ROLES OF THE OFFICE

Responsibilities

The Office of the Human Rights and Equity Advisor (HREA)  has two key tasks:

1. Work to resolve human rights complaints;

   The Office of the HREA oversees YCDSB’s internal human rights complaints procedure and seeks to resolve human rights complaints. The Office acts in an impartial capacity to protect human rights as outlined in the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code). It should be noted that the Office of the HREA is an impartial, arms-length body that does not provide legal advice or representation, act as legal counsel or provide other advice to a party that may create an actual or perceived conflict of interest.

   The Office is focused on seeking to address and remedy disproportionate impacts derived from human rights complaints. This is primarily conducted through the resolution of complaints raised with the Office of the HREA, updating and revising pre-existing policies and procedures and introducing new policies and procedures. The Office of the HREA is focused on eliminating instances of discrimination, code-based harassment and reprisal within YCDSB schools and its subsequent community. More information on discrimination, code-based harassment and reprisal can be found here. 

   When addressing complaints, the Office of the HREA follows a rigid procedure to ensure consistency and impartiality. The operating procedures for addressing complaints and discriminatory statements can be found 

   More information on how to report a complaint can be obtained here.

2. Foster a culture of human rights within the Board and schools.

   The Office of the HREA works with the School Board and school communities to foster and instill a culture of respect towards human rights. The Office is committed to implementing an easily accessible yet effective method to inform students, staff and parents within the YCDSB community. This is done through education and training. The Office works with teachers from each school, designated as HREA leads, to provide education on human rights issues and foster a culture of respect towards human rights within their respective schools. Furthermore, the Office has embarked on the creation of a poster campaign, meant to identify various human rights issues and provide an easily accessible avenue for students and staff to access further information on human rights. More information can be found here.

   The Office of the HREA supports YCDSB to identify and address human rights and equity issues and ensure compliance with the Code.

3. Refer complaints to appropriate Board groups and committees

   The purview of the Office of the HREA is limited to situations involving discrimination, code-based harassment and reprisal under the Code. In this vein, any scenario concerning anything other than the aforementioned topics cannot be actioned upon or handled by the Office. Should your matter not fall under the specified grounds, the following groups within the School Board may be of help:

   • Human Resources
   • Indigenous Department