June 28th, 2021

Earlier this month, we announced the new Indigenous, Equity, and Human Rights Department. This week, we are profiling the third of three branches within the department: the Human Rights Branch.

Human Rights Branch

Students, staff, Trustees, parents/caregivers and other Board community members
have the right to inclusive and respectful learning and working environments free from discrimination and harassment based on the grounds identified in the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) and Board Policy 1017 – Human Rights.

Reporting directly to the Director of Education, the Human Rights Branch (HRB) works collaboratively throughout the Board to further a human rights culture by providing education and proactive training on the rights and responsibilities stemming from the Code and Board Policy 1017 – Human Rights. When needed, the HRB works with objectivity and independence from other system structures to address matters specific to Code-related harassment and discrimination complaints.

Learn more about the Human Rights Branch.

Resources and Supports

Human Rights Complaints

As the WRDSB engages in the ongoing work of being an equitable and inclusive institution, including the promotion of human rights, it is to be expected that members of the community may look to the Human Rights Policy for support if/when they experience or recognize they have been negatively impacted by discrimination or harassment on Ontario Human Rights Code protected grounds. The HRB is in the process of creating administrative procedures to respond to Code Based Human Rights Complaints for Staff and Non Staff.

The Human Rights Branch maintains an impartial approach when addressing a human rights complaint. Our team strives to explore the differing perspectives and understand all sides of a complaint. Please note that any complainant who seeks resolution of a complaint must be prepared to be identified to the respondent.

Learn more about Human Rights Complaints.

Report an Issue

The process for reporting an issue to the Human Rights Branch is laid out on this page, including how to access the Human Rights Incident Reporting Form.

The Human Rights Incident Reporting Form is available to any members of the Board community to report a complaint, issue, or matter of discrimination or harassment that is believed to go against the Board’s Human Rights Policy. Submitting an Incident Reporting Form does not start a complaint resolution process – it notifies the Human Rights Branch of the incident and a member of the HRB team will follow-up within five business days to explore appropriate next steps.

Interested in learning more about the work of the IEHR Department? Explore our pages on the WRDSB website, and see all the resources available to the WRDSB community.