Human rights commission gets its 'hands dirty'

Page 9

The Alberta Human Rights Commission, which has come under fire recently for not being effective enough in cleaning up human rights violations in the province, is getting its hands dirty once more, says commission chairman Fil Fraser.

He said the human rights watchdog group is formulating a new process in dealing with complaints that fall under the 1972 Individual Rights Protection Act (IRPA).

Fraser, who was appointed as commission chairman in May, said he will be holding public meetings around the province listening to special interest groups that have experienced problems with

discrimination. The meetings are the first province-wide effort by the commission to address such issues.

He said the commission will be more accessible to the public and its affairs will be more open to the media.

The best way to deal with potential human rights violations, he said, is to hear about them first hand.

"It was handled differently before. We want to handle things on the individual level. The commission just wasn't active enough before. The style is different now (in handling human rights

violations)." he said.

Fraser, a former television and radio broadcaster, believes there will be more complaints coming forward now that he is making the office more available.

"We are here for all Albertans. We're here to stop people from doing bad things," he said.

Fraser said the commission used to meet in private every month in Edmonton or Calgary to discuss human rights complaints.

The commission is now scheduled to meet in Lethbridge and Red Deer as well.

In that October visit, Fraser will hold a round table discussion with Natives in southern Alberta who are concerned with the racial tension and possible discrimination they are facing.

He will also be the focus of a radio phone-in show to answer questions about the IRPA.

"We've got some exciting things planned," he said.

The Alberta Human Rights Commission investigates complaints of discrimination in the employment, accommodation and service sectors.

Sometimes, Fraser said, things can be worked out on an informal basis. "Because some people just don't realize (they are violating people's rights). We try to resolve the thing by getting the

parties together."

If it isn't worked out on an informal basis, the case is heard before the tribunal set up by the provincial minister of labor.

Fraser was appointed as chairman of the commission by Labour Minister Elaine McCoy. He replaced former chairman Stan Scudder whose commission drew heavy criticism for not taking a more active role in investigating human rights complaints.