Thank you very much.
I will go directly to proposed new section 87 of the act. This is the only new section that explicitly addresses the rights of complainants. It says: “The Council shall establish policies respecting the notifying of complainants of any decisions made.” That's all that is given to complainants in the process. This is very weak. It's just notice of the decisions made. This means that once a complaint is filed, the complainant is shut out of the process. This raises fundamental questions around the fairness and transparency of the process and the requirement for reasoning justification.
We would suggest there are actually four improvements that could be made to the legislation that would give greater rights to the complainants and therefore promote public confidence.
First, the complainant should have a right to be informed about the progress of the complaint.
Second, they should be given reasons if their complaint is dismissed.
Third, if there are hearings or an appeal, they should have a right to participate.
Fourth, and finally, they should have a right to request reconsideration of a decision at any stage in the proceedings. This is particularly important if it's dismissed by the screening officer, the reviewing member of the CJC, or the reduced hearing panel.
With respect, I disagree with the minister that we are promoting public confidence, because we're failing to adequately consider the rights of complainants.