Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we have a report of some substance, some length. The report on Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Fair Practices Act.
The Standing Committee on Legislation has completed its review of Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Fair Practices Act. The committee held its public hearing on January 10, 1995 and received submissions from the Minister of Justice, the Union of Northern Workers and the NWT Federation of Labour. The committee appreciated the contributions of all those who have made their presentations.
The Fair Practices Act of the NWT was enacted to recognize equal rights of all people in accordance with the universal declaration of human rights declared by the United Nations. The act is designated to protect people's rights from discrimination.
The Fair Practices Act is administered by the Department of Justice. The Minister of Justice has the authority to appoint an officer to inquire into any complaint received under the act. However, the Government of the Northwest Territories is a major employer, landlord and provider of services in the NWT and, therefore, it was felt that the fair practices office needed to be more independent of the government. Bill 13 proposes to amend the act to provide for greater independence and impartiality of the fair practices officer.
Bill 13 proposes to further amend the act to provide the fair practices officer with the authority to make orders which are binding. These orders may be filed with the Territorial Court and may be enforced in the same manner as a judgement of the Territorial Court. Appeals may be submitted to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories.
Concerns Of The Committee
During the public hearings, it became apparent to the committee that there were a number of issues that should be addressed.
Opening Of Complaint Files
The standing committee was concerned that the fair practices officer may only open a complaint file if the complaint is received in writing. Although a person may make an enquiry by telephone, the complaint itself must be in writing. In addition, interpretation and translation services for the aboriginal languages are not readily available in the fair practices office. Together, these language and procedural issues could be seen as discriminatory to that segment of the population that does not read, write or speak English.
Therefore, the Standing Committee on Legislation recommends that the government develop an alternate process for receiving complaints which would allow for the opening of a complaint file upon a verbal submission.
Public Awareness
The standing committee heard from all witnesses that the fair practices office is not greatly publicized, to the point of it being the government's "best-kept secret" according to one presenter. A current fair practices officer informed the committee that great efforts to publicize the existence of the act and the office have never been made as the fair practices officers are not particularly anxious to encourage people to make complaints. The standing committee is of the opinion that the Fair Practices Act and the office of the fair practices officer should be brought to the public's attention through an extensive public awareness campaign. The Minister assured the committee that a large component of the new fair practices office is a requirement that public awareness be increased. This includes developing educational materials and communicating with interests groups on human rights issues.
Public Interest
During its review of Bill 13, the standing committee was concerned that the act currently allows a complaint to be withdrawn by the complainant at any time. It was felt that this would not protect the public interest in all cases. The committee feels that there should be provisions for a complaint to be continued if it is in the public's best interest to do so. The Minister assured the committee that he was prepared to amend the legislation to allow the fair practices officer to proceed with a complaint if it is in the public interest and no negative impact will be felt by the complainant. Bill 13 was amended in committee to address this issue.
Comprehensive Human Rights Legislation
In 1984, the government tabled a document entitled Proposed Human Rights Code for the Northwest Territories, Consultation Paper. This document was to be the foundation of the development of human rights legislation for the Northwest Territories. The standing committee was concerned that we still only have partial human rights legislation. The standing committee feels there is a strong need for complete and comprehensive human rights legislation in the Northwest
Territories. Therefore, the Standing Committee on Legislation recommends:
That the government prepare and table human rights legislation within two years using Tabled Document 7-83(3) Proposed Human Rights Code for the Northwest Territories, Consultation Paper as a model.
Binding The GNWT
The standing committee had a great deal of difficulty with this area in the proposed bill. The NWT Interpretation Act states that no legislation will bind the Government of the Northwest Territories unless it is expressly stated in legislation. Currently, the Fair Practices Act does not expressly state that it is binding on the GNWT, one of the major employers in the territory. Bill 13 proposes to amend the current legislation to state the legislation is binding on the Government of the Northwest Territories. This amendment is contained in clause 3 of Bill 13. The standing committee had many reservations about this clause due to the implied retroactivity of the words "for greater certainty" contained within the clause.
The government has applied to the federal court for a decision of jurisdiction on the issue of "pay equity" which was filed in 1989 by the Union of Northern Workers. The Union of Northern Workers filed their complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The government contends that the Canadian Human Rights Commission has no jurisdiction in this matter because the Northwest Territories has the Fair Practices Act, partial human rights legislation. The matter of jurisdiction is before the court at this time.
Due to the outstanding issue of jurisdiction, the standing committee is concerned that the implied retroactivity of clause 3 could influence the decision before the federal court. The committee is of the opinion that the government should not attempt to influence a decision before the courts. The committee does, however, support that the act be amended to bind the government.
This concludes the standing committee's report on the review of Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Fair Practices Act. On March 27, 1995, the standing committee passed a motion that Bill 13 was ready for consideration in committee of the whole, as reprinted.
Mr. Chairman, I have a couple of motions that I would like to make, if I may. The first motion: Committee Motion 48-12(7) To Change Process For Receiving Complaints And Provide Interpreter/Translator Services, Carried
The Standing Committee on Legislation recommends that the government develop an alternate process for receiving complaints which would allow for the opening of a complaint file upon a verbal submission and further, that the government insist that the fair practices office have interpretation and translation services immediately available in all of the official languages of the Northwest Territories.