Rights and wrongs

The Star reports that a government is planning to limit the scope of human rights investigations. It may sound like a Con effort to try to roll back federal human rights gains...but in fact, the culprit is Ontario's provincial government:

The provincial Liberal government will announce sweeping reforms to the Ontario Human Rights Commission as early as today, sources told the Toronto Star.

Among the changes expected are curbs on the rights body's role as a gatekeeper by limiting the need for it to conduct its own investigations. That would streamline the process and enable complainants to bring their cases directly to a tribunal...

Attorney General Michael Bryant, who was not available for comment yesterday, has been hankering to revamp the commission so complainants would have the same speedy access to a human rights hearing that they do at the labour relations board, small-claims court and other such tribunals.

Bryant's proposals will almost certainly be met with suspicion.

Already, labour leaders privately warn the Liberals are hell-bent on gutting the commission.

Now, it's fair enough to say that it's a plus to resolve human rights complaints more quickly. But that can readily be done by committing enough resources to ensure that the Human Rights Commission is able to investigate files with something less than the current 11-month turnaround period.

Instead, Ontario's government plans to turn human rights complaints into a do-it-yourself process - taking the responsibility associated with investigating claims away from the commission, and instead putting that burden onto the complainant. And while the effect may indeed be a reduced backlog, it's not a positive outcome if the waiting list is cut down due to the perceived futility of trying to stand up for one's rights.