CHRC Preparing for June 19th

CHRC Preparing for June 19th

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 15:50

The Canadian Human Rights Commission is gearing up for an important date this spring.

On June 19th, the exemption that prevented First Nations members on reserve from filing human rights challenges under the Indian Act will be repealed.

That means on-reserve members who feel they’ve been discriminated against in areas like housing, land allocation, membership or education will be able to launch a complaint.

Sherry Halguson is a director with the Human Rights Commission.

She says they’ve begun to receive some complaints already.

She adds First Nations people who think they’ve been wronged should remember financial compensation isn’t the aim of the complaint process; rather, it’s to help that person get their job back or fix the original problem.

She adds the commission has tried to raise the word about the changes so everyone is ready.