Editorial: Mediation brings the right result to human rights complaints

Resolving human rights complaints in this province once took years, and often involved ugly legal battles and plenty of ill feeling.

Before the province's Human Rights Code was amended in 2011, it took an average of four years to settle complaints through a slow and often-combative tribunal system.

Since then, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission has focused on mediation, resulting in many complaints being resolved in weeks or a few months at most. Though the tribunals are gone, the commission has speedy access to Court of Queen's Bench for difficult cases. However, mediation is resolving the bulk of complaints without recourse to litigation. We saw a good example of successful mediation in Regina this week, when there were justified smiles all around as a collaborative settlement agreement was signed. The case involved a complaint by wheelchair user Jamie McKenzie that access to facilities at Evraz Place was inadequate for people with disabilities. With the commission serving as a neutral mediator, McKenzie and Evraz Place management collaborated on finding solutions that will result in a wide range of improvements. They include a designated wheelchair viewing area at the Co-operators Centre, additional accessible seating in the Brandt Centre and improved bathroom and washroom facilities.

Kudos to McKenzie for raising these important issues. People with physical challenges have a right to expect the same access to a normal life as the able-bodied.

It's a principle all should support. Whether due to illness or injury, any one of us might need to use a wheelchair one day.

Kudos, too, to Evraz Place CEO Mark Allan, who said the mediation process had been a positive, constructive experience.

Evraz Place didn't intentionally fall short on access requirements - it learned that building code regulations do not always meet the standards set by the human rights commission.

We agree with Chief Commissioner David Arnot that the provincial government needs to implement universal building access requirements that will prevent future problems.

Meantime, we reflect on how much progress has been made on such issues since the days when one wheelchair access complaint to the human rights commission dragged on for 12 years.

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Editorial: Mediation brings the right result to human rights complaints