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CHANGE SIGNS OF Labour and employment cases have long ended up mired in notoriously dysfunctional human rights systems, often taking years to resolve. Can new systems in B.C. and Ontario improve the massive backlogs and set the stage for more changes across the country? BY KEVIN MARRON W hen clients come to Toronto employment lawyer Matthew Dewar with human rights complaints, the fi rst thing he is apt to say is: "I hope you've got some time on your hands." It remains to be seen whether Dewar, an associate at Lang Michener LLP, will still need to warn clients about excessive delays now that Ontario has introduced a newly streamlined system that promises to provide a quicker, fairer, and more accessible way of handling human rights cases. He is not holding his breath, however, as the new Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has inherited a backlog of about 4,000 cases from the notoriously dysfunctional system that it has replaced. Under the old system, which was similar to that of the federal government and most other provinces, the Ontario Human Rights Commission played several roles. As a gatekeeper, it determined which complaints merited further investigation. It investigated complaints and attempted to mediate them. If complaints were consid- ered substantial enough and not resolved through mediation, the commission would present them to a separate body, the Human Rights Tribunal, which would schedule a hearing, sometimes years after the original complaint was lodged. Some lawyers are excited. Others are skeptical. But there is no doubt among la- bour and employment lawyers across Canada about the huge potential impact of Ontario's massive human rights system overhaul, which came into effect in July. The new system is designed to provide complainants with "direct access" to the tribunal, eliminating the gatekeeping and investigatory role of the commission. Complainants can get help from a new body, the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, which will be responsible for a province-wide system to provide legal and other support services related to all aspects of applications to the tribunal. Operating under a new set of rules, the tribunal promises to promote speedy resolution of cases through media- tion and an expedited hearings process. A major difference between the new Ontario system and that of British Columbia, which has also moved to a direct-access process, is that Ontario did not abolish its Human Rights Commission, but has given it an expanded role in promoting human rights in the province. "This model will be quite unique," says Matthew Certosimo, a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. "So how things shake out in Ontario over the www. Law ye rmag.com A UGUST 2008 53 ILLUSTRATION: ISABELLE CARDINAL