Kaiser Board to Begin Monday

The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission announced today that a board of inquiry will hear the complaint of H. Archibald Kaiser against the Executive Council of Nova Scotia starting Monday, Jan. 7. The board will meet every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday for five weeks in Room 301 of the Dalhousie University Student Union Building, 6136 University Ave., Halifax.

Mr. Kaiser laid a complaint in March 1996 against the Executive Council and several politicians and government officials on the basis of political belief, affiliation or activity.

He alleges that his applications for membership on the Criminal Code Review Board and Psychiatric Facilities Review Board were unsuccessful because he was not affiliated with the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia. Mr. Kaiser also alleges that his views and activities with respect to people with mental disabilities are a form of political belief and activity and that he was discriminated against on this basis as well.

The present board of inquiry, appointed on Jan. 6, 2001, will hear only Mr. Kaiser's complaint against the Executive Council. The commission discontinued the complaint against the politicians and government officials in January 2001. At the same time, it discontinued his complaint that he had been discriminated against because of his political belief or activity.

At the hearing, witnesses will be called to comment on the appointment process generally and specifically. At the preliminary hearing held on Oct. 31, 2001, the commission and Mr. Kaiser asked the chair to find that the Department of Justice lawyer representing the Executive Council had a conflict of interest and should be disqualified. They also requested that any lawyer employed with the Department of Justice be disqualified from acting as counsel because of a conflict of interest. The board ruled that a government lawyer could represent the provincial cabinet.

Boards of inquiry are the final step in the human rights complaint process. Although the commission decides if a board will be appointed, the chief judge of the Provincial Court nominates a chair for the board. Boards of inquiry are independent, public hearings into complaints of discrimination.

The board will be chaired by David MacDonald.