Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the Human Rights Commission 2007-2008 Annual Report and commends it to the House.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations reviewed the 2007-2008 Report of the Human Rights Commission. The committee would like to thank Mary Pat Short, chair of the Human Rights Commission, and Ms. Therese Boullard, director of human rights, for their appearance before the committee.
The 2007-2008 Annual Report was the fourth report on the Human Rights Commission since its establishment on July 1, 2004. There were no recommendations in the report.
The committee was pleased with the level of activity that occurred in 2007-2008. The Human Rights Commission hosted a national human rights conference in Yellowknife in June of 2007 with 150 delegates attending. Experts presented on aboriginal rights, duty to accommodate family obligations, drug and alcohol testing and other topics. In addition, the commission visited seven communities to give presentations and sponsored audio conferences on human rights in four communities.
The Human Rights Commission received 317 inquiries and 33 new complaints in 2007-2008. The most common type of alleged discrimination was disability.
The committee is very pleased with the commission’s efforts to provide education and awareness workshops on human rights and the NWT Human Rights Act. We look forward to seeing continued outreach to communities and encourage you to pursue opportunities to reach people throughout the NWT.
The committee commends the commission’s work and the achievements to date and looks forward to monitoring the continued advancement of human rights in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, that concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the Review of the Human Rights Commission 2007-2008 Annual Report.
