The Ontario "Human Rights" Racket: What a Lemon!

Two letters in the National Post decry the lunacy of having a large, taxpayer-funded "human rights" apparatus that rewards the aggrieved for petty, picayune complaints, ones that have zilch to do with genuine human rights:

Re: Steakhouse Loses Case Over Lemon In Water, April 22.When human rights are a matter of having or not having a piece of lemon in your glass of water at a restaurants, they become a parody and a laughing stock of the concept. It is high time we shut down the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and use the funds allocated to this useless bureaucracy to care for autistic kids, or something equally worthwhile. People with disabilities are generally being treated with kindness and consideration in our society, but they should remember that the world does not revolve around them. Making demands that cause hardship for other people is not a right, it is wrong.
Kristina Tomory, Toronto.

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The sad fact about this issue is that it was not a legal case at all. The Ontario Human Rights Commission is not a court. It usurps citizens’ rights under the law and dispenses kangaroo justice on behalf of those who “feel” wronged. If this issue was brought before a court of law, I bet it would be thrown out as nonsense. The complainant may hope, at best, to be placed in a whole position, relative to others who frequent the restaurant.
Other patrons enter the establishment, order their chicken dinner from the menu and are served. If they ask for a variation on the fare, like a special potato, the restaurant decides and the client may then decide to return or eat elsewhere. If the latter sues, he can expect no more than other patrons, not a cash benefit. If a patron confined to a wheelchair enters, he can expect to be served as others, not treated with deference. The Ontario Human Rights Commission simply wants to justify its existence, expand its influence by policing citizens’ feelings, not rights. It is time we abolished this mockery of Canadian justice.
Larry Sylvester, Acton, Ont.