This information sheet tells you:
Section 27(1)(d)(ii) of the Human Rights Code says the Tribunal can dismiss a complaint if:
“proceeding with the complaint … would not further the purposes of this Code”.
A respondent must show that there has been a remedy for the conduct in the complaint.
Section 3 of the Human Rights Code sets out the purposes. The purposes include:
The respondent remedies a complaint if they:
The remedy does not need to be exactly what the complainant wants.
The remedy does not need to be exactly what the Tribunal might order.
But, the remedy must deal with the conduct in the complaint.
Example complaint
An employee says that a co-worker made rude comments about her religion
Example remedy
The employer:
- investigated right away
- disciplined the person who made the comment
- gave training to its employees to stop more harassment
The person who made the comment apologized.
Example where no remedy
The employer:
- investigated the complaint and decided to take no other steps
The co-worker said any comments were a “joke”.
The Tribunal will consider things like:
“We remedied the problem right away.
We rely on Aflakian v. Fraser Health Authority and another, 2011 BCHRT 170.
The complaint is about an incident on December 4. We investigated right away. We found the co-worker said the racist words. The co-worker apologized. We told the co-worker we will suspend her if this happens again. We told the complainant this. We reminded all employees about the Respectful Workplace Policy. We organized more training for all staff.”