Mr. John Williams, M.P.
Chair, Standing Committee on
Public Accounts
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Pursuant to
Standing Order 109 of the House of Commons, I am pleased to respond on behalf
of the Government of Canada to the recommendations of the Ninth Report of the
Standing Committee on Public Accounts, tabled in the House of Commons on
January 30, 2003.
I would like to
thank you and the members of the Committee for your views on improving Canada’s
human rights system. The Government
shares your commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in
Canada. We also share your goal of
ensuring that our human rights system continues to be effective.
Three of the
Committee's four recommendations concern reforming the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) and responding to the CHRA Review
Panel Report. Specifically, these
recommendations propose indicating how the Government will respond to the
Review Panel's proposals for amending the CHRA; reviewing the funding needs of
the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and the Canadian Human Rights
Tribunal (CHRT); and specifying a target date for any amendments to the CHRA.
I should begin by pointing
out that since the release of the Review Panel Report progress has been made in
a number of areas with respect to human rights. A new Chief Commissioner for the CHRC was appointed in August
2002 and some of the Report's proposals have been acted upon. For example, the
CHRA was amended to prohibit the use of the Internet to spread hate. Also, using the vehicle of the First Nations Governance Act (Bill C-7), the CHRA will be amended to make it
apply to Aboriginal governments.
As you know, the
Review Panel Report contains an extensive list of recommendations ranging from
significant structural and process changes to the addition of new grounds of
discrimination. Consequently, the
Committee will understand the close scrutiny that government officials have had
to bring to this Report. As well, we
are reviewing plans recently announced by the new Chief Commissioner of the
CHRC for non-legislative reform of CHRC procedures, as outlined in the CHRC's
latest Annual Report, its Report on Plans and Priorities, and in the Chief
Commissioner’s Statement “New Approaches to the Protection of Human Rights”
delivered to the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies on May
27, 2003.
As the Commission
has already begun to implement their procedural changes, the Government
believes it is important to take the time necessary to gauge the effectiveness
of these reforms, before proceeding with its own CHRA reform. This will give the Government the
opportunity to determine, what, if any, other procedural reforms might still be
necessary, while continuing to evaluate and develop the substantive proposals
of the Review Panel.
After the
Government has had sufficient time to assess the impact of the CHRC’s own
reforms, the Government will table in the House a more detailed response to the
Review Panel Report. At that same time,
we will address the issue of the resource needs of the CHRC and CHRT as well as
the question of the timing for any possible amendments to the CHRA. I should also add that the Government
continues to allocate funding to the CHRC and the CHRT exclusively through the
Main and Supplementary Estimates.
The Committee's
fourth recommendation requests information on: performance measurements for the
CHRC's EX group; the number of CHRC executives receiving performance bonuses;
and the total amount of performance bonuses paid in the fiscal year ending
March 31, 2003.
Performance
measurements for the CHRC's EX group is governed by a Treasury Board
government-wide policy. Furthermore,
the criteria and format for Departmental Performance Reports are under the
aegis of the Treasury Board Secretariat and the CHRC will continue to conform
to these standards in its Departmental Performance Report to Parliament. The CHRC will provide the Committee with the
information requested in Recommendation 4.
I would like to
thank you and the members of the Committee for your valuable work on our human
rights system and wish all of you well in your future endeavours.
Sincerely,
Martin Cauchon