Publication title: The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: Jan 6, 2000. pg. A.2
Abstract (Article Summary) The decision is a defeat for several separate complainants, including a Halifax man who was denied paid leave for a same-sex marriage ceremony, four nurses who say they were sexually harassed on the job and a Muslim woman who alleges she was a victim of racial discrimination.
"In my view, Parliament has enacted a particular method of resolving these questions, a rather complex, costly and time- consuming method perhaps, but until Parliament can be convinced to change its legislation, this court will honour the legislative choice," wrote Justice Allen Linden in a recent ruling.
"This raises a case of national and public importance," said Ms. [Joan Mohammed]'s lawyer, Andrew Raven, who said the ruling will force employees who feel they've been harassed to "engage in the time- consuming, protracted, frustrating process involving a human-rights complaint."
Full Text (544 words) Copyright Southam Publications Inc. Jan 6, 2000
Public servants must line up at the cumbersome Canadian Human Rights Commission to complain about sexual and racial discrimination instead of having the right to speedier internal arbitration, says the Federal Court of Appeal.
The decision is a defeat for several separate complainants, including a Halifax man who was denied paid leave for a same-sex marriage ceremony, four nurses who say they were sexually harassed on the job and a Muslim woman who alleges she was a victim of racial discrimination.
"In my view, Parliament has enacted a particular method of resolving these questions, a rather complex, costly and time- consuming method perhaps, but until Parliament can be convinced to change its legislation, this court will honour the legislative choice," wrote Justice Allen Linden in a recent ruling.
The decision was condemned as a blow to collective bargaining because unions say it reduces the right to arbitration that has been established in negotiated contracts.
Joan Mohammed, a Muslim who complained more than six years ago that her superiors at the Immigration and Refugee Board had racist reasons for not renewing her contract, sought leave to appeal yesterday to the Supreme Court of Canada.
"This raises a case of national and public importance," said Ms. Mohammed's lawyer, Andrew Raven, who said the ruling will force employees who feel they've been harassed to "engage in the time- consuming, protracted, frustrating process involving a human-rights complaint."
Employees with complaints covered under human rights laws, including allegations of sexism, racism, ageism and discrimination based on disability and religion, could wait years for their cases to be settled at the commission, which last year had a backlog of about 500 cases.
Grievances filed at the staff relations board, on the other hand, take less than one year to resolve.
A federal worker is also guaranteed a hearing in arbitration, which is far from automatic at the human rights commission.
Judge Linden's ruling dealt with three separate cases that have been held up for years because of a jurisdictional dispute between the Public Service Staff Relations Board and the human rights commission.
Ross Boutilier, a geologist, began fighting in 1994 for five days of paid leave for a marriage ceremony with his same-sex partner. Federal employees are entitled to the time off for marriage. He won in arbitration, but the federal government argued the case was a matter for the human rights commission and pursued the matter in Federal Court.
Four federal nurses, Rose O'Hagan, Susan Field, Janice Nachtegaele and Edith Nelson, all went to the staff relations board in the early 1990s seeking paid time off to recover from the stress of being sexually harassed at work for more than two years. The staff relations board ruled it has no jurisdiction over the complaint.
"A union and an employer have recognized the importance of human rights in the workplace and have negotiated human rights protections in the contract, yet when there's an allegation those protections have been breached, we can't avail ourselves of traditional arbitration," said Mr. Raven.
The ruling could cause employees to think twice about seeking recourse when they're harassed on the job, said Steve Hindle, president of the 36,000-member Public Institute of the Professional Service.
"It's unfortunate because the situation itself won't be addressed," he said.