Share this Story : National Post Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

David Thomas: The nonsense around human rights tribunals is even worse than you think

I'm a former CHRT chair and I warned this would happen

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

When I became the Chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in 2014, I said some things I was not supposed to say. I made the observation that human rights tribunals had a bad reputation. This wasn’t received well.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.

Unlimited online access to National Post.

National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Support local journalism.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.

Unlimited online access to National Post.

National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Support local journalism.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.

Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments

Enjoy additional articles per month

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Sign In or Create an Account

In my first Annual Report to Parliament, I asserted that “Discrimination is not widely accepted in Canada. It is not acceptable to most Canadians to even hear a suggestion of prohibited discrimination, let alone engage in it.” I still believe that remains true today.

David Thomas: The nonsense around human rights tribunals is even worse than you think Back to video

That’s not to say that no discrimination ever happens, and that is why human rights tribunals should exist. Like maintaining our good health, we need to remain vigilant to keep prohibited discrimination at bay.

This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)

There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Platformed will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

However, in that same report, I warned that our preservation relied on us making credible decisions. “We have a duty to make decisions that reflect broad Canadian values so that our work continues to be respected and valued.”

Human rights tribunals were set up to keep discrimination cases outside of the courts, probably reflecting the idea that these matters were not as serious as criminality. The way the tribunals were originally set up supported the idea that complaints could be heard by a panel of non-lawyers over a few hours, decided upon quickly, and a decision rendered days later. Remedies could include an order to cease prohibited discrimination, pay restitution and perhaps a small penalty for injury to dignity.

Now it takes years to get a case through the system. Most provinces have lifted damage limits, and awards in the tens of thousands of dollars for injury to dignity are routinely made. These same administrative tribunals have now been used to put forward class-action style cases resulting in massive awards, including one which led to a settlement negotiated by the government for a total sum of $23.3 billion.

There have also been absurd cases, like the transgender woman who filed a complaint after being denied a scrotum waxing at various beauty salons.

Anthony Furey: Toronto copies Mamdani's worst idea — socialized grocery stores

Jamie Sarkonak: U of A rejecting DEI is all smoke

Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});

However, much of the human rights nonsense seldom makes the news. Many frivolous cases are settled at mediation where respondents are faced with paying money to make the complaint go away, or paying much more in legal costs to defend themselves at a hearing. Even if they win their case, they will rarely be able to recover any costs from the complainant.

I mediated about 300 cases for the Canadian and B.C. human rights tribunals. At times I felt like an agent of a state-controlled extortion ring, persuading respondents to pay money to settle claims I knew they would never lose at a hearing. I kept track in my 12 years of doing this work. In my opinion, more than half of the complaints had no merit.

There are so many cases that have strayed from what I referred to as broad Canadian values. There was the Ontario father who was told that discrimination laws don’t apply to his son because he is white. There have been hate speech cases which have imposed unclear rules about what you can and cannot say. Businesses have been fined tens of thousands of dollars because of pronoun disputes amongst their employees.

Subscriber only. FIRST READING: As Canada implodes, its seniors are richer and happier than ever before Subscriber only NP Comment

Subscriber only. FIRST READING: As Canada implodes, its seniors are richer and happier than ever before

Air Canada flight attendant 'conscious' while being ejected from plane during LaGuardia crash: daughter Canada

Air Canada flight attendant 'conscious' while being ejected from plane during LaGuardia crash: daughter

Advertisement 2Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});

Montreal court rejects McGill student’s injunction to stop law association from implementing anti-Israel boycott News

Montreal court rejects McGill student’s injunction to stop law association from implementing anti-Israel boycott

China cheers Michael Ma's questioning of Canadian expert's testimony on forced labour Canadian Politics

China cheers Michael Ma's questioning of Canadian expert's testimony on forced labour

Don Braid: Under Avi Lewis, the federal NDP looks more communist than social democratic NP Comment

Don Braid: Under Avi Lewis, the federal NDP looks more communist than social democratic

The most recent controversy comes from the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision in B.C. Teachers Federation v. Neufeld. Barry Neufeld was an elected school trustee and a vocal online critic of the sexual orientation and gender identity curriculum — known as SOGI 123 — being provided to B.C.’s K​-​12 students since 2017. Neufeld’s online criticism resulted in the tribunal finding him guilty of hate speech and being ordered to pay $750,000 in damages for “injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect” to an entire class of people he didn’t directly work with or even know.

Far from being a minor administrative matter designed to stay out of the courts, decisions like Neufeld suggest financial ruin could await anyone offending the Human Rights Code, just for doing something like challenging the accepted narrative on transgender issues.

It always occurred to me, how many times do certain politicians need to hear about these types of cases, straying far away from broad Canadian values, before they get to a point where they say, enough is enough?

It should not be surprising that recently in British Columbia, an opposition member of the legislature proposed a bill (entitled Human Rights Code Repeal Act) to entirely eliminate the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal and the B.C. Human Rights Commission.

The first reading of the bill was supported by the Conservative caucus, including one candidate for leadership for the party. Other leadership candidates have not dared to say out loud that they wish to shut down the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, but their criticism of the Neufeld decision and others is starting to send the message that major reform, if not outright repeal, is on the horizon.

Human rights adjudicators have an obligation to be neutral decision-makers, giving as much of a fair hearing to the respondent as the complainant. Their role is not that of an activist who wishes to push the progressive envelope. It is important that ordinary Canadians buy into and value our work. If we push too far, the day will come when the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater and the whole system will get tossed.

 David Thomas is a lawyer and mediator in British Columbia and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. He was an adjudicator for the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for 10 years, serving as its chairperson in Ottawa from 2014 to 2021. He was also a mediator for the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal for three years. 

Get the NP Comment newsletter, NP Platformed, delivered to your inbox weekdays by 4 p.m. ET.

Share this Story : National Post Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

How the Canada Strong Pass is making travel plans cheaper this summer Visitors can get free admission and discounts at national parks, museums and galleries starting in June 9 hours ago Travel Canada

How the Canada Strong Pass is making travel plans cheaper this summer

Visitors can get free admission and discounts at national parks, museums and galleries starting in June

Canadians can now fly Furs Class with their dog on this pet-friendly airline Four-legged friends can also travel solo with the new Biscuit Class from Toronto and Vancouver 11 hours ago Travel

Canadians can now fly Furs Class with their dog on this pet-friendly airline

Four-legged friends can also travel solo with the new Biscuit Class from Toronto and Vancouver

Made in Canada: Five chocolatey goods worth hunting for this Easter season Easter treats get extra points for their cute shapes, colours and packaging. And these five festive finds get a double bonus for being made in Canada. Get your basket ready! 14 hours ago Life

Made in Canada: Five chocolatey goods worth hunting for this Easter season

Easter treats get extra points for their cute shapes, colours and packaging. And these five festive finds get a double bonus for being made in Canada. Get your basket ready!

Advertisement 3Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});

The best online deals in the Canadian retail space right now POVISON, SharkNinja and Dyson, to name a few 17 hours ago Buy Canadian

The best online deals in the Canadian retail space right now

POVISON, SharkNinja and Dyson, to name a few

Amazon's Spring Prime sale ends tomorrow: Best home, tech and more deals we recommend A curated list of the best Amazon deals worth buying 18 hours ago Deals

Amazon's Spring Prime sale ends tomorrow: Best home, tech and more deals we recommend

A curated list of the best Amazon deals worth buying

© National Post