Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Social Programs is pleased to report on its review of Bill 1, Human Rights Act.
Instituting a comprehensive human rights organization is fundamental to the prevention of discrimination and promotion of equality in our society. Human rights legislation plays a key role in promoting respect, dignity and equal participation of all our citizens. It is a statement on our commitment to international human rights instruments and it is the vehicle through which we promote and enhance equal opportunity for individuals by focusing on the elimination of discrimination.
With the exception of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, every jurisdiction in Canada has enacted comprehensive human rights legislation to protect citizens from discrimination. Currently, the Fair Practices Act governs human rights protections in our jurisdiction. A review of the Fair Practices Act demonstrates that the current regime in the NWT is far from comprehensive. As a result, the Northwest Territories has not received an exemption under section 66 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which means that the federal legislation continues to apply in the NWT. For instance, Mr. Speaker, many provisions in the Canadian Human Rights Act govern employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories.
The Fair Practices Act's deficiencies have provided the impetus for the introduction of Bill 1, Human Rights Act. The proposed human rights legislation creates a comprehensive code for human rights promotion and protection in the Territory. It now defines discrimination, offers greater protection through the expansion of the "prohibited grounds", is wider in its application than its predecessor and creates a Human Rights Commission to deal with complaints.
In particular, Bill 1 creates a legislative scheme to address discrimination in the delivery of services, employment, tenancy agreements, and other important areas of everyday life. By expanding the prohibited grounds and through the creation of the Human Rights Commission and the adjudication panel, Bill 1 brings the NWT up-to-date in human rights protection.
Background to Bill 1, Human Rights Act Review Process
Bill 1, Human Rights Act received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on February 22, 2002 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Programs for review.
Prior to this however, the development of a Human Rights Act was the focus of significant consultations by the Department of Justice. The department advised us that in September and October 2000 a preliminary discussion paper on a Human Rights Act for the Northwest Territories was widely distributed for discussion and comment. This document was sent to 16 organizations that were thought to have an active interest in human rights issues and it was further distributed to 38 aboriginal organizations across the Territories. In November 2000 the first draft of the Human Rights Act was tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
Following this, a brochure on the tabled act, as well as the draft bill itself were again broadly distributed to an expanded list of the interested parties. This list included 115 individuals and organizations, including aboriginal governments, non-governmental organizations, band councils and municipal councils.
In the summer of 2001 community consultations were conducted on behalf of the Department of Justice in ten communities. As well, specific consultation meetings were conducted with approximately 30 representatives of municipal, aboriginal, labour and other organizations and societies.
As a result of the input received from these consultations, changes were made to the act, including:
- • It was requested that a definition of what constitutes discrimination be included in the act. As a result, a number of interpretative sections were added on this point;
- • It was recommended that a duty to accommodate be included in Bill 1 so that all individuals have the capacity to have their needs accommodated without discrimination based on one of the prohibited grounds. The revised bill makes specific reference to the duty to accommodate in several sections of the act;
- • It was recommended that the director of human rights need not be a lawyer and this change was incorporated into the existing draft;
- • Mr. Speaker, it was suggested that the application of the act be extended to include domestic workers. The current Fair Practices Act does not include protections for domestic workers; Bill 1 has been revised to provide domestic workers with the same protection as all other workers covered by the act; and
- • There was concern that the original draft provided the director of human rights with too much authority. In response, in the revised bill the director is no longer a member of the Human Rights Commission but sits as secretary, is answerable to the commission and answerable procedurally through the appeal process.
These are but a few of the recommendations which were received, assessed and in many instances added to the bill before the legislation was introduced and referred to the committee for consideration.
Mr. Speaker, the task of the Standing Committee on Social Programs was to review Bill 1 in the context of human rights legislation across the country, and in particular to hear the views and suggestions of residents of the Northwest Territories.
Months prior to the hearings we contacted non-governmental organizations, communities, aboriginal governments and organizations in writing to invite all interested parties to participate in our review and provide their input.
Advertisements outlining our proposed review process and soliciting comments from all Northerners were placed in all northern newspapers in April 2002 and again in July 2002. Public service announcements and media advisories were also broadcast in advance of the public hearing dates in each location.
To prepare for the public hearings, the Standing Committee on Social Programs met on several occasions to discuss background research material. The standing committee conducted public hearings on Bill 1 in Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife from September 4 to September 12, 2002.
While the number of responses and submissions were less than anticipated, the standing committee was impressed with the quality and depth of the presentations and written submissions presented to us.
Preamble
Mr. Speaker, the committee considered whether the preamble should be amended to refer to the international agreements entered into by Canada on equality and on human rights.
The preamble provides the public with an indication of the purpose and the objectives of the legislation. It can also be used as an interpretative tool to assist decision-makers in their application of the statute.
During public hearings, presenters requested that the preamble be amended to recognize the international agreements to which Canada is a signatory. While most presenters were pleased with the current reference to United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights, a few of them felt that it was not a sufficient statement on our government's commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights.
Suggestions included expanding the preamble to make reference to the various international instruments on human rights, and to include language that makes it clear that the Legislative Assembly is responsible for human rights in the Northwest Territories. The committee was also asked to clarify the role of aboriginal rights in our society.
Mr. Speaker, the committee suggested an amendment to the preamble to provide for more inclusive language, which makes clear links between the rights protected by the legislation and the responsibilities of our society to protect those rights.
The committee put forward a motion to amend the preamble. The motion passed and received approval of the Minister of Justice. Consequently, the preamble has been amended to reflect the goals set out above.
Mr. Speaker, with your concurrence I would like to turn it over to Mr. Dent.