All communications with the Office of the Human Right and Equity Advisor (HREA) are confidential.
Yes. Even if a complaint is filed with the Office of the HREA, it can be raised in other settings, such as the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario or in other legal proceedings. Any member of the YCDSB community has the ability to file an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario at any time.
If a complaint has been pursued through legal means prior to the complaint being filed, unfortunately, we are unable to hear the complaint.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to guarantee anonymity. The Office of the HREA takes all reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of those involved in an incident. This includes the complainant and any witnesses involved. Information is only disclosed to relevant Board departments when required.
All YCDSB community members are protected from reprisal. Any instance of reprisal should be reported to the Office of the HREA or an appropriate member of the Board. Reprisal can be reported to the Office of the HREA through the Complaint form.
The Office of the HREA only addresses concerns related to a protected ground of discrimination, harassment or reprisal under the Ontario Human Rights Code. If your complaint falls outside the Office’s scope, it may be referred to a relevant department within the Board.
A member of the Office of the HREA will contact you, acknowledging your complaint within 5 business days. A member of the Office will review the information provided in the complaint, and will reach out to discuss next steps to be taken.
Once a complaint is received, the Office of the HREA will:
- Determine whether the complaint falls under the purview of the Office through impartially applying human rights threshold assessments per the Code
- If so, an investigation will be conducted into the complaint
- If not, the complaint may be referred to another department or support service within the Board
Due to the varying nature of each complaint, approximate timelines cannot be provided. Investigations and complaint evaluations will be conducted in an effective, efficient and sound manner. The Office will keep the parties involved in the complaint informed as new updates are found.
All incidents/complaints should be raised immediately, but can be raised up to one (1) year from an incident, or one (1) year in a series of incident
Revisions:
- Need to have the posters go the section called “Building a Culture of Human Rights (change QR code)
- Build carousel displaying posters in the “Building a Culture of Human Rights’ poster
- Add more substantive material to the “Roles of the Office”
- Make sure email at bottom works properly
- Main page should have more substantive material
- Have more neutral photos