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09/05/2000

Sex and Marital Status Complaint of Ontario Couple Before the Tribunal

Ottawa - September 5, 2000 - An Ontario couple claiming discrimination because of their sex and marital status will appear before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in September in Hamilton.

Cheryl and John Northcott of Hamilton filed complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission against their employer, W.J. Deans Transport. Mrs. Northcott, a crane operator, alleged that her employer discriminated against her by failing to provide her with a harassment-free workplace and by terminating her employment. She further alleged that she was sexually harassed by her manager, her supervisor and a colleague. Her husband, Mr. John Northcott, a driver with the same company, alleged that his employer discriminated against him on the ground of marital status by failing to provide him with a harassment-free workplace. The hearings will take place from September 18 to 22, and 25 to 29 in the Beckett Room, Sheraton Hotel, 116 King Street West.

In Winnipeg, a tribunal will look into the complaint of Scott Wignall, of Winnipeg, a student who says the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency discriminated against him by taxing his disability grant. Mr. Wignall, who is deaf, received a special grant for students with disabilities while attending the University of Manitoba. The Agency says that the grant is a bursary -- which is taxable. Mr. Wignall maintains that the grant merely helps him to deal with his disability rather than providing him with any actual benefit, and therefore should not be taxed. The hearings will take place from September 25 to 29 at the Federal Court of Canada, 4th Floor, 363 Broadway Avenue.

In September, the Tribunal will hold hearings in six other cases at its headquarters at 473 Albert Street in Ottawa.

• A tribunal will look into the complaint of Andrea Gould of Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, alleging that the Unama'ki Tribal Police discriminated against her on the basis of disability by denying her job opportunities. She says she was not considered for a position because the Unama'ki Tribal Police perceived her to be drug-dependent, even though she had not used drugs in 10 months. Although she had held the same position previously, she was not considered for the competition because she was told that she had not been drug-free for a sufficient period of time. The hearings will take place September 7 and 8.
• A tribunal will look into the complaint of Joan Weytze of Markham, Ontario, alleging that her employer, the Bank of Montreal, discriminated against her because of her disability. After Ms. Weytze suffered injuries in a car accident, she was put on reduced duties at work. She claims that her manager treated her differently after the accident and that her employment was terminated because of her disability. The hearings will take place from September 18 to 22, and 25 to 29.
• A tribunal will resume hearings into the complaint filed by Henry Vlug of Vancouver, alleging that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation discriminated against him, and other people who are deaf, by failing to provide captioning on its television programs. Mr. Vlug says the CBC has a policy of replacing captioned broadcasts with non-captioned broadcasts. He further claims the CBC failed to continue captioning when it took over broadcasting programs that other broadcasters had captioned. The hearings will take place from September 18 to 22.
• A tribunal will continue hearing the racial discrimination complaint of public servant Shiv Chopra. In 1992, Dr. Chopra filed a complaint with the CHRC, alleging that Health Canada discriminated against him on the ground of race when he was denied promotion to a director-level position. The complaint was subsequently dismissed by a human rights tribunal, but in April 1998 the Federal Court's Trial Division found that the tribunal had erred when it refused to admit statistical evidence that visible minorities were under-represented in management positions within Health Canada. The Court ordered that the complaint be sent back to the Tribunal. The hearings will take place from September 18 to 21.
• A tribunal will continue looking into pay equity complaints filed against Bell Canada by the Canadian Telephone Employees' Association (CTEA), the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), and a Montreal-based employees' group, Femmes-Action. These organizations represent more than 20,000 employees throughout Bell Canada's workforce.
• The complainants allege that people in predominantly female jobs were paid less than those in predominantly male jobs for work of equal value. The hearings will take place from September 5 to 8.
• A tribunal will continue looking into the pay equity complaint by the Public Service Alliance of Canada against Canada Post. The Alliance alleges that 2,300 clerical workers, mostly women, perform work of equal value to letter carriers and postal workers, who are mostly men and earn more. The hearings will take place from September 11 to 15, and 18 to 22.

Hearings start at 9:30 a.m. local time.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is an independent body responsible for adjudicating complaints referred to it by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

For more information:
Catherine Barratt
Media and External Relations Officer
(613) 943-9119