Flash: Insults Cause Long-Term Inability To Cook Food

Toronto Sun – She is helping friend, Ray Nemard, 40, in his bid to obtain an apology from the commission after he was allegedly called a “f****** monkey,” by an operator at Coxwell subway station in 2004.

A complaint was filed to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which is hearing his case.

“I am not happy by what I heard today,” Nemard said after the meeting. “The operator who did this to me is still on the job even though we know he has 16 complaints against him.”

He takes “pills and other medication” to help him cope with the slur, which he said led to a loss of his job as a chef.

More From The “No Dick, No Problem” File

Ottawa Citizen – What a difference a week makes. Just days after that final ruling, the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA), which oversees high school sports, was forced to stand down on the same issue. OFSAA was advised it was about to lose a challenge before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal on its written policy denying girls the right to try out for boys’ teams if a girls’ team exists in the school.

Now, girls can play on a boys’ team in Ontario’s 860-plus high schools if they successfully try out. The switch is now sparking heated discussions about how to manage school sports everywhere.

Law Prof: Studies From 14 Years Ago Prove Today’s Human Rights Commissions Are Great

Emphasis ours.

StarPhoenix - There are good reasons why the Court of Queen’s Bench is not a good replacement option for the human rights tribunal.

Three comprehensive reviews of provincial human rights systems have said just that, for reasons of access to justice, expertise in human rights, and representativeness of different sections of the community. The Ontario Human Rights Code review task force, Achieving Equality: A Report on Human Rights Reform, 1992; B.C. Human Rights Review: Report on Human Rights in British Columbia, 1994; and the report of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, Renewing the Vision: Human Rights in Saskatchewan, 1996.

Ontario Human Rights Commission: No Dick? No Problem

Vancouver Sun – Female high school athletes in Ontario will have the opportunity to crack the roster of boys’ teams next year after amendments were made to a provincewide policy following a human rights complaint.

The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) said it will allow girls to try out for boys’ teams after Courtney Greer, a Grade 11 soccer player from Waterloo, Ont., a filed formal complaint.

When Human Rights Collide #17

Toronto Star – City bureaucrats may withdraw funding from Pride Toronto next year if the activist group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid is allowed to march in this summer’s parade.

The city, which gave Pride $121,000 in 2009, believes its anti-discrimination policy was likely violated by QuAIA’s conduct and even its very presence at last summer’s parade, said general manager of economic development and culture Mike Williams…

“They’re trying to compare it to hate speech, and I find it deeply offensive, as somebody who’s been fighting human rights battles for a really long time, to hear that criticism of the state of Israel is somehow hate speech. No way,” said Flanders, one of several Jewish QuAIA members.

“I’m a big Jew-lover. And my Judaism taught me to stand up for what is right. This has nothing to do with anything other than criticism of Israel … Political difference need not be censored.”

Paper: Bitching Is Their Business, And Business Is Good

Toronto Star – Call Ontario’s new human-rights legal centre for help with racism and the telephone wait time could last up to 20 minutes.

Some people who have experienced discrimination will eventually get advice. Others give up and never call back.

Earlier today, the Star revealed that the centre is swamped with allegations of sex, race and disability discrimination, leaving front-line staff able to answer only 57 percent of the 38,579 calls received in the year-long period ending March 31.

Human Rights Is Big Bucks #21: Ontario Human Rights Commission

According to salary disclosure rules, only people earning over $100,000/year must be listed for public viewing. Here are the numbers from 2008.

We cut some slack and didn’t add up the cents.

Top earner: Nancy Austin, Executive Director. $211,469

Lowest earner: Roxanne Kalimootoo, Registrar. $100,174

Middle of the road: Barbara Hall, Chief Commissioner. $139,869

Total Salaries for the 17 earning over 100 grand: $2,583,805

Average pay per year for the 17 earning over 100 grand: $151,988

Ontario Human Rights Commission: Business Is Booming

Toronto Star – Ontario’s newly streamlined human rights watchdog is swamped with allegations of sex, race and disability discrimination, the Starhas found.

“We are really overwhelmed by our volume of cases now,” said Katherine Laird, the senior official whose job it is to support people who say they are victims. “Our phones are ringing off the hook.”

The Ontario Attorney General created a new human rights system nearly two years ago, making it easier for people with claims to get a hearing before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario…

Ontario Human Rights Commission chair Barbara Hall believes only a small number of cases are ever reported. “This is the tip of the iceberg,” she says.

Judgement Day: Another “Human Rights” Case Goes Into The Toilet

Canadian Occupational Safety – Then, the court stated, “an essential element of the job of a paramedic is to transport patients as quickly as possible.  It was accepted by the arbitrator and admitted before us that there will be delays if a paramedic is unable to drive.  Extending human rights protection to situations that will result in placing the lives of others at risk flies in the face of logic…accordingly, the decision of the arbitrator dated July 2, 2007 is set aside.”

DWE Reminder: “Human Rights” Is Always About Money. Always.

Bold ours.

Standard-Freeholder – Corcoran was told to step down from his role on the altar at Sunday Mass in April last year when parishioners complained to Bishop Nicola de Angelis that an openly homosexual couple was serving on the altar at St. Michael’s. Corcoran alleges he is being excluded from a role in the parish solely because he is gay, and that this violates the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The 12 St. Michael’s parishioners claim the Human Rights Code does not have jurisdiction over liturgical roles in a church and that internal church governance is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Corcoran is asking for damages of $20,000 from each of the parishioners and that the diocese cover his legal costs.

In It To Win It

Ottawa Citizen – But as Richard Grainer discusses the fumes from fabric softener sheets his neighbours use in their clothes dryer and how that toxic air could kill his asthmatic three-year-old, I wonder why he is so intent on continuing his battle with his landlord, turning now to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for help, when he could simply move…

Grainer says in hindsight, he might have moved had he known he would still be fighting this battle. But he thinks he is on the verge of winning it. And, he says, he really likes living in New Edinburgh.

I guess that answers my question. But wouldn’t watching a three-year-old suffer repeated asthma attacks be reason enough to say goodbye to the landlord?

Video: Human Rights Is Big Bucks #15

“…the cap on damages has been removed…I’ll be exploring how the Tribunal has been handling applications under the new and transitional rules, and strategies you can use if you appear before the Tribunal. I’ll also be discussing damage awards after the cap…”

Video: Anatomy Of A Shakedown

Want To Whip Out Your Tits? Cool

Toronto Star – The sticker, featuring a drawing of a Madonna-like woman, is part of Toronto Public Health’s “Anytime. Anywhere” campaign. Since 2008, some 6,100 stickers have been sent to restaurants, libraries and malls to make nursing mothers feel more comfortable, and encourage establishments to train their staff on how best to deal with prudish patrons. The decals are also a reminder that breastfeeding in public is sanctioned by the Ontario Human Rights Commission…

Better Late Than Never: MPs Look At Human Rights Commission Abuses

Montreal Gazette – Senator Doug Finley led a call Tuesday to scrap a section of Canada’s Human Rights Act that he and other Conservative senators say is being used to stifle free speech in Canada…

“Despite our 400-year tradition of free speech, the tyrannical instinct to censor still exists,” Finley said. “We saw it on a university campus last week. And we see it every week in Canada’s misleadingly named human rights commissions.”

Relax. Bitching And Moaning Still Available

Toronto Sun - Let’s put the brakes on right here. This is silly.

As indicated by the commission itself on Friday, it’s just part of a restructuring.

And there will be plenty more as the feds trim the public service.

It’s a major headache any time local government offices close. Filing complaints will indeed be a tad tougher.

But let’s be honest. It’s not the catastrophe they are making it out to be.

Oh. You Thought Legislators Controlled The Town Coffers?

570 News – The region is spending more than two million dollars to equip its buses with automated technology that will call out all stops for passengers. The $2.4-million investment will put Grand River Transit in compliance with an Ontario Human Rights Commission ruling that requires all systems to accommodate passengers who are visually or hearing impaired.

Oops. Ontario To Disabled: Buy Your Own Damn Food

Toronto Star – Ontario is scrapping the Special Diet Allowance that helps people on social assistance pay extra food costs related to specific medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure…

The Ontario Human Rights Commission ruled last month that the allowance program discriminates against people with certain conditions. It ordered the province to increase payments for three complainants and boost benefits for everyone under similar circumstances within three months.

But the budget’s plan to kill the allowance in favour of a new program, effectively allows the government to side step the ruling, officials said.

Bummer. Pain And Suffering Only Worth 6 Grand

Guelph Mercury – Matt Wozenilek can’t wait to try out the wheelchair-accessible door at his neighbourhood 7-Eleven store after taking the company to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and winning…

He filed an application with the tribunal Jan. 7, 2009 and later amended it, asking for $25,000 for pain and suffering, a public letter of regret from 7-Eleven and the installation of automatic doors at all 7-Eleven stores in Canada…

The tribunal decided the company did not have to write a public letter of regret but it would have to pay $6,000 to Wozenilek.

“I asked for $25,000 to get their attention,” Wozenilek said Wednesday. “I’m happy with the $6,000. It will cover my expenses.”

Indeed

Edmonton Journal – And, if that all sounds enigmatic, the figuring-out is left to you, which is both respectful and fun. Ah, fun: there’s a word you never thought you’d use about a play with a long scene set in the anteroom of the Ontario Human Rights Commission — an act of theatrical courage if there ever was one.

But there it is, a lively debate, positively bristling with ironies.

Oh. You Thought City Council Ran the City?

The Observer – The city of Sarnia will meet to discuss proposed changes to the official plan and zoning by-laws in response to concerns from the Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre. City staff have reviewed and proposed amendments to by-laws that the centre has said are discriminatory. The meeting will take place before the March 22 in the council chambers at city hall.

Human Rights is Big Bucks #10

Toronto Star – The former employees described a poisonous atmosphere, where minority workers were repeatedly told they were lazy and lucky to have a job. One said he heard Tompkins use the term “nigger” every day.

Tompkins’ witnesses told the hearing that he was a tough boss, who might have yelled, or raised his voice, but never used racist language…

Tompkins testified that said [sic] he decided to fire her on the prior Friday, for poor work habits, such as using Facebook on company time and showing up late for work.

Khan said she was occasionally late, used Facebook during work, and often worked overtime…

“Having weighed the evidence before me I find, on a balance (of) probabilities, that (Tompkins) did repeatedly use the terms “Paki” and “nigger” as well as making other offensive comments to the applicant that he knew would be unwelcome.”

Whist ordered Tompkins to pay $25,000 to Khan for discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code and another $6,750 for lost wages as a result of being fired from her job.

National Post: Shutting People Up OK, As Long As There’s Safeguards

National Post – As such, the authorities don’t need a human rights commission to go after Mr. Hossain. They can simply apply Sections 318 and 319 of the Criminal Code, which target, respectively, anyone “who advocates or promotes genocide” or who “promotes hatred against any identifiable group.”

We have our reservations about Sections 318 and 319. But at least they contain a lot more safeguards to prevent procedural abuse than do human rights codes. Moreover, as the facts of Mr. Hossain’s case show, they are well tailored for prosecuting the very worst hatemongers our society has to offer.

Human Rights Is Big Bucks #9

CBC: A payday loan company has been ordered to pay one of its former employees $30,000 for failing to take her complaints about sexual harassment seriously.

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal issued the ruling last week, saying Money Mart refused to properly investigate complaints about a manager at one of its Toronto stores.

The claim was filed by Marjorie Harriott, a Toronto woman who worked as a customer service representative at a Toronto Money Mart store from April 2007 until she was fired in June 2008.

Harriott told the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal she was sexually harassed by her manager while she worked at a Money Mart store on Danforth Avenue, in the city’s east end.

Human Rights Is Big Bucks #8

National Post – And indeed, why bother? The number of cases that end like Mr. Fulton’s, with the accused walking away free from conviction or having to pay out a sizable amount of money, are very few indeed. Many cases settle at the mediation stage, when the nature of the shakedown process is first revealed. Targets are told, in essence, “You can settle for $25,000 now or pay $200,000 in legal fees later. Take your pick.” Most pick settlement…

I phoned the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario to ask why they had not adopted rules on costs. The spokesperson told me that any changes to the rules would require public consultation, and they had no public consultation scheduled. Just one feeble excuse after another. Meanwhile, the shakedowns continue.