Commission Examines Assessment Report

An independent assessment has found the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission staff acted appropriately and impartially in handling a complaint regarding breastfeeding.

The commission is considering implementing recommendations found in an assessment report written by Brian Johnston of the law firm Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales. In March, the commission asked Mr. Johnston to assess how it dealt with the complaint.

"We asked for a commentary on how the commission is doing its job and the assessment is that staff acted appropriately," said Mayann Francis, executive director of the Human Rights Commission. "Of course, we want to provide the most effective service, as well as the most transparent service, so we will use this assessment to improve our efficiency and effectiveness.

"We will look closely at Mr. Johnston's assessment and see how we can implement his recommendations."

The assessment focused on how the commission conducted an early meeting, or intervention, to try and settle a situation before it became a formal complaint. As well, it looked at how the subsequent investigation into the complaint was handled.

Mr. Johnston made several recommendations, including:

• present simple and clear documentation explaining what an intervention is and how it works;
• establish flexible guidelines as to when interventions may or may not be appropriate, and when they may be cancelled by the commission;
• clarify the role of education in intervention;
• improve service to the public through exit interviews, feedback forms, staff focus groups and other means.

In the original complaint, Elizabeth Smith of Amherst alleged that she was asked to refrain from breastfeeding her infant son in Chintzy's, a Halifax fabric store, in the spring of 1998 by store owner Jan Bird. The complaint was based on the protections for gender and family status in the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. A settlement reached in January 2000 remains in place.

The commission developed a policy in June that affirms a woman's right to breastfeed in public.

A copy of the report is available on the commission's website at www.gov.ns.ca/humanrights/decision.htm.

NOTE TO EDITORS: A description of how complaints are handled by the Human Rights Commission is available on the website at www.gov.ns.ca/humanrights/complain.htm .