Manitoba takes baby steps to rein in its out-of-control Human Rights Commission
Manitoba has introduced some amendments to its human rights law.
Canada’s human rights commissions are not real courts. We already have lots of real courts.
And all of them already deal with rights; The Charter of Rights and Freedoms limits all the laws in Canada.
These human rights commissions really got going in the 1960s and 1970s. They were designed, it was said, for an Aboriginal person who was denied passage on a Greyhound bus. Or a black person or a gay person denied an apartment for rent.
But you’re probably thinking: Is that still really necessary in 2020?
Today if you fire someone for being black, let’s say, that’s covered by employment law. Or if you’re part of a union, labour law.
Same thing with apartments: Most places have a specialized landlord and tenant board.
But these human rights tribunals aren’t simply going to go away now that we’ve discovered their uselessness. So they engage in what’s called mission creep.
They look for trouble, because otherwise they’ll have to get a new job.
Which is why Jonathan Yaniv was able to hijack the BC human rights tribunal for years, to terrorize and shake down minority immigrant women by demanding that they wax his private parts.
I’ve long advocated the absolute shut-down of these legal menaces.
The process is the punishment. Complainants don’t have to pay for lawyers or pay costs if they lose — they just make a complaint and they’ll walk away with ten grand, no matter what.
So here comes news, that Manitoba is at least pruning this weed:
The Manitoba government has introduced legislation that would cap the amount of money the province’s human rights commission can award.
Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said the proposed change would speed up the process to get decisions.
“Right now, we have a 3 1/2 to four year wait for hearings,” he said Tuesday. “So when someone submits a claim it takes up to four years to get it done. This legislation allows to expedite the process.”
The bill calls for a $25,000 limit on damages for injury to dignity, feelings or self-respect stemming from a human rights complaint. Currently, there is no limit.
It would also allow the commission’s executive director to dismiss complaints that are being addressed in another forum, introduce time limits and give authority to adjudicators to mediate complaints.
Both the Liberals and NDP in Manitoba oppose these changes.
It’s a minor miracle that the Conservative government there even dared to introduce it.
I won’t be surprised if they lose their nerve after a few squawking editorials by the hard-left-wing Winnipeg Free Press, which is now getting huge bail-out money from Justin Trudeau, who loves these commissions.
TONIGHT I'll take you through the bill.
This bill is a baby step forward. I’ll believe it’s the law when it’s actually passed — the Manitoba PCs have a habit of caving in.
But still, even if they are successful — why are you pruning a weed, instead of pulling out by the roots?
NEXT: Andrew Lawton joins me to talk about Canada's handling of the coronavirus, as well as the state of the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race.
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