Yukon Human Rights Commission struggles with growing number of complaints

The Yukon Human Rights Commission says its caseload has ballooned this year, and it's struggling to keep up.

With more than 100 active complaints now before the commission, some people are waiting between 18 months and two years for an investigator to be assigned to their case. 

"We've hired more staff but, you know, we just can't keep up," said Vida Nelson, general counsel for the commission. 

Nelson told CBC News she's projecting by the end of December, there will be more than double the complaints this year over last. 

"That number seems to be increasing every year," said Nelson.

The commission is independent from government and serves to help enforce the Human Rights Act. Yukoners who feel they've been unfairly discriminated against can submit a complaint, which may be investigated. 

Not all complaints are accepted for investigation by the commission. Each undergoes an initial screening, and if accepted, goes in the long queue waiting for an investigator who will eventually gather evidence on the case. It may or may not proceed to a tribunal for adjudication.  

"We're really trying our best," said Nelson, pointing out that parties can choose to settle informally before an investigation. "We can usually get to that very quickly but yeah, I think it's really unfortunate that complaints take so long to investigate." 

For Constance Backhouse, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa, the wait time in human rights cases is a problem of massive importance across Canada. 

"We are not putting the resources into the resolution of these very significant problems," she said.

While Backhouse sees the spike in cases in many provinces and territories as a sign that more people are finding their voice and understanding human rights, she said governments aren't making the issue enough of a priority.

"That seems to me to be a terrible shame. You need more investigators, you need more adjudicators — obviously all of these things take money," Backhouse said.

It's not clear exactly why the Yukon is seeing such a boom in complaints. Unlike some other jurisdictions like B.C., the territory did not receive many COVID-related complaints.

"I think a lot of it might have to do with increased public education sessions we've been doing," said Nelson.