Human Rights
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM PST Maritime Labour Centre 111 Victoria Drive Vancouver, BC V5L 4C4
IN PERSON – at the Maritime Labour Centre
Participants will learn:
* Differences between federal and provincial human rights protection;
* Collective Agreement solutions to human rights problems;
* Prohibited grounds;
* Protected areas;
* Gaps in existing legal protection;
* Exceptions and special programs;
* The different roles of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the BC Human Rights Tribunal, the Office of the BC Human Rights Commissioner, the CLAS Human Rights Legal Clinic, and the Ombudsperson’s Office;
* Anatomy of a human rights claim;
* Available Remedies;
* Practice writing and filing a claim;
* How (and why) to grieve human rights issues.
Facilitator: Adrienne Smith
Adrienne Smith is a transgender human rights activist and social justice lawyer. They argued a BC human rights case which clarified employers’ obligations to recognize correct pronouns for transgender and non-binary workers. Adrienne appeared at the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada where they argued about the harmful effects of mandatory minimum sentences for women, Indigenous people, and drug users, and made submissions in defence of transgender children under section 15 of the Charter. As a trade union activist, they advocate for transgender inclusion in our unions and workplaces. Adrienne is the litigation director at the Catherine White Holman Wellness Clinic where they give free legal advice, take on human rights cases, and notarize name and gender change documents for trans people.
Adrienne is the recipient of the Canadian Bar Association BC Diversity Award; the Canadian Mental Health Association BC Branch Nancy Hall Public Policy Leadership Award; the Allard Law Alumni Achievement Award; the Vancouver and District Labour Council Syd Thompson Award for Community Service; the BC Federation of Labour Joy Langan Award for Social Justice, The Canadian Bar Association’s Sexual and Gender Diversity Alliance Section Hero Award for support to the 2SLGBT+ community, and The Advocates Society Joe Arvay Award for advancing the law under challenging circumstances.