Released on May 31, 1996
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission has taken action to deal withthe recent 9.2 per cent budget cut, Chief Commissioner Donna Greschner
announced today. The major portion of the cut will be absorbed by
staffing reductions.
"By not filling vacancies and reducing hours, the commission has
reduced its staff by 2.5 positions and will now operate with a total of
17.5 positions," Greschner said.
"This cut has caused an immediate reduction in educational services,
and we are gravely concerned that the cut may also cause a further
increase in investigative delays," she said.
"The commission's budget and staff have never returned to their levels
before 1987, the year in which the commission suffered a major budget
reduction," Greschner noted. Since 1987 the workload has continued to
grow. There are now 60 human rights complaints awaiting assignment to
an investigator. Some have been backlogged for as long as two years.
The Department of Justice has agreed to help the commission with its
backlog by providing funds to permit temporary staff to finish their
investigations. It will also provide mediation services for several
months, to assist the commission with the case load in its early
resolution process.
"Before this budget cut we were making inroads on the complaints
backlog with new procedures like early resolution," Greschner said.
"We appreciate the department's assistance and hope that it will
prevent the backlog from growing."
Greschner noted that resources cannot be diverted to investigations
because other units already operate at a bare-bones minimum and will be
affected further by the cut. Between 1981 and 1996, the number of non-
managerial staff assigned to public education and equity programs
decreased from 4.5 to two. Over the same time period, the number of
equity programs monitored by the commission increased almost tenfold,
from six to 57. In the past month, the commission has reduced one
programs position to part-time and will severely limit its publication
of newsletters, posters and brochures.
"The commission is concerned about the impact of budget cuts on the
enforcement of human rights in the province," Greschner said. "We are
concerned about whether the commission can continue to provide an
acceptable level of service to the public. We have done the best we
can with very limited resources, but cannot accomplish miracles."
The commission will review the delivery of its services, with special
attention to the complaints backlog, in the fall of 1996. Further
action may be taken at that time.
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For more information, contact:
Donna Greschner, Chief Commissioner
Human Rights Commission
Saskatoon
Phone: (306) 933-5952