New Policy to Be Monitored

A new policy limiting confidentiality clauses in the settlement of human rights complaints will be reviewed in a year's time to assess its impact, said the head of the province's Human Rights Commission today.

"The purpose of the new policy is to provide a better balance between the public's right to know and the interests of the parties," said Mayann Francis, the commission's executive director. "Examining the policy in a year's time is a sensible step to check its impact on the resolution of complaints."

In the new policy, a human rights complaint that is headed to a public board of inquiry for a decision can no longer be settled with a confidentiality clause as a term of the settlement, except in exceptional circumstances. Under the commission's old policy, a confidentiality clause could be included as a term of settlement, thus restricting publication and public access to the details of the settlement if it was worked out before the board heard the complaint.

The new policy is in place now. Exceptional circumstances that may lead to a confidentiality clause being accepted in a complaint settlement include concerns about safety and security. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

A board of inquiry is the final and public stage in the human rights complaint process.