Barry Wilcox. (Novus Law Group)

By Nigel Maxwell

Human Rights

Prince Albert lawyer determined to lower human rights complaints in the province

Aug 11, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Saskatchewan’s interim chief commissioner of the Human Rights Commission says he hopes to bring a northern perspective to human rights issues.

Barry Wilcox has worked in Prince Albert his entire law career, and is a licensed mediator. During his past ten years with the Human Rights Commission, including the past three as deputy chief, he is also the only commissioner from outside Saskatoon.

“What is a solution in the south is not always a solution up here. We have communication issues; we have transportation issues; we have accommodation issues,” he explained, when interviewed by paNOW on Tuesday.

Wilcox replaces former chief commissioner David Arnot who was recently appointed as an independent senator by the independent advisory board for senate appointments. Explaining how he was inspired by his predecessor’s education and systemic results approach to addressing human rights infractions, Wilcox said he aims to continue and advance the work done so far.

“Many infractions occur simply because people don’t know. They are unaware that they are going offside and if they can be better educated and are provided with more resources, many of those concerns go away,” he said.

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One example Arnot provides is in the workforce, where an employer may not understand they have offended someone’s protected grounds. One approach taken by the commission is the creation of online resources which are available for anyone to read to see what they can and cannot do.

Wilcox also said he plans to bring more education into the schools, adding a curriculum has been developed for K-12 which explains students rights and responsibilities as citizens of Canada.

“Racism cannot be addressed at Grade 12, and preventing racism has to be internalized and making people aware at an early age will go a great distance to removing racism,” he said.

Acknowledging racism is a province-wide issue. Wilcox explained there’s always an answer, but added it takes time and determination. He said everyone can do their part by helping promote individual dignity and fundamental freedoms.

“If we can have everybody gain a respect for everybody else, 99.9 per cent of the confrontations will go away. Is that an easy road to hoe? No, it takes determination and the human rights commission has pegged that as a focus,” Wilcox said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell