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Section 2: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

2.1 Strategic Outcome

Individuals have equal access, as determined by the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Employment Equity Act, to fair and equitable adjudication of human rights and employment equity cases that are brought before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

The Tribunal achieves its strategic outcome and results for Canadians through its main program activity, Hearings of Complaints before the Tribunal, together with its Internal Services program activity.

2.1.1 Program Activity: Hearings of Complaints before the Tribunal

Program Activity Summary

Planning Highlights

To achieve the expected result, the Tribunal plans to undertake the following activity:

Human rights complaints raise very serious issues that affect Canadian society directly and have the potential for affecting the very livelihood and key business operations of those who come before the Tribunal. The Tribunal therefore strives to commence hearings of complaints within 6 months of referral by the Commission, and strives also to conclude inquiries within a 12-month time frame. However, many of the human rights cases before the Tribunal raise factual and/or legal issues of such complexity and importance that a rush to hearing is neither feasible nor desirable. Complaints sometimes also arise in settings, such as remote northern communities, that pose logistical difficulties or for whom the pressures of an expedited adjudication process pose a particular challenge. Although hearings are now unfolding more efficiently since the 2005 introduction of case management, the Tribunal nevertheless recognizes that parties sometimes need more time and the additional intervention of a Tribunal member to get to hearing.

The Tribunal will continue to monitor case management procedures to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of that process. It will also introduce added flexibility into the process to help parties resolve the complaint or get to hearing within the earliest possible time frame, for example, to allow for earlier intervention by a Tribunal member in cases where it is evident that the parties could benefit from mediation. It will also investigate making greater use of tools, such as Tribunal Practice Notes, which help the parties better understand the inquiry process and be better positioned to meet their disclosure and other pre-hearing obligations, and the feasibility of posting them on the Tribunal’s website.

Benefits for Canadians

As the custodian of a vital piece of Canada’s human rights protection machinery, the Tribunal benefits Canadians by increasing the thread count in the fabric of Canadian society. In providing a forum where human rights complaints can be scrutinized and resolved and by articulating findings and observations on important issues of discrimination in the form of formal decisions, the Tribunal gives effect to the principles enshrined in federal human rights legislation. The result of the Tribunal’s program is that complainants can air their grievances and achieve closure in a respectful, impartial forum. In the longer term, Tribunal decisions create meaningful legal precedents for use by employers, service providers and Canadians.

Although the Tribunal (including its predecessors) has been part of the human rights landscape in Canada for decades, Tribunal decisions have not always enjoyed the authority they do today. Until recently, allegations of institutional bias and lack of independence undermined the effectiveness of Canada’s human rights enforcement machinery, and requests for judicial reviews of Tribunal decisions and rulings were commonplace. For example, all eight of the Tribunal’s written decisions issued in 1998 were challenged. Statutory changes in 1998 raised the stature and perceived independence of the Tribunal, resulting in fewer challenges to Tribunal decisions and greater approbation by the Federal Court when Tribunal decisions are appealed.

Ultimately, this acceptance benefits both complainants and respondents, since Tribunal decisions are increasingly perceived as definitive and the parties can get on with their lives. Written decisions become part of the public record. As well as specifying whether a respondent’s actions have run afoul of the Act, Tribunal decisions provide guidance, where appropriate, on how to bring policies and practices into line with the legislation to prevent discrimination in future. Such explanations benefit not only the parties involved, but also all employers and service providers and their employees and clients. It is therefore an expected (and sought after) result of Tribunal decisions that they will be accepted by the parties involved and, if judicially challenged, upheld by the reviewing court. Such acceptance benefits all of society since it expedites justice and reduces the cost of protracted appeals.

2.1.2 Program Activity: Internal Services

To achieve the managerial priority of improved corporate management, the Tribunal plans to undertake the following activities:

The Tribunal is a micro-agency (26 FTEs). Although somewhat less challenged by the broader and more complex human resource management issues that larger government organizations typically face, it nevertheless recognizes the need to continually strengthen its strategic human resources capacity to ensure that it remains relevant, accountable, results-focused, effective and competitive within the context of a respected, professional and forward-looking public service.

The Tribunal has remained closely in step with the government’s human resources management modernization initiative. It has a functioning labour-management consultation committee and an informal conflict management consultation system. The required staffing policies under the Public Service Modernization Act and the Public Service Employment Act are in place and an Integrated Business Human Resources Plan has been approved and implemented.

The Tribunal will address the challenges identified by the Clerk of the Privy Council in his Fifteenth Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada. A learning framework is near completion and, over the next two fiscal years, a Tribunal-specific values and ethics statement will be developed to reinforce the principles supporting the Tribunal’s mandate and its human resources management practices. The Tribunal will also review its human resources policy suite to ensure it is up to date and will continue to engage employees during the human resources planning process to ensure optimum relevance, efficiency and effectiveness.

The Tribunal holds no illusions as to its limited micro-agency capacity for helping to shape the broader federal public service. It will nevertheless continue to seek out every opportunity to work with and contribute to other government departments and agencies, especially those of like size and mandate, to assist in meeting the government-wide challenge for public service renewal.

The Tribunal recognizes that managing information is a crucial element of all federal government activities and an important part of the Tribunal’s responsibilities. The government’s Framework for the Management of Information (FMI) provides strategic direction and practical guidance. It describes why and how to integrate the management of information with a wide range of Government of Canada activities to improve business delivery, legal and policy compliance, citizen access, and accountability. The Tribunal has strengthened its FMI compliance by implementing the government’s Records, Documents and Information Management System (RDIMS) for management of its corporate records. RDIMS also offers records imaging, full-text indexing search and retrieval, workflow management, on-line document viewing, and reporting capabilities.

For managing its operational case files, the Tribunal uses an automated system called the Tribunal Toolkit. A digital voice recording system replaces paper transcripts and more costly stenographic services for hearings. The Tribunal’s decision distribution system for clients is also automated. It has introduced enhancements to other communication technology tools, such as its website and intranet.

An important step in attaining the Tribunal’s certification under the government’s Management of Information Technology Security Standard is the implementation of its Information Management Security Policy and a Business Continuity Plan.

In 2009–10, the Tribunal will respond to a 2008-09 internal audit of the Tribunal’s information technology security. As a logical next step in advancing its suite of technology tools, the Tribunal will undertake a full review of its current technologies. From this review, it will develop a strategy for integrating technology management products, practices and policies. To ensure the technology suite performs to the highest possible standards, and to realize every possible advantage from available technology advancements, the Tribunal will continue to search out sharing opportunities and interact closely with government policy centres and other government departments and agencies. These efforts will enhance the Tribunal’s capacity for conducting inquiries with optimal efficiency and, ultimately, for the delivery of best possible results for Canadians.

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