Last year 61 per cent of complaints accepted by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission were related to disability.
Examples of a human rights claim involving disability include discrimination in the workplace, discriminatory hiring practices, inaccessibility to a business and inaccessible public services.
In Saskatchewan more than a quarter of the population identifies as having a disability, according to the 2021 census.
“I think it’s very important we’ve undergone as a society a great shift or growth, an evolution of understanding not only those physical disabilities and ailments that people have, but also those invisible ones, those mental ones that perhaps weren’t as readily witnessed or easy to see,” said Nathan Sgrazzutti, Seiferling Law articling student.
Lawyer Steve Seiferling says he believes the number of complaints is not surprising given the largest category protected from discrimination is people with disabilities.
“With one in four people in Saskatchewan saying they suffer from some sort of disability, it doesn’t surprise me,” Seiferling said. “And I know the claims themselves are also going up year over year.”
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission said in a statement to Global News that it strives to “foster awareness and understanding of what it means to live and work with disabilities.”
“We do this by providing public and private presentations, by promoting equitable practices through our employment equity program and our monthly lunch and learn series, as well as by conducting research and community consultations related to systemic discrimination,” the commission said.
It added that it is working to address larger systemic issues for those with disabilities, like access to equitable education, accessible transportation and access and equality for those with hearing disabilities.
If you think that you have witnessed or been discriminated against, the best thing to do is ask.
“Just as a general rule, if you ever have any questions regarding something that you have experienced or witnessed, it is always worth the time to go online to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, or to simply pick up the phone, or start an email and call a lawyer to ask what your rights may be and what courses you can take in order to see yourself represented properly,” Sgrazzutti said.