What's Wrong With Bill 107?

1. It abolishes discrimination victims' decades-old legal right to have the Human Rights Commission publicly investigate all non-frivolous human rights complaints, armed with legal investigation powers. It abolishes discrimination victims' right to have the Human Rights Commission publicly prosecute a human rights complaint if the evidence warrants it, and if the parties don't settle the case.
   
   
2. It lets the Human Rights Tribunal deny the time-honoured right of all parties at a hearing to be represented by a lawyer, to call relevant evidence, and to cross-examine opposing witnesses.
   
   
3. It for the first time lets the Human Rights Tribunal charge user fees for going to the Tribunal. It could expose human rights complainants for the first time to have to pay their opponent's legal costs if they lose. Now the Tribunal can only order the Human rights commission, not the discrimination victim, to pay the legal costs of the party accused of discrimination.
   
   
4. It dramatically reduces the right to appeal from the Tribunal to court. Now, anyone who loses their case at the Tribunal has the broadest right to appeal to court. Bill 107 only lets the loser go to court if the Tribunal ruling is proven to be patently unreasonable, a far tougher test.
   
   
5. It unfairly forces hundreds of discrimination cases now in the human rights system, to start all over again in the new system, but without the benefit of the Human Rights Commission's help. Many spent years trusting that they could continue in the current system.
   
   
6. Contrary to major Government commitments, it doesn't ensure that every human rights complainant will have free publicly-funded legal advice and representation. It merely lets the Government fund legal assistance if it wishes. It doesn't require the Government to fund any, nor that Government funding be adequate. Cuts to funding can be as close as a provincial election or cabinet shuffle away. It doesn't entrench the Government's promised Human Rights Legal Support Center. It doesn't require legal services to be delivered by lawyers.
   
   
7. It doesn't keep the Government's commitment that all discrimination victims will be given a hearing before the Human Rights Tribunal. It lets the Human Rights Tribunal throw out a discrimination complaint without an open hearing.
   
   
8. It doesn't eliminate or reduce the chronic backlog of human rights cases. It shuffles the line-up from the Human Rights Commission to the Human rights Tribunal. It doesn't set enforceable deadlines to ensure that cases are heard and decided within a reasonable time.
   
   
9. Contrary to Government commitments, Bill 107 significantly weakens, and doesn't strengthen the Human Rights Commission's ability to bring cases to challenge systemic discrimination. Now the Commission can launch its own complaints in any case (not just systemic cases). It has investigation powers to get evidence to support its case. It can seek sweeping remedies to compensate discrimination victims for past wrongs and to prevent future discrimination. Seriously weakening the Commission, Bill 107 only lets the Commission launch its own case in systemic cases. It doesn't define "systemic". It abolishes the Commission's investigation powers. It stops the Commission from seeking remedies to compensate victims for past wrongs, even in systemic cases.
   
   
10. It largely privatizes human rights enforcement. It removes the Human Rights Commission from most discrimination cases. This makes the Commission less effective and relevant when it does public policy, advocacy and public education.
    
    
11. It dramatically shrinks the human rights system's capacity to advocate for and protect the public interest. Now the Human Rights Commission can seek remedies both for individual discrimination victims, and to address the broader public interest. It can do so when settlements of cases are negotiated, and at Human Rights Tribunal hearings. In contrast, under Bill 107, the Commission won't be involved in negotiating most case settlements. It won't have carriage of or even be present at many if not most Human Rights Tribunal hearings.
    
    
12. By Bill 107, the McGuinty Government seriously breaks faith with 1.5 million Ontarians with disabilities. In the 2003 election, Premier McGuinty promised a new Disability Act with effective enforcement. After winning the election, the McGuinty Government rejected disability community requests to create a new independent agency to enforce the new Disability Act. The Government said it isn't needed since persons with disabilities can use the Human Rights Commission's complaints process to enforce their rights. The disability community applauded the new 2005 Disability Act, even though it created no new independent enforcement agency. Now Bill 107 removes most of the Human Rights Commission's public enforcement teeth. This isn't corrected by Bill 107's proposal to create in the Human Rights Commission a weak Disability Rights Secretariat. That Secretariat has no public investigation and prosecution powers. The Commission previously had a stronger version of that Secretariat.

How To Improve Bill 107

It would be better if the Government started from scratch, held a proper time-limited public consultation, and then introduced an appropriate human rights reform bill. However, if the Government presses Bill 107 forward, these changes should be made to the bill:

1. Amend it to ensure that it doesn't take away any rights the Human Rights Code now gives. For example, it should be amended to give discrimination victims the choice of either taking their case right to the Human Rights Tribunal, or opting for the Human Rights Commission to investigate their case, and to prosecute it if evidence warrants it.
   
   
2. Amend it to ensure it does what the Government says it does, e.g. to guarantee all human rights complainants the right to publicly-funded legal representation at all Tribunal proceedings, and to strengthen, not weaken, the Human Rights Commission.
   
   
3. Amend it to ensure that the Human Rights Commission retains all current powers and duties to enforce disability rights, or to create a new strong, effective independent enforcement agency to receive, investigate, mediate and prosecute disability complaints.
   

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