Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Legislative Change

The Human Rights Act differs from most territorial legislation in a key respect. While most statutes provide that a Cabinet Minister is responsible for the act's administration, the Human Rights Act provides that the Human Rights Commission is responsible to the Legislative Assembly for the administration of the act.

Consequently, amendments to the Human Rights Act necessitate a high degree of collaboration between the commission, having administrative responsibility under the legislation; the Department of Justice, as the sponsor of the bill; and the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, which has responsibility for the oversight of the territory's statutory officers, including the Human Rights Commission.

Committee wishes to acknowledge the cooperative effort that went into the development of Bill 30. In its review, committee has remained mindful of this work and respectful of the commission's objective of moving towards a more restorative human rights system. Committee also gave careful consideration in particular to two issues raised in the development of the bill, for which the Department of Justice and the Human Rights Commission had differing views.

These are:

• That the act should be amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic characteristics; and
• That the act should be amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of an unrelated criminal charge or conviction.

Committee's input on these matters is addressed further on in this report.

Bill 30 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on October 1, 2018, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

The Public Review of Bill 30

To commence its review of Bill 30, the committee sent letters inviting input from stakeholders, including all municipal and Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories and a number of non-governmental organizations.

During the week of January 21, 2019, the committee travelled to and held public meetings on Bill 30 in Fort Smith, Inuvik, and Fort McPherson. A final public hearing was held in Yellowknife on February 5, 2019. Committee thanks everyone who attended these meetings or provided written submissions to the committee sharing their views on Bill 30.

What We Heard

In a presentation to the committee at its Yellowknife public hearing, Mr. Charles Dent, chair of the Human Rights Commission, and Ms. Deborah McLeod, director of Human Rights, indicated the commission's support for the amendments proposed in Bill 30. They further noted that the commission previously brought forward genetic discrimination and unrelated criminal conviction as potential prohibited grounds for discrimination under the act. They indicated that "the commission would like to see these grounds added as an amendment to Bill 30 if there is agreement to do so," but noted that they would not want to see passage of the legislation delayed as a result.

In a written submission, Alternatives North, a Northwest Territories-based social justice coalition, expressed its support for the amendments being proposed to the Human Rights Act. Their letter noted that:

"Previously, complainants were responsible for presenting their evidence in a formal and legal type process, a difficult task for many to accomplish, especially in instances where respondents with access to more financial resources were represented by legal counsel. The change to a restorative process for addressing human rights complaints will address unequal power dynamics, result in a less confrontational approach and offer more support to complainants."

Alternatives North recommended an evaluation framework, including both "an Indigenous lens and a gender-based analysis," in order to measure the effectiveness of the change to a more restorative approach. As well, they noted the importance of developing plain-language communication tools to explain the principles and practices of a restorative process, and the orientation and continued training related to cultural competency for commission staff and any contracted agencies.

In each of the smaller communities to which the committee travelled, committee heard support for the inclusion of genetic characteristics as a prohibited ground of discrimination under the act. Mr. Mike Keizer, a Parks Canada employee from Fort Smith, expressed his support for prohibiting discrimination on the basis of genetic characteristics. So did Ms. Lauraine Armstrong, also of Fort Smith, who noted that the fear of being discriminated against might serve as a deterrent to some people getting genetic testing that could help improve their lives. Mr. Richard Nerysoo, of Fort McPherson, told the committee that prohibiting discrimination on the basis of genetic characteristics "is a good thing to pursue," but offered the view that prohibiting discrimination on the basis of an unrelated criminal charge or conviction could be more challenging to implement.

During the review period, committee also received a written submission from the Human Rights Adjudication Panel suggesting technical amendments to improve Bill 30.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pass this report to the honourable Member for Sahtu. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.