Human Rights Inquiry Finds Discrimination

An independent board of inquiry found that Michael Trask was discriminated against by Nova Scotia Correctional Services because of his disability.

After nine days of hearings that began in March 2009, board chair Donald Oliver found that Correctional Services had discriminated against Mr. Trask in the workplace. They failed to accommodate his disabilities.

Mr. Oliver made a public interest finding, as he was not satisfied that what happened to Mr. Trask would not happen to someone else. He agreed that there was no one person responsible for the discrimination against Mr. Trask, but there was a systemic failure. The order is for extensive human rights training, overseen by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, for Correctional Services. Damages have not yet been awarded to Mr. Trask, as the parties were given an opportunity to settle.

"The commission is satisfied with the decision of the board chair. His understanding of how organizations work -- that is, that there can be systemic failure that is no single person's fault -- is an important recognition of how discrimination can occur in the workplace," said Krista Daley, CEO, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. "We look forward to working with Correctional Services by assisting them to increase their capacity to accommodate persons with disability."

The full decision is available at www.gov.ns.ca/humanrights/decisions.asp .

All parties have a right to appeal decisions of boards of inquiry to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.