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parties to try to resolve the complaints early on. I think those efforts are work- ing. People are taking advantage of those prior to the hearing stage." Ontario's amendments to its Human Geoffrey Litherland, a partner at Har- ris & Co., gives the reforms a qualifi ed endorsement. "The effect is that hu- man rights complaints tend to proceed somewhat faster. There's still a backlog. There's still a considerable waiting time for a hearing and there can be a waiting time for getting an ultimate decision. But, generally speaking, complaints pro- ceed quicker through the system," he says. "Also the tribunal is putting a lot of emphasis on trying to settle the com- plaints at an early stage, so they offer out settlement conferences to the par- ties with a tribunal mediator to assist the Rights Code are far-reaching because they not only transform the process for dealing with complaints, but also affect outcomes and remedies, according to BLG's Certosimo. "Labour and employ- ment lawyers are going to have to ensure that they are very much on top of the im- pact of the changes," he says. One obvious and signifi cant change is that the new legislation has made human rights claims potentially more lucrative for claimants and more dam- aging for respondents. Until now there was a $10,000 cap on damages that the Human Rights Tribunal could award for mental anguish, but this has been eliminated. "The awards are going to get much bigger and that's not such good news for employers," says Dewar. It will also be more diffi cult to chal- lenge the decisions of the provincially appointed tribunal members. In the past, there was a right of appeal to Divisional Court. Now the decisions will be subject to judicial review only if it can be shown that they are patently unreasonable. Another important change in the leg- islation is that it gives civil courts a clear power to award damages where a hu- man rights issue arises in the context of another claim. This has been a conten- tious issue recently, particularly in labour and employment law. As Corry explains it, under common law, it is necessary to prove "a separate actionable wrong" in order to get a punitive damage award in a wrongful dismissal suit. Lawyers have argued in recent cases that human rights code violations constitute sepa- rate actionable wrongs and are therefore grounds for punitive damages. While the new law in Ontario apparently accepts this notion, employment lawyers in the rest of the country were anxiously await- ing last month's Supreme Court of Can- ada's decision in the Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays wrongful dismissal case (see full ALBERTA'S COMPLEX COMPLAINT PROCESS Assessment for further action OR Early dismissal The commission is unable to proceed with your complaint. Right to appeal to chief commissioner.* OR Conciliation Attempt to work with you and the respondent to settle the complaint. 1. If conciliation is successful, your complaint file is closed. OR 2. If conciliation is not successful, an investigation takes place if you want to proceed. Right to appeal to chief commissioner.* Discontinuance If you reject a reasonable settlement offer, your file will be closed. * Decisions made by the chief commissioner may be taken to judicial review. ** Panel decisions can be appealed through the courts. Source: The Alberta Human Rights Citizenship Commission. 58 A UGUST 2008 www. Law ye rmag.com Right to appeal to chief commissioner.* Settlement If your complaint is settled, your file is closed. No Settlement If your complaint is not settled, it will be reported to the chief commissioner. Reported to chief commissioner Panel Hearing** A human rights panel appointed by the chief commissioner may hear your complaint. Investigation Where conciliation is not possible, an investigation into your complaint may take place. Dismissal If the evidence does not support your complaint, it will be dismissed. Report A report of the investigation is sent to you and the respondent. OR Merit If evidence supports your complaint, settlement is attempted. Complaint The commission reviews your complaint. Response If accepted, a copy of your complaint is sent to the respondent with a request to reply. Reply A copy of the respondent's reply to your complaint is sent to you.