Double Shame On South Asian And Ethnic MLAs Who Tried To Get BC To Days Of Racism!

By Harinder Mahil

I was shocked to learn last week that 37 BC MLA’s, including 34 conservative MLA’s, voted in favour of the Human Rights Code Repeal Act introduced by MLA Tara Armstrong. The purpose of the Bill was to repeal the BC Human Rights Code that has been in place in one form or another since 1970’s.

While introducing the bill, Armstrong said: “ The purpose of the bill is to end assault on freedom of speech by the Human Rights Tribunal. Last week, they fined Barry Neufeld three quarters of a million dollars for refusing to believe that a man could become a woman, for his own personal opinions…”

All NDP MLA’s, two greens and two independent MLA’s Elenore Sturko and Amelia Boultbee voted against the bill while 37 MLA’s voted for it.

These 37 MLA’s who voted to repeal the Human Rights Code should know that BC is not unique in regards to human rights legislation.

Every jurisdiction in Canada has human rights legislation that prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and services; protects against discrimination on prohibited grounds such as race, colour, sex, disability and religion; and imposes a duty on employers to accommodate employees to the point of undue hardship.

Supreme Court of Canada has described human rights legislation as quasi-constitutional meaning it prevails over regular statues when there is conflict between the two.

There was a time when such legislation did not exist in British Columbia. It was open for employers to discriminate on the basis of race, religion and ancestry. Employers could openly advertise significantly lower rates of pay for South Asians, Chinese and Japanese. Landlords could discriminate against persons of colour and deny them tenancy.

I came to Canada in 1970 and felt the effects of racism and discrimination. The B.C. organization to Fight Racism (BCOFR) was founded in 1980 because of racism and racist attacks against members of South Asian community.

Canada and various provinces enacted human rights laws during 1960’s and 1970’s. Ontario was the first province to bring in the human rights act in 1962. Nova Scotia did the same in 1963. B.C. enacted human rights code in 1969.

In 1977, the federal government enacted the Canadian Human Rights Act. This was a major  milestone because it enshrined that federal government departments and private companies such as the banks and airlines had to follow anti-discrimination laws.

Some Canadian provinces have had right wing governments over the years. Ralph Klein government in Alberta (1992-2006) was considered right wing and same was the case for Mike Harris government (1995-2002) in Ontario. Both of these governments did not eliminate human rights laws.

I will not say much about the decision (Chilliwack Teachers Association v. Neufeld (No. 10)) about which Tara Armstrong is upset about. Does she know that any decision of the Human Rights Tribunal can be judicially reviewed by the BC Supreme Court? Does she know that very few decisions rendered by the Tribunal are judicially reviewed? Is she aware that in vast majority of cases, decisions issued by the Tribunal are upheld by the Supreme Court?

If B.C. Human Rights Code is eliminated, British Columbians would no longer have a system of redress for discrimination. Some may argue that British Columbians may be able to file cases with a court. Going through the court system is extremely expensive and time consuming. A person needs a lawyer to file a case with a court whereas it is much easier to file a human rights complaint.

In employment law, human rights legislation overrides collective agreements where they are in conflict. It also requires employers to participate in accommodation processes. For union officials and employers, human rights law is not peripheral - it is embedded in governance, hiring, discipline and workplace policies.

At a broader level, human rights legislation embeds dignity and equality as organizing constitutional principles, aligns Canada with international human rights norms and provides a moral and legal vocabulary for public debate and discussion. It signals to all of us, including governments, that discrimination is not simply socially undesirable but it is legally prohibited.

These 37 MLA’s, who voted to repeal BC Human Rights Code, should understand that human rights laws protect all of us.  They should understand that human rights laws need to be strengthened not repealed.

Harinder Mahil is a community activist and is secretary of Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation. He is a former Chair of B.C. Council of Human Rights and a former commissioner of B.C. Human Rights Commission.