Federal agency facing international review following findings of discrimination

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An international body is set to review the accreditation of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) after it was found to have discriminated against its Black and racialized employees.

The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), responsible for accrediting national human rights institutions and reviewing their compliance with human rights standards known as the Paris Principles, will conduct its “special review” of the government agency this fall.

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“This decision is unprecedented,” said Black Class Action Secretariat (BCAS) CEO Nicholas Marcus Thompson at a news conference Monday morning. “Canada’s human rights record has never been investigated by the United Nations in more than 30 years it has been a member state.”

“This now puts us among the ranks of nations like Russia, Iraq and Venezuela who have faced a special review.”

The decision came after a complaint was submitted by a coalition of organizations including BCAS, behind the 2020 Black Class Action lawsuit, and the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

The team also included the National Union of Public and General Employees, the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance, The Enchanté Network, the Red Coalition, the Federation of Black Canadians, the 613-819 Black Hub and the Black Canadians Civil Society Coalition.

Agency says it’s committed to complying with standards

The coalition, whose complaint was backed by findings of anti-Black discrimination from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Senate Human Rights Committee, called for a review of the CHRC’s accreditation status. The agency has been under scrutiny for years due to complaints about its treatment of its employees.

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Véronique Robitaille, a spokesperson for the CHRC, said last month that the commission was recently re-accredited with “A” status by GANHRI and remained “committed to operating in compliance with the Paris Principles.” Operating independently from the government, the CHRC was accredited with “A” status first in 1999 and again in 2006, 2011 and 2016.

GANHRI members are typically reviewed every five years, with the two levels of accreditation being “A” and “B” status. The CHRC’s last review covered the years between 2016 and 2022, with its next review planned for 2027. The “special review” will investigate that same period.

“We welcome the subcommittee’s special review and look forward to providing them with detailed information about our work addressing systemic anti-Black racism within our organization as an employer, in our complaints handling function and in our advocacy role as Canada’s National Human Rights Organization,” Robitaille said Monday, noting that the review is scheduled for October.

Robitaille said the CHRC’s submission will show that it has made “significant progress” on how it supports people filing discrimination complaints based on race over the past six years.

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“We will also provide GANHRI with information on the commission’s efforts to create a diverse, healthy, safe and respectful workplace through its anti-racism action plan,” Robitaille said.

As of December, GANHRI comprised 120 members, 88 of them holding an “A” status and 32 holding a “B” status.

According to Thompson, if the CHRC is downgraded to “B” status, it will lose speaking rights at the UN Human Rights Council.

He said it will also lose participation rights at its subsidiary bodies and some General Assembly bodies and mechanisms, and the right to vote and hold governance positions at GANHRI.

Robitaille said any of GANHRI’s findings would only apply to the commission, not to the Government of Canada.

This newspaper has asked GANHRI to confirm the consequences of being downgraded.

“The Canadian government has acknowledged that anti-Black racism has persisted, and yet, the government’s failed to take concrete and tangible steps to address the issues but it will tell you that they have,” Thompson said, adding that the new federal anti-racism strategy is “merely a repackaging” of old funding and commitments. He said it also lacks any improvements for the CHRC.

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Standing alongside CHRC employee Bernadeth Betchi and Nathan Prier of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, Thompson invited the public to share their experiences of discrimination from the CHRC to submit as part of the review.

He said the coalition will “accept and respect” the findings of the body, but maintains that the CHRC violated the Paris Principles by discriminating against employees and rejecting race-based complaints.

Time is running out, union leader says

With the special review upcoming, Thompson said the coalition made several recommendations to the government.

First, it called on Minister of Justice and Attorney General Arif Virani to remove the CHRC’s power to dismiss claims before they reach the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

Second, it urged the government to expedite amendments to the Employment Equity Act, including adding Black Canadians as an employment equity group. Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan announced the government’s commitment to updating the act late last year.

Lastly, it recommended that the minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities, Kamal Khera, appoint a Black equity commissioner as an independent officer of Parliament to “oversee and ensure equity across all levels of government and public service.”

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“Canada’s reputation is now taking a big hit. This was entirely avoidable, and time is now running out,” said Nathan Prier, president of CAPE, which filed a policy grievance against the CHRC in 2020. “We’re hoping that this review will compel the CHRC to change its policies and procedures, and to take the clear action steps needed.”

Betchi, who is the representative plaintiff in the Black Class Action Lawsuit, said she has been consistently overlooked for promotions, adding that discrimination impacts individuals’ “self-confidence and ability to concentrate and perform at work.”

“With this international review, the government is now on notice,” Thompson said, adding that the coalition has requested meetings with the ministers and is waiting for their response. “It cannot claim to be a global leader in human rights while discriminating against its own right here at home. It must take real steps to implement change that it has already promised and it must happen with Black stakeholders at the table.”

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