The commission received over 2,300 complaints related to discrimination and harassment, an increase of over a third from five years ago.
QUEBEC — Quebecers are increasingly seeking the services of the province’s human rights commission.
The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) reported the uptick Thursday in its annual report to the National Assembly.
The CDPDJ said it received more than 2,300 complaints related to discrimination and harassment, an increase of over a third from five years ago. The average wait time to respond to complaints decreased from 10 to 8.3 months for the 2,103 files processed.
Complaints are most commonly related to disability, which has been the case for over 30 years, the commission reported. In 2023-2024, more than 40 per cent of inquiries concerned disabilities.
That discrimination takes many forms, such as access to transportation or a lack of accommodation for service dogs in public spaces or workplaces.
There’s a need to “take concerted action across different networks to improve services offered to students with disabilities,” the commission said.
Discrimination based on race, skin colour or ethnic origin is the second most common, accounting for 27 per cent of open investigations.
In the last year, the commission opened 97 files and won four judgments related to racial profiling. Its presentations before the human rights tribunal notably concerned the stopping of racialized drivers without a valid reason.
The CDPDJ said it received 759 requests for investigation related to youth protection, up a third from last year’s report.
That rise can be attributed to “the degradation of health services and of social services that result in a less consistent delivery of youth protection services,” said CDPDJ vice-president Suzanne Arpin.
The commission took an average of four months to process files of children whose rights may have been violated. Close to 100 inquiries were initiated by the CDPDJ itself, which it said was a record.
The commission’s president, Philippe-André Tessier, said he was “very proud” that the youth protection system implemented 98 per cent of the corrective actions his organization asked for.
“That means that in 98 per cent of situations in which we believe there was a right violated, there’s engagement and measures taken to correct the situation and reinstate the child’s rights, without us having to litigate the file,” he said at a news conference Thursday.
When it comes to protecting children’s rights, “we firmly believe that litigation is not the best solution,” Tessier said.