In the age of ever increasing accommodation, competing rights are becoming complex problems for courts and other institutions to come up with consistent solutions.
The victim of a sexual assault wants to express her freedom of religion by wearing a niqhab, or veil, but the accused argues it will interfere with his right to a fair trial.
Or what about provincial Catholic schools not allowing gay/straight alliances? Which right is the most right?
Ontario Human Rights Commission chief Barbara Hall said the answer depends on the context. The commission has recently released its Policy on Competing Human Rights, a framework that can help address these issues.
“While some people sit down and resolve those things on their own, when that doesn’t happen there wasn’t a really consistent way of dealing with those issues,” Hall said in Thunder Bay Wednesday.
“One of the problems with competing rights is that there is no hierarchy of rights in Canada. On the flipside, no right is ever absolute. Through the new policy, both sides are first encouraged to try and see the other person’s point of view.
“Sometimes people think what are rights aren’t rights and so first of all really looking and hearing from both people involved,” she said.
“We know these are issues that often bring about a lot of emotion and so it’s really important for people to understand that the other right is as important as their right.”
If an agreement, based on respect, can’t be reached through recognizing each other’s differences and finding an accommodation, then it may reach a tribunal or court setting. Even then, Hall said the policy can be useful.
“We want it to be useful and practical and it really is about having a consistent, respectful way of dealing with what can be very tough issues.”
To view the policy visit www.ohrc.on.ca
