Research Program

Mandate

Under paragraph 27(1)(b) of the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Commission has a responsibility to “undertake or sponsor research programs relating to its duties and functions under this Act and respecting the principle described in section 2.”

Section 2 of the Canadian Human Rights Act states that the purpose of the Act is “to give effect, within the purview of matters coming within the legislative authority of Parliament, to the principle that all individuals should have an opportunity equal with other individuals to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have and to have their needs accommodated, consistent with their duties and obligations as members of society.”

Objectives

The research program supports the Commission’s work, in its development of:

• guidelines, regulations and policies on human rights and employment equity;
• strategic initiatives;
• tools to help prevent discrimination;
• presentations to parliamentarians, etc.

Research will be disseminated and used to inform and educate others. In some instances, research will provide a starting point for debating current societal issues, such as mandatory retirement and environmental sensitivities.

The research program will also support the work of stakeholders, such as employers, unions, parliamentarians, research centres on human rights, non-governmental organizations, officials responsible for developing public policy, and provincial and territorial commissions.

Process

The Commission will first list the topics that it wants researched and prepare a statement of work required for each.

It may then use one of the following approaches:

• For smaller projects, it may send the statement of work to a few researchers chosen from its database, asking for proposals.
• For larger projects, the statement of work may be distributed to all those registered in the database, asking for proposals.

Proposals will then be assessed based on criteria such as:

• whether they meet the mandatory requirements set out by the Commission;
• how closely the researcher’s proposal fits the Commission’s statement of work;
• the proposed methodology;
• the proposed budget; and
• the researcher’s qualifications and experience.

A research contract will then be drawn up.