Sunday, January 20, 2013

Just When You Thought Ontario's Madcap, Oppressive "Human Rights" Apparatus Can't Get Any Worse, a Lawyer's Report All But Ensures That It Will

Great news! A lawyer appointed by the province has conducted all sorts of research, for which he's no doubt been paid a pretty penny, and concluded that, all things considered, Ontario's "human rights" system is working quite well, really. Not that there isn't room for certain, ahem, "improvements":
Ontario’s human rights system has been given a passing grade by Andrew Pinto, a lawyer appointed by the province to review the system. 
Pinto submitted his 233-page report to the attorney general in November, and lawyers Shana French and Gerald Griffiths offer their interpretation on page 21 of the Jan. 28, 2013, issue of Canadian HR Reporter
Pinto made 34 recommendations on improving the system, but the one that’s bound to catch the attention of employers (and complainants) is number 10 — where he calls for the monetary range of damages awarded by the tribunal to be “significantly increased.” 
Increasing the damages, as French and Griffiths point out, would certainly give a wronged employee more incentive to file a complaint. A $10,000 slap doesn’t get as much pop in the press or the public consciousness as a $100,000 thump — not to mention how much better it looks in the complainant’s bank account...
Indeed. That one extra zero is bound to look mighty sexy--especially when you, the complainant, need not fork out so much as a plugged shekel to obtain it, while the defendant, er, sorry, the target of your "human rights" complaint, a.k.a. The Discriminator, must shoulder the burden of his/her own legal fees along with any onerous penalty (be it a "slap" or a "thump") meted out by the "human rights" kangaroos.

Way to go, Mr. Pinto! You have singlehandedly found a way to make an irredeemably dreadful system much, much worse.

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