Helping people find solutions

Whenever possible, we encourage people to try to resolve their discrimination complaint informally and at the earliest opportunity. This often involves mediation, which brings the parties together with an impartial mediator so they can craft their own solution.

Understanding the benefits of in-person dialogue, the Commission's team of mediators usually travels the country to meet with parties in person. Naturally this year, we had to take a different approach. We went virtual with this part of our work, using video and teleconferencing to conduct our mediation and conciliation sessions.

Overall, we found the results and feedback to be positive. So much so, in fact, that this type of flexible service could have a place well beyond the pandemic.

Also in 2020, the Commission implemented a number of pilot projects to accelerate and improve the way we process complaints. In some instances, when it was deemed necessary, our team of Commissioners served as mediators to provide direct expertise on the cases.