The Cadre, Mar. 18, 1975; page
6509905101! (In:
The following consists of excepts from a brief by the P.E.I. Civil Liberties As— sociation to the Executive Council of P.E.I.
Kr. Premier, despite the fact that not all our suggestions have been acted upon, we feel it vital to , keep this communications link open. In the past year our staff has dealt with over 100 cases, many of which could be better handled by government, 1.8a discrimina- tion, Landlord—Tenant issues, family court issues, and just general bureaucratic ineffi— ciency. Therefore we make
~“the following recommendations:
International Women's Year
Over two years ago, the final report of the Status on Women Commission was sub— mitted but little of it has been acted upon, including some self—evidently discrim4. inatory legistion. While we applaud the creation of a new Advisory Council, we feel that much could have been done already.
Women should immediately
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vincial governments that an Ombudsman is essential to .ensure civil rights are pro- tected. This person should have the following powers to investigate compaints against government bodies, to protect the.citizen's rights when he/ she is dealing with govern— ment departments, to invest— igate, with the consent of -the injured person any alle— .ged government act (Or fail- ure to act),to educate people about the duties of an Ombud- ’sman. This person should be 7 appointed by the provincial 'legislature and removed only by a two—thirds vote of that body.
Senior Citizens We feel that the Housing Programme is detrimental to the interests; not only of senior citizens, but also of the entire province, olates an integral part of our society.Therefore we re-
commend the following changes:
ms Iil The l“, v By 1h
but in civil\cases the poor have no recourse. Therefore we urge the establishment of a more complete system of judicare. . - /
Court delays are becom—' ing increasingly frequent on PEI, removing cases from th- eir context and reduding the effectiveness of-the judici- al system. We hOpe such de- lays will be reduced in fut— uref
Police and the Community
We would like to see as the Grosman Report suggests, the establishment of a police
_§:bitrary use of police po- wers against the citizen. This
“ would ensure the proper oper-
ation of Our police forces. However we suggest that the Grosman proposal be expanded to include RCMP as well as
as it is- municipal and provincial fo—
rces. No member of any police force should be on this com-
mission.
that the government 1) arran—T;
ge for subsidiziation of pri— vate housing for senior cit— izens; 2) arrange for necesé sary health services; 3) en— courage more awareness of
be quaranteed equal pay for eqmthe role of senior citizens
ual work through ammendments to the Human Rights Act and maternity leave withguarante— ed reinstatement. Government must also act to ensure suf- ficient day-care centres. Fu—
' rther no child should be de—
fined as legitimate because this implies that others are not.
4 The Human Rights Act of PEI
Discrimination on the basis of age, sex, or poli— tical affiliation‘is not su— fficiently kept in check. We support the Premier's state- ment that discrimination on the basis of sex will be pro— hibited under this act but feel that work is needed in the areas of age and politi— cal affiliation. Fortyefive year olds who cannot find a job and twenty year olds who cannot find housing also need protection. Further we feel that considerable political patronage still exists and must be abolished. As well our Association is concerned with discrimination because of sexual orientation or phy- sical and mental handicaps.
The establishment of a Human Rights Commission would
help ensure that this act
a would not be abrogated. As
well as investigational pow— ers it should also be enabled to conduct research and pro— paganda campaigns against discrimination.
The Need for an Ombudsman We feel, as do many pro-
in our society; 4)change the Manor Programme to enable senior citizens to share rooms with friends, not total strangers.
The Mental Health Act The PEICLA is concerned that this act is too vague as to what is Tdangerous be- havior" or "a place for med— ical examination" or the di— fference between "incompet- ent patient" and "involutary patient". These terms should be well—defined. Further the Act provides for involutary detainment of any person of up to one month without due process. Therefore we feel that a commission should be' established to investigate the Act, its ramifications, and the general state of Men— tal Health Hosiptals on PEI. Landlord-Tenant‘Act The PEICLA feels that this Act does not sufficien- tly protect tenants against arbitrary rent increases or summary eviction. TherefOre it should be changed and a rental ombudsman appointed to ensure the changes work.
Justice and the Citizen We feel that a family
court should be established to keep family problems from getting worse as a result of our present adversary system.
At present the public de- fender system enables the poor to obtain free legal assistance in criminal cases
The Dog Act
We commend the Act's compulsory licensing of dogs to protect livestock but feel that theTarbitrary powers en- abling officiers to enter premises without a warrant are an invasion of civil li- berties. Further We feel that an SPCA official should be appointed to investigate com— plaints and take responsibil- ity for destroying dogs. And, on humanitarian grounds, if a licenced animal is killed the owner should be notified. The danger to livestock,while serious, is not sufficient excuse for the abrogation of hard—won civil rights.
um;
Education
We commend the govern- ment for its promise to make all school board position elective but also feel that board meetings should be open to the public.
Civil Service Selection Procedures ' Apparently Ministers and se— nior civil servants have the power to select which cand~ idate of the top five gets .the job. Such powers can lead
etc patronage and inferior
civil servants; Thus, this practice should be abolished.
commission to investigate the Further jobs are frequently
advertised which have alrea- dy been promised to someone ’ or for which somebody has al- ready been trained. Both of these practices should be abolished. '
,
Information Distribution” We‘recpmmend that: the
A Acts of PEI be consolidated
and made available free to anyone who wants them; that legislative procedings be tabulated and published dai- ly and that they be broadcast on TV and radio; that all Mi— nisters of the crown be re—\ quired to declare all busi— ness involved and those of their spouse; that in his annual report the attorney general divulge the number ' of wiretaps and the ration— ale behind them.
The PEICLA has office hours at the Basilica Recreation. Centre from 8:30 - 5:00 weekdays. Anyone with com— plaints or inquiries is wel- come to come.