Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Member for Kam Lake.

The NWT Human Rights Commission is separate from the Government of the Northwest Territories. It is part of the human rights system set up under the Human Rights Act. Most legislation in the Northwest Territories has a Cabinet Minister responsible for the act. This is different for the Human Rights Act. It says the commission is responsible to the Legislative Assembly for the administration of the act. The Assembly's Office of the Clerk is responsible for the oversight of the territory's statutory officers, including the Human Rights Commission.

The commission's role is to protect people from discrimination. They promote equality through education, research, and advocacy. The act makes it illegal to discriminate or harass anyone based on age, disability, race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, social condition, religion, political belief, or pardoned criminal conviction. The commission promotes the compliance with the act, and they also monitor and assess how well the act is working.

Transitioning to a Restorative Approach

The committee has followed the transition of the Human Rights Commission to a restorative practice approach with interest. It began in 2014, with the comprehensive review of the Human Rights Act. This was followed by the three independent agencies of the NWT human rights system: the commission; the adjudication panel; and the director accepting the review's recommendations. In 2015, the three agencies published an implementation plan for the commission's transition to a restorative approach to human rights work.

The restorative process moves away from the existing legal and confrontational court-like process. Instead, the process focuses on the relationship between the parties and on resolving the dispute. The goal is to "manage conflict and tension by repairing harm and building relationships."

The committee supports the commission's offering opportunities for settling complaints voluntarily through a dispute resolution process. During the public hearing, Director McLeod stated that the commission started with the restorative approach early in 2017, and immediately saw a large number of parties participating.

The commission reports that 40 percent of all files closed in 2018-2019 were settled through restorative dispute resolution. This is similar to 2017-2018, where almost half of the complaints settled this way.

Committee learned that, in 2018-2019, 60 percent of complaints went into the restorative dispute resolution process. This is a positive sign. It shows more people are sitting down together to work out their human rights issues.

Organizational Structure of the Human Rights Commission

When preparing the 2018-2019 annual report, the commission was composed of three agencies: the appointed members of the commission (five individuals); the director; and the adjudication panel (five individuals). Both the Office of the Director and the adjudication panel have support staff. Commission members are members of the public appointed by the Legislative Assembly. The director's office administers the complaint process, refers complaints to the adjudication panel, and acts as secretary to the commission.

The number of parties navigating the system without support or representation was a key concern in the comprehensive review of the act. The change to the structure of the commission by combining the commission and the director's office into one agency is part of addressing this concern.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pass it to the MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In March 2019, an amended Human Rights Act consolidated the Office of the Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Director into a single agency: the Human Rights Commission. With the amendments, the commission gains a role in the complaints process by looking after complaints and preparing to bring them before the adjudicator. This is referred to as "carriage of complaints." Complaints that cannot be resolved through the director's dispute resolution process go to the adjudication panel for hearing.

Committee welcomes that the commission now has a legal counsel who can provide advice in the later part of the complaint process.

During 2018-2019, commission members and staff took a course on fairness as a principle of restorative practice. The commission also held sessions for members of the adjudication panel. They also offered educational sessions and workshops on restorative practices to interest groups.

The committee welcomes the commission's proactiveness and preparatory work toward implementing the changes made to the Human Rights Act. The amendments will come into force annually over a three-year period, from 2019 to 2021.

Focus on Accessibility

During 2018-2019, the commission focused on accessibility. The commission's key achievement of 2018-2019 was developing an accessibility checklist to help make public events more accessible to persons with disabilities. Committee notes that the commission's goal is to create inclusive hamlets, villages, towns, and cities by ensuring people are feeling "welcomed in a way that respects each person's dignity."

Accessibility includes physical access, web access, and access to services. It also includes social inclusion, equality, respect, and equity in opportunity. The checklist helps businesses and groups to identify if their services and products are accessible to all people. It also talks about how to accommodate people with specific needs.

The commission's website now offers a separate tab for accessibility. The webpage provides resources and links for improving accessibility to all services, including how to improve web experiences for users with disabilities, how to use plain language, and other ways to improve accessibility. It also provides information on legal rights for people who use service animals.

Complaints on the Grounds of Disability

Disability is the basis for the majority of complaints filed. This is not just in the NWT but across Canada. Disability includes mental and physical disabilities and can relate to hearing, vision, mobility, memory, or something else.

During 2018-2019, two-thirds of all new complaints alleged discrimination based on disability. The rate was almost the same for the previous two years.

According to the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability, 20 percent of adults 15 years and over in the NWT are limited in their daily activities due to a disability. This is a large increase compared to 2012, where 8.2 percent of adults were limited due to a disability. It is expected that the population with some sort of disability will increase, partly based on the aging of society.

According to the NWT Bureau of Statistics, the population of seniors, those aged 60 and older, grew by 68.5 percent over the past 10 years. Nationwide, the territories experienced the second-highest growth in seniors population, with only the Yukon having higher numbers. Seniors present nearly 15 percent of the NWT's total population. Aging increases the risk of having disabilities, and many seniors experience moderate to severe disability.

I will pass the reading of the report to the Member for Yellowknife North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Accessible Design for Buildings

The committee heard the commission's concern that many NWT businesses and service providers believe that the National Building Code sets the standard for accessibility and that "compliance with this code allows them to meet their responsibilities under the Human Rights Act." The commission says this is not always the case.

The commission held an International Human Rights Day event with the theme "accessibility" in Yellowknife. Mr. Van Dyke presented on how the National Building Code affects him as a person with a disability. The commission expressed much concern about limitations of full accessibility for all in the NWT.

The commission believes accessibility is one of the most important parts of building a healthy community. The commission is concerned about the barriers that prevent full accessibility, including:

• the lack of connection between the requirements set out in the National Building Code and what is actually considered an accessible space;
• that the ongoing update of the National Building Code will be completed soon; and
• that the National Building Code in the NWT include reference to Canadian Standards Association standard B651-18, "Accessible Design for the Built Environment."

For the coming year, the commission will campaign on the relationship between the National Building Code and the act to enable NWT businesses and service providers to better understand their rights and responsibilities under the act.

The committee recognizes the need for the GNWT to ensure that residents have equitable access to opportunities and services and that standards and codes adopted in the NWT are consistent with legislation.

Other options under discussion are that the GNWT adopt the National Building Code to have legislation that includes rules for accessibility. One challenge is that the code is part of the Fire Prevention Regulations by the Fire Marshall. This could mean that accessibility is not a priority, as the code sets a minimum requirement for buildings that may not meet the requirements under the human rights law.

Committee agrees that NWT residents, builders, and building owners need to know what is required to make a building completely accessible. Committee also identified many points that are unclear regarding who is responsible for funding accessible building design or renovations. It is not clear whether the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs would be responsible for retrofits and, if yes, whether this would apply to communities outside of Yellowknife or not.

Finally, the committee wondered whether the GNWT would consider incentives for builders to use building designs in projects such as small-scale construction, renovation, or retrofit programming that would provide the accessibility requirements under the NWT Human Rights Act.

Consequently, the committee recommends:

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories investigate and take the necessary steps to solve the issues, and remove the barriers, that prevent the alignment between building codes and standards and the Human Rights Act.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will now pass the reading of the report on to the Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Member for Thebacha.

This concludes the Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the NWT Human Rights Commission 2018-2019 Annual Report.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to the recommendations contained in this report within 120 days.