OMG--A Canadian Kangaroo Defends the Indefensible--Our Wacky "Human Rights" Tribunals

Well, he would, wouldn't he?

Contrary to some recent media coverage, human rights commissions still play a vital and constructive role in Canadian society. Firstly — full disclosure — I have been a commissioner on the Manitoba Human Rights Commission for 11 years. I have been a lawyer in private practice for 20 years. Being a commissioner is not my full-time job, but it is one that I am proud of. While no system is perfect, our human rights commissions and tribunals are something Canadians should be glad they have access to.

Critics complain that some human rights complaints are frivolous; that respondents to human rights complaints have to hire expensive lawyers; and that human rights tribunals, unlike courts, don’t award costs against unsuccessful complainants. Critics also complain that human rights tribunals use more informal rules of evidence than courts.

The human rights process in Canada today is not like the criminal court system. It is an administrative law system. All administrative tribunals (labour boards, for example) get some frivolous applications. Few, if any, can award costs against unsuccessful applicants. Some respondents choose to hire lawyers, and end up swallowing their legal fees even after the frivolous application is dismissed. I myself have seen this happen at labour boards, although the media never report on it. By contrast, some media have given strident coverage to human rights commissions in recent years. 

Also, most administrative tribunals use less formal rules of evidence than courts...

You can say that again, marsupial breath. If one is unlucky enough to be tried by one of these bodies, you will find there are no regular rules of evidence, the truth is no defense, and the person who complained about your failure to heed "human rights" has an unfair advantage from the outset, and the verdict, more often than not, will not favour you.

Other than that it's a swell system, and not at all reminiscent of Soviet show trials or the type of "justice" enjoyed by citizens of Communist China under Mao.