Canadian Human Rights Tribunal

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body established in 1977 by the "Canadian Human Rights Act". It is directly funded by the Parliament of Canada and is independent of the Canadian Human Rights Commission which refers cases to it for adjudication under the Act.

The Tribunal holds hearings to investigate complaints of discriminatory practices and may order a respondent to a complaint to cease a practice as well as levy fines. [http://www.chrt-tcdp.gc.ca/about/index_e.asp]

Its decisions can be appealed to the Federal Court of Canada which can also issue and enforce decisions made by the CHRT if violations continue and imprison an offender for contempt of court if a decision continues to be disregarded. This has happened in the cases of John Ross Taylor in 1981 and Tomasz Winnicki in 2006.

hiv Chopra Case

In September 2008, Human Rights Tribunal (HRT) adjudicator Pierre Deschamps ruled that Shiv Chopra, a Punjabi Hindu who’d emigrated to Canada in the 1960s, was entitled to $4,000 (plus interest and extra wages) in damages for "hurt feelings" because on Feb. 9. 1998, Chopra was in the audience when his incoming boss at Health Canada, André Lachance, stated that "he liked visible minorities.” Chopra claimed this was “a racist remark” and Deschamps accepted this argument that this comment was “discriminatory against Mr. Chopra as well as individuals … who were non-white” and that Lachance's remark "shows a lack of sensitivity on the part of Dr. Lachance for people whose skin is not white." Deschampes stated that Lachance's remark was "by any standard, racist." Deschampes criticized the "inherent racist nature" of Lachance's comment and stated that Lachance's intent was irrelevant; the only relevant test is "whether or not the person alleging discrimination was offended by the comment." [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=ae21a9cd-d29b-449c-8808-2da349f8a7db Health Canada ordered to pay $4,000 for MD's 'hurt feelings'] by Don Butler, The Ottawa Citizen, September 20, 2008.] [http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=f8d2ba18-b717-4880-ace4-19bf5ec7019d Jonathan Kay: 'Do you like visible minorities? You do? Well, then: You're a racist'] by Jonathan Kay, National Post, September 22, 2008.] [ [http://www.chrt-tcdp.gc.ca/search/files/t901_2104edchrt39.pdf Decision: Shiv Chopra, Canadian Human Rights Commission and Health Canada] , ruling by Pierre Dechamps, September 19, 2008, page 63-64.]

Chopra had claimed that he was passed over for a promotion because of racism although Health Canada claimed this was due to the fact that he failed a test which was a prerequisite to the position. Colleagues had also complained he was authoritarian and confrontational. During the 37 days of HRT hearings over the last two years, Chopra provided a number of theories involving racism about why he’d been denied the job to the point that Deschamps chastised Chopra for undermining his own credibility. Lachance himself insisted that he simply wanted to reassure his audience that — having come from another department with a diverse work force — he had lots of positive experiences working with people from different backgrounds.

Jonathan Kay of the National Post criticized the decision, noting that Deschamps accepted Chopra's claim without any substantive explanation and that the HRT had spent huge amounts of taxpayers money investigating the "the ravings of a race-obsessed paranoiac." He also stated that the ruling is an "advertisement for why we should be closing down Canada’s human-rights commissions" and "nicely illustrates the absurd lengths to which our society’s elites will now go to demonize Whitey." He further stated that Canada's "human-rights industry" is "bereft of real cases to prosecute" and "instead bide their time prosecuting fake racism."

ee also

*Censorship
*Canadian Human Rights Act
*Canadian Human Rights Commission
*Canadian Human Rights Commission free speech controversies

External links

* [http://www.chrt-tcdp.gc.ca/index_e.asp Canadian Human Rights Tribunal]

Footnotes