YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS IF BILL 107
PASSES:
- No guaranteed investigation: if bill
107 passes you lose your right to an investigation – it will be left up to the
Tribunal as to whether or not an investigation is done.
- No guaranteed legal support: bill 107
gets rid of your guaranteed right to legal counsel pursuing your case at the
Tribunal. Even if the McGuinty government plans to provide legal support for
victims of discrimination, bill 107 allows the next government to take away
that support with one Minister’s signature.
- Appeal: bill 107 takes away any right
you have to appeal. The outcome of your case is left in the hands of
government appointed tribunal members with no required expertise in human
rights. You will have no recourse if you think the verdict is unfair.
- Fees: bill 107 allows the Tribunal to
charge you for costs attached to your case.
McGuinty should withdraw this bill and hold
proper, open, accessible consultations before proceeding further.
If the Government is intent on proceeding with
the bill, then these are key
amendments that are absolutely essential.
Please contact your MPP and the Premier today –
tell them you don’t support bill 107, tell them why and what changes are needed.
Ask your MPPs to share your concerns with the
Premier and fellow Caucus members and ask them to call you back and let you know
their response. You can get you MPP’s contact info by clicking on:
http://olaap.ontla.on.ca/mpp/daCurRdg.do?locale=en&ord=LASTNAME and
then clicking on their name.
On Feb. 20, 06 McGuinty’s government announced their plans to dismantle Ontario’s
Human Rights Commission. This is a great move for lawyers who stand to make a
lot of money, but it is a disaster for the people of Ontario.
Everyone agrees
improvements are needed in how human rights violations are dealt with in
Ontario.
Dismantling the Human Rights
Commission and moving to a direct access model is not the answer.
The McGuinty
government says dismantling the Commission and ‘allowing’ individuals to go
directly to the Tribunal means everyone will get their day in court and cases
will be dealt with faster.
What does ‘direct access’ really mean?
·
You will
no longer have access to free investigation, mediation and legal representation
through the Human Rights Commission.
·
If your
human rights are violated you will have to hire a lawyer to prepare and argue
your case.
·
You will
have to do your own investigation or hire a professional to do it for you.
·
Most
people can’t afford expensive hearings and don’t qualify for legal aid.
·
Direct
access means only the wealthy will be able to protect their human rights.
·
Direct
access will not speed up the process – it will just lead to a longer
backlog like we now experience in the court system.
We need a
solution that improves human rights protection, not one that puts money in the
hands of lawyers at the expense of most Ontarians.
Tell McGuinty
to stop dismantling the Commission and work with the public for real improvement to
human rights protection.
