Canada’s national human rights institution is the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission was established in 1977 by the Canadian Human Rights Act. The Commission has responsibility to administer the Act and is responsible for receiving and resolving complaints under that act. It “deals with discrimination complaints against the federal government, First Nations governments, and private companies that are regulated by the federal government such as banks, trucking companies, and telecommunications companies.” The Commission also “provides an independent dispute resolution process designed to resolve discrimination complaints at the earliest opportunity.” In addition, the Commission ensures compliance with the Employment Equity Act.
As reported at the Commission’s website, “The Commission protects the core principle of equal opportunity and promotes a vision of an inclusive society free from discrimination by:
- promoting human rights through research and policy development;
- protecting human rights through a fair and effective complaints process;
- representing the public interest to advance human rights for all Canadians; and
- auditing employers under federal jurisdiction for compliance with employment equity.”
In addition to the Canadian Human Rights Commission every province and territory in Canada has a human rights commission, except for British Columbia which has only a Human Rights Tribunal and Nunavut which has a Fair Practices Officer. It should be noted that in Ontario, complaints go directly to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and in Saskatchewan complaints go to the Courts. The Canadian Human Rights Commission maintains a close liaison with these organizations to foster common policies and practices and to avoid conflicts respecting the handling of complaints in cases of overlapping jurisdiction.