney General.
The court will "only hear cases when all other avenues of resolution have proved unable to address the issues," the statement says.
"The tribunal has played an important role in the human rights process since it was established in 2001," says Morgan in the statement. "Unfortunately, it is not always seen as being independent from the Commission. We believe this change will both strengthen confidence in the process and help reduce the lengthy timelines within the current process."
Bill 160, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2010, will allow the SHRC to seek more information from the complainant up front to ensure the complaint has merit before commencing the complaint resolution process. The bill also permits the SHRC's chief commissioner to direct the parties to mediation before holding a hearing and dismiss a complaint where a reasonable offer of settlement is made by the respondent, but the complainant refuses to settle, the statement says.
MLA concerned about "compulsory mediation"
The chief commissoner's power to enforce "compulsory mediation" is of particular concern to Frank Quennell, an NDP justice critic and MLA for Saskatoon Meewasin. "It wouldn't be coming as a human rights complaint if it was an equal power relationship," Quennell argues. "So I'm concerned about that. That may be as big an issue as transfer from tribunals to courts - whether people are going to be able to pursue their complaints or if they are going to be, in effect, compelled to compromise."
Quennell says that he has only quickly examined the bill and wants to "take a very close look" at all of its amendments. "We don't want to have a system where if you can't reach an acceptable agreement with somebody who is discriminating against you, 'Well, too bad,'" he says. "There really is no other recourse and that's where we are concerned the government is going," he says.
In addition to mediation obligations, the bill also proposes to reduce the limitation period in the human rights code from two years to one year, making investigations more timely and bringing the code in line with other provinces and federal human rights legislation, the statement says. The chief commissioner would be able to extend the limitation period in special situations where considered appropriate, the statement adds.
Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, argues that the bill "gives an enormous authority to the commissioner, who actually can dismiss a complaint without any right to appeal." Hubich adds that he believes the government should have conducted thorough and transparent consultations before any amendment to the code was made. "That's just a no-brainer," he says. "They haven't consulted in any way, shape or form on any of these issues that are so fundamental to workers' rights."
Furthermore, Hubich is concerned that the experience of human rights tribunal members, who "bring a special level of understanding to the table," will be lost if the changes go through.
Quennell says the bill will enter second reading in early December and could be passed in the legislature's spring 2011 session. Desirae Bernreuther, a spokeswoman for Saskatchewan Justice and Attorney General, says the bill will likely pass in the spring if approved, but before it is proclaimed, amendments must be made to the human rights code and notice must be provided to the human rights tribunal, Court of Queen's Bench and the general public.
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