YAHOO FULL COVERAGE CORRECTIONS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT |
STATISTICAL DATA ON COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES BETWEEN 1990 - MARCH 1996 |
by S. Pieters, B.A, LL.B.
Selwyn Pieters is a Barrister & Solicitor. He has a special interest in Charter litigation, International and domestic human rights law and policy, administrative law and issues surrounding anti-Black racism including racial profiling. He can be reached at selwyn.pieters@utoronto.ca.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services has continuously violated the human rights of racial minority Correctional Officers, particluarly African Canadians, with impugnity. When staff members file human rights complaints in respect to the violation of their rights, these case are always dismissed on the basis that the cases should be grieved through the Collective Agreement and Arbitrated.
In one exceptional instance, the Mckinnon case, where a Board of Inquiry was called under the Human Rights Code, it found that Mr. Mckinnon was called "Wagon Burner", "Tomahawk", "Running Bear", "Crazy Horse", and "Big Canoe". McKinnon also experienced co-workers wearing headbands with feathers (which had been distributed by the Respondent Geswaldo) greeting him with "war whoops, dancing and laughter". He found himself being compared to an intoxicated elderly native inmate being checked into the institution by the Respondent James. It was suggested behind his back that he would "be out to scalp co-workers" Unflattering cartoons depicting the complainant were posted in the institution.
Read the Toronto Star coverage of the McKinnon decision
The Board found that other employees of the Metro Toronto East Detention Centre including A. Weekes, Mark Daley, Derek Miller et. al faced similar racist behavior and name calling. Officers were called names such as "Chink", Nigger", "Paki", "Wop", "Filipino Dog Eater". Mr. Pickett, a disabled officer, was told by a co-worker that "we may still invite you to join the Aryan Brotherhood despite your obvious disability". The Ministry is now appealing the decision of the board of inquiry in Mr. McKinnon's case.
Similarly at the Toronto (Don) Jail employees including A. Simon, C. Grimmond, A. Fernandes, and S. Pieters has had to work in an poisoned environment where "KKK" sings and other forms of white supremacy is condoned and tolerated by management. Operations Manager Alex Sills in an occurrence report to the Superintendent of the Jail, Kevin Cowie, noted correctly that while "this issue keeps surfacing from time to time... there was no final statement issued from an administrative stand point. If not handled properly and swiftly a matter of this magnitude could be have serious reprecussions on the inmate population and the staff's ability to function effectively." In response to Mr. Sills pleading, the Superintendent Kevin Cowie wrote a letter admitting that "on three recent occasions racist graffiti has been scratched into the walls in the vicinity of the elevators." What has the administration done in response to this? Nothing. No investigation was launched nor was the hate crimes unit of the Toronto Police Service called in.
The cases of McKinnon, Miller, Daley, Fernandes, Simon, Weekes, Lumley, Welch, Pieters and many other racial minority Correctional Officers signals the need for some legal action to be taken against the Ontario Human Rights Commission for allowing the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services to violate the equality rights of its staff members with impugnity.
A report into the "correctional culture" was recently prepared by the consulting firm Coopers and Lybrand for the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services. The 55-page report outlines systemic morale problems among correctional staff, including harassment, many of which are traced to bad management practices. The report stated that the Ministry "has real problems and issues which will grow worst over time if not addressed in the near future."
If the Human Rights Commission was doing its job - and it is our position that it isn't - the Ministry would not have gotten away with maintaining a poisoned work environment and ignoring decade old complaints and grievances from racial minority Correctional Officers.
Premier Harris stated that Officials of the Ministry found guilty of racial harassment will be fired. We are calling on the Premier to dismiss Geswaldo, James, and Hume, from the public service for subjecting McKinnon to years of human rights abuse.
We are also calling on the Government of Ontario to implement the recommendations of the Commission on Systemic Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System and the Recommendation from the Report into the Workplace Culture of Correctional Institutions.
At the Federal level, in the Correctional Servcies of Canada, the issue of racial harassment and discrimination is just as pressing as in the Ontario Criminal Justice System.
In the case of Dr. Uzoaba the Human Rights Tribunal found that Dr. Julius Uzoaba was discriminated against because of his race while he was employed by the Correctional Service of Canada ("CSC"). CSC was ordered to offer Dr. Uzoaba a position at the WP-5 level without inmate contact at the first reasonable opportunity.
The Attorney General of Canada argued in a judicial review proceeding that the Human Rights Tribunal erred in finding that the CSC contravened the Canadian Human Rights Act, and further erred by ordering the CSC to reinstate Dr. Uzoaba at the WP-5 level, which would constitute a promotion from the WP-3 classification officer position which he held at the time his rights were violated.
The Tribunal found that Dr. Uzoaba was discriminated against because of his race because the CSC relied in its evaluation of Dr. Uzoaba's performance on statements and actions of the inmates of Collins Bay Institution which were, in part, motivated by racial bias.
The Attorney General of Canada argued that the CSC should not be held liable for the actions of inmates at a prison. However, the Court found that the Tribunal did not find CSC liable because of the racist beliefs or actions of prisoners. Rather the Tribunal found that management in its dealings with Dr. Uzoaba relied on acts, statements and a petition from the prisoners at Collins Bay which were racially motivated, and it was this that amounted to discrimination contrary to the Act. The Court found that there was evidence before the Tribunal that discrimination was a basis for the employer's actions at least with respect to the performance appraisal and the petition. This was sufficient to put the employer in violation of the Act.
The Attorney General argued that the Tribunal cannot order CSC to reinstate Dr. Uzoaba at the WP-5 level because this would constitute a promotion, and the scheme for promotion in the Public Service Employment Act cannot be overruled by a Human Rights Tribunal. However, the Court found that if there is a conflict with the Public Service Employment Act, the Human Rights Act must prevail because it is paramount. There was evidence on which the Tribunal could base its decision that Dr. Uzoaba should be reinstated at the WP-5 level, and that puts the matter beyond the reach of the Court.
The Correctional Services of Canada application for judicial review of the Tribunal's decision was dismissed.
Please visit the News page for updates on the above noted cases.
YAHOO FULL COVERAGE CORRECTIONS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT |
STATISTICAL DATA ON COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES BETWEEN 1990 - MARCH 1996 |
McKinnon |
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