YELLOWKNIFE - A former delivery driver with Yellowknife's Boston Pizza has filed a human rights complaint against the restaurant, saying that while working there she was, despite repeated complaints to management, repeatedly exposed to sexually offensive music.

Patricia Sherman's complaint is one of a handful currently before the NWT Human Rights Commission.

"The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees equality, and the human rights commissions are one way of realizing that right," says Thérèse Boullard, director of the NWT Human Rights Commission. - Alix McNaught/NNSL photo

"It's equivalent to displaying pornographic content at work, which is illegal," said Sherman, adding that the sexually offensive music was often blaring from the restaurant's kitchen when she came to pick up deliveries.

Management at Boston Pizza had no comment.

A public hearing in front of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Adjudication Panel will take place in the next couple of weeks.

The national news has been littered with references to human rights commissions across Canada in recent months, with detractors complaining that the tax-funded agencies are running amok, attacking free speech and dragging defendants through lengthy, costly proceedings over nuisance complaints that other courts wouldn't otherwise accept.

Among the most prominent is the case of former Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant.

His decision to re-publish the Danish cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad led to a human rights complaint by Calgary Muslim leader Syed Soharwardy in February 2006.

Soharwardy argued that republishing the cartoons opened Muslims to hatred and contempt.

Levant's spirited defence of the cartoon decision, including the posting of a taped interview he had with an Alberta Human Rights investigator on his blog, which has since been viewed by some 500,000 viewers, launched a growing outcry among media pundits and other free speech advocates.

In the Northwest Territories, human rights complaints are handled by the NWT Human Rights Commission. Responding to the recent barrage of criticism, NWT director Thérèse Boullard said, "I think quite often what gets reported on are the more extreme cases. What's not reported on are the thousands of more modest cases. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees equality, and the human rights commissions are one way of realizing that right," she said.

Boullard cited many cases, the results of which were small settlements, reinstatements and education programs introduced in the workplace.

"That's the norm. My experience is the most extreme cases get reported and get people questioning the relevance of human rights commissions," said Boullard.

The more modest cases are overlooked by media in large part because all settlements are confidential and, therefore, never publicized.

According to Boullard, the NWT Human Rights Commission receives an average of 30 to 35 complaints a year.

Past cases include complaints made by a former ice road truck driver from Newfoundland and a former employee of water and coffee supplier Tundra Transfer, who was fired for missing too much work.

After being injured on the job and receiving total disability, the truck driver appealed the amount of benefits awarded him by the NWT Worker's Compensation Board, claiming the employment insurance (EI) he collected as a seasonal worker from Newfoundland should be included in the calculation.

When the WCB ruled his EI benefits be included on a one-time basis only, the truck driver filed a complaint in 2005 with the NWT Human Rights Commission, claiming, "being a seasonal worker from Newfoundland, with a limited education and limited job opportunities," WCB discriminated against him by excluding his EI benefits based on his social condition.

NWT human rights adjudicator Shannon Gullberg ruled in favour of the driver, writing in her decision that the man belonged to a "socially identifiable group in which social disadvantage and economic disadvantage exist," and, consequently, had been discriminated against.

WCB was instructed to refrain from similar decisions towards seasonal workers in the future and to pay the man, "an amount that equals the difference between what he received as compensation and what he would have received if EI had been included."

In 2005, a fired Tundra Transfer Ltd employee complained that she was discriminated against because of her family status, after she was dismissed due to her frequent absences from work.

The woman said she needed time off for massages, personal issues, house problems and to accompany her husband to medical appointments in Edmonton.

The human rights commission's investigation ruled against her, but the case dragged on for more than a year as the woman unsuccessfully tried to appeal the decision.

Under the NWT Human Rights Act, it is against the law to discriminate against or harass people on the basis of sex, race, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability, amongst others.

"In my experience, people who file complaints aren't after money or revenge. Most just say I don't want this to happen again," said Boullard.

As with the national model, there are two distinct parts of the Human Rights Commission: the education and public interest side and the reactive side.

Through its educational branch, the commission attempts to inform the public about its rights under the Human Rights Act.

The commission runs ad campaigns, public service announcements and provide resources to schools.

The commission also offers free education sessions to anyone who requests them on issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace.

The reactive branch of the commission addresses complaints of human rights violations.

Complaints alleging contraventions of the Human Rights Act must be filed within two years of the occurrence.

According to Boullard, complaints can be dealt with in three possible ways. In the first case, a complaint can be dismissed upon investigation for lack of merit.

A complaint can also be resolved if both parties enter into settlement and come to a collective decision.

The third possible outcome involves an adjudication panel, which holds hearings and rules on the validity of complaints.

No legal aid is available for people filing or responding to complaints, although Boullard said it is fairly common for defendants to bring lawyers or advocates which they pay for themselves.

The Human Rights Commission was established under the Northwest Territories Human Rights Act, which came into force in 2004.

Prior to that time, complaints were filed through the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Fair Practices Office in Yellowknife.