Humans Rights complaints wait times ‘unacceptable’

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This article was published 16/03/2018 (2927 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who lodged a complaint against the Winnipeg Police Service with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission has been told it will take 18 months before an investigation even commences.

Michael Kalo said he was first told last June that it could take a year for the probe to begin. When he inquired recently about the status of his complaint, he was informed that the investigation likely wouldn’t begin until the end of December.

“I found that to be unacceptable,” Kalo said Friday.

He has filed a complaint over the delay with the provincial ombudsman’s office, which has told him it is looking into the matter.

A spokeswoman for the ombudsman said it is against policy to confirm or comment on any investigations that may be in progress.

However, Kalo said he has received confirmation that the ombudsman will examine whether the estimated wait stated by the commission is fair and reasonable and conforms with government policies and legislation.

Kalo, who is self-employed, believes that a year-and-a-half wait for an investigation to begin is unreasonable — and may render any probe “ineffective.”

“How can this be possible in a city that has a beautiful human rights museum… where so much money has been spent on the idea of promoting human rights?” he said of the lack of resources that has apparently “paralyzed” the human rights commission.

Kalo said his human rights complaint stems from a civil suit against police, the result of which is still pending. He alleges that an affidavit in the case included a database screenshot about him that was racist.

“They referred to my race — they said ‘not-white,’” he said.

Kalo said the document further said he was Middle Eastern and suggested he might be ­violent. He said there was no basis to the suggestion, and he doesn’t have a criminal record. He said authorities have photos and fingerprints of him on file because he is an immigrant.

“I’m originally from Israel, I don’t know what non-white is. I thought there was only one race, the human race,” he said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said late Friday that the government recognizes that wait times at the human rights commission are long.

She said in an emailed statement that the government supports the commission’s efforts to address the issue.

“As an example of these efforts, we are aware that the commission is utilizing a new triage system to identify earlier in the process the level of investigation, which may be required. There are other improvement initiatives underway to shorten the timelines for handling complaints,” she said without elaborating.

The spokeswoman did not indicate whether the department may provide extra funding for commission staff to reduce the backlog in cases.

Human rights lawyer David Matas said the commission should provide up-to-date wait times information on its website — not only indicating how long it is taking to initiate investigations but how long it is taking to complete them.

“It’s a problem and I think it needs to be addressed,” he said of the lack of posted information.

Providing better information up front would benefit would-be clients — and the institution itself, as it would not have to spend as much time fielding calls inquiring about a file’s progress.

Matas noted that the Canadian government posts wait times for processing various types of visa applications, and the human rights commission should adopt a similar system.

He also pointed out that there are alternative remedies for most human rights complaints. In Kalo’s case, that could mean taking his complaint to the board that supervises police, he said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca