Favourable HRC ruling “like winning the lottery”
Jennifer McSwain of Hay River, Northwest Territories, is one happy lady because the NWT Human Rights Commission has ruled in her favour. She complained that the territory’s Department of Justice discriminated against her because of her marital status when the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre (SMCC) refused to allow inmates to remove snow at her home.
She has multiple sclerosis and needs a scooter to move around. Her husband, SMCC corrections officer William McSwain, has no physical disabilities.
“I won,” she said. “They discriminated against me because of whom I’m married to. It’s like winning the lottery.”
In a written ruling released March 16, an adjudicator found the denial of snow removal to McSwain was based on marital status, which is prohibited under the NWT Human Rights Act.
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Even though she won, McSwain said she may end up with nothing but about $2,000 in legal fees repaid for her trouble.
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McSwain said she went to the Human Rights Commission as a matter of principle.“The government changed a program to disqualify me,” she said.
That much appears to be true. For years, SMCC inmates had removed snow at homes where disabled persons lived with able-bodied spouses or other relatives. However, when Ms McSwain became the first person on the programme married to an SMCC corrections officer, the first set of written rules came into existence with the apparent purpose of disqualifying her.
But why did it take so long for the decision to be rendered? The complaint was lodged on 20 September 2006, but the hearing did not take place until 10-11 September 2008, and the written decision not released until March 2009. And it’s not over yet. Further hearings must be held and decisions reached regarding what “remedy” and allocation of costs are deemed appropriate.
Gluttons for punishment can read the full text of the ruling here as a badly formatted pdf document.
Earlier this year, the NWT HRC ordered payments to complainants who suffered hurt feelings.
h/t: The Blog of Walker
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Thanks for the link!