NDP bill will strengthen the independence of the Ontario Human Rights Commission

QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is introducing legislation to strengthen the independence of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC).

“Doug Ford has shown a disregard for protecting human rights. And at every turn, he’s gone out of his way to undermine the independence of the OHRC – the protector of our rights”, said Horwath at a press conference Wednesday at the Ontario legislature.

“If we do not take concrete steps to strengthen the OHRC, the human rights system that all Ontarians rely on will be compromised. We can’t trust Doug Ford to stop meddling with the OHRC or using it as a political football.”

Doug Ford and Attorney General Doug Downey bypassed over 300 qualified applicants to make their own personal picks for OHRC commissioner positions. The Integrity Commissioner last week stated that at least one of those appointments, active-duty Toronto Police Constable Randall Arsenault, was in a clear conflict of interest. Last year, Ford tried to appoint his friend Ron Taverner to be the OPP Commissioner.

The Ford government has also refused to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that would provide a guarantee of the Commission’s independence from political interference.

“Over the years, the OHRC has been there to hold Liberal as well as Conservative governments in check when they’ve tried to infringe the human rights of Ontarians. It was the OHRC that joined community groups in pushing the Liberal government to put a stop to its unconstitutional practice of carding - a practice that this current government has not yet fully eliminated,” said Horwath.

“We must do more to strengthen the role of the OHRC. No government should be allowed to put their interests above people’s fundamental human rights.

Horwath’s bill, to be tabled in the Legislature Wednesday, affirms that the OHRC is independent and free from government interference, in keeping with the United Nations Paris Principles, and embeds the Memorandum of Understanding between the Attorney General and the OHRC within the Human Rights Code so that the OHRC does not have to rely on the will of the government to function independently and impartially.