Human Rights Case Settled
The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission has paid $20,000 in general damages to an Isle Madame woman who filed a complaint of sex discrimination.
In a decision dated Tuesday, Nov. 16, Chief Justice Joseph Kennedy decided the Human Rights Commission did not, however, have to pay the legal expenses of the other parties involved with the complaint. The chief justice instead suggested that the organizations have further discussions about what costs, if any, should be paid.
The complaint involved a woman who alleged that Clearwater Limited Partnership and the Canadian Automobile Workers Union had discriminated against her when she was an employee at the Clearwater Plant in Arichat.
The union and Clearwater had planned to ask the court to quash a Human Rights Commission investigation of the case. They continued with legal action after the woman's complaint was settled, petitioning the court for legal costs incurred by the lengthy process involved in handling the complaint.
In his written decision, Chief Justice Kennedy said he did not find evidence that would justify "the dramatic imposition" of legal costs.
He said that all of the parties "share in the creation of the circumstances that led to this unfortunate situation."
The case has a long history and was affected by a settlement reached in earlier complaints arising from the same workplace.
In 1994, Clearwater, the union and the Human Rights Commission had entered into a settlement agreement with five other complainants. As a result of that settlement and other information, the commission understood that it could not accept a complaint from the woman when she approached the commission later that year. She eventually filed a complaint with the Ombudsman's Office.
In 2002, the assistant ombudsman recommended in a report to the commission that the complaint be reactivated or a new one accepted. The report was critical of the portion of the earlier settlement that prohibited the commission from accepting future complaints alleging sex discrimination against Clearwater and the union.
Upon reviewing that report, the commission accepted the complaint for processing. Clearwater and the union then took legal action against the commission. Concerned with the unexpected costs of those legal actions, the commission entered into a settlement with the woman.
"This was a unique set of circumstances and we needed to act," said commission CEO Mayann Francis. Ms. Francis said once a cost benefit analysis was completed, the commission was confident that a settlement with the woman was the most prudent decision and use of resources.
In his decision this week Chief Justice Kennedy said he did not find that the commission acted improperly in accepting the new complaint.
The court decision is available on the commission website at http://gov.ns.ca/humanrights/decisions/default.htm .