As parent(s)/guardians navigate the BC Human Rights Tribunal system, something to think about is anonymization.
The tribunal will automatically anonymize your child and your name whether you ask them to or not. This is to protect the identity of a minor. Even if a parent and child ask to be identified, you are going to need to fight for it. As Lee Ehmke did in her daughter’s complaint. Child K (by Ehmke) and another v. Queen of All Saints School and another, 2024 BCHRT 150
The anonymization process can be addressed by making a general application form 7.1 and submitting it to your case manager. You can make this application as soon as you find out that your complaint has been accepted.
You can decide to name your child’s school district. If you are in an independent school, their name. There are reasons to consider identifying them.
School districts can hide behind anonymization and they will be less concerned about having your complaint proceed to a hearing.
Here are some thoughts to consider on whether to name them or not.
- Naming them could reduce the harm families are experiencing at the hands of district staff who feel untouchable. When people are in power, and untouchability becomes the systemic norm, it is very dangerous. The rule of law is an important concept in our country. No one should be untouchable.
- The human rights tribunal system is an adversarial legal system. Parent(s) are unrepresented against lawyers, fighting out their case in the arena of law. An area that they are most likely, not educated or trained for. The human rights system can unintentionally become a barrier for parents to access justice due to the adversarial design and lack of access to free legal services and advice. The system is leveraged against the parents. We need to create as many human rights cases to help other parents not even need to enter this system. Human rights cases can be used in your advocacy and showing schools that they can be identified and that you plan to go this route may be the motivation they need.
- School districts are notorious for lying, gaslighting and manipulating parents. They have the legislation to give them the power to be the decision-makers of a child’s school environment 5 days a week, 6 hours a day with poorly trained staff in disabilities and mental health. Schools could easily apologize and take accountability for the harm that was caused, but they never do. Only when issues are brought to the attention of the media. They are all so confident, that they just sweep us aside and move on to the next dumpster fire. This is a provincial and national issue. Historically, schools are entrenched in covering up all sorts of things and that toxicity is still normalized today.
- We need to start naming school districts. It needs to become the norm. They may have the motivation to resolve issues with parents a lot earlier if they know that they will automatically have parents making applications to name them.
When you make your application, you can use the above points in your argument.
Here is your case law.
Child K (by Ehmke) and another v. Queen of All Saints School and another, 2024 BCHRT 150
Keep this case handy parents if you want your district named. Paragraphs on this topic are 5-34.
(7) The Tribunal has discretion to limit publication of identifying information where a person can show their privacy interests outweigh the public interest in full access to the Tribunal’s proceedings: Tribunal Rules of Practice and Procedure [Rules], Rule 5(6); Stein v. British Columbia (Human Rights Tribunal), 2020 BCSC 70 at para. 64(a). The Tribunal may consider factors like the stage of the proceedings, the nature of the allegations, private details in the complaint, harm to reputation, or any other potential harm: JY at para. 30. It may also consider whether the proposed limitation relates to only a “sliver” of information that minimally impairs the openness of the proceeding: CS v. British Columbia (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal), 2019 BCCA 406 at para. 37. It is not enough to just assert that a person’s reputation may be tarnished: Stein at para. 64(c).
(29) I appreciate that naming the School could make it easier for motivated and diligent people to identify the people who were involved in the events of this complaint. In that respect, my order will not perfectly protect the people involved. However, I find that – unlike the individual educators and staff involved – there is a specific public interest in the identity of the School as a publicly funded institution serving the public: A obo B v. School District 61, 2014 BCHRT 105 at para. 11. I am not persuaded that this public interest is outweighed by the potential that some of the educators may then be identified. There have already been a number of complaints and proceedings involving the educators and staff, and Mrs. Ehmke points out that many people within the community already know about the complaint.
(30) I deny the application to limit publication of the name of the School.
Thank you to Mama Bear Lee Emhke for smoothing out the path on this one!