Canada: Ontario Arbitration Act - High risk of discrimination
Posted: 8 September 2005
Duration of action: 8 - 12 September 2005
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
Amnesty International is concerned about the use of Ontario Arbitration Act to resolve family and inheritance disputes. The Arbitration Act allows the use of religious or customary laws to resolve such disputes. Due to our experience with religious and customary laws in other countries around the world, we have reason to believe that these laws may be discriminatory and not fully compliant with international human rights standards.
TAKE ACTION:
Send the following letter to Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of the Province of Ontario:
Dear Premier McGuinty,
As a Canadian, I am proud of the leadership role Canada has played in developing international human rights standards to protect the fundamental rights of all people, including women.
However, these rights are all too frequently undermined in the way that some religious and customary laws are applied.
I am concerned that alternative legal mechanisms such as the Ontario Arbitration Act 1991 allow for the privatization of legal processes used to resolve family and inheritance disputes. By permitting different legal systems to be used within the province to resolve family and inheritance disputes, the Ontario government is allowing for inconsistent and potentially even lower levels of protection for people at risk of experiencing discrimination, particularly women. As such, this privatization may cause the Ontario government to be in direct or indirect violation of international human rights standards ratified by Canada..
Parallel and alternative legal mechanisms may in some contexts help to enhance or strengthen the protection of fundamental human rights of particular sectors of society. Such systems need to function in concert with formal legal systems and in cooperation with government authorities to ensure full compliance with international human rights standards. However, evidence gathered by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations makes clear that processes that apply religious laws are often significantly discriminatory towards women even when they are part of the formal legal system.
The use of religious and customary laws to resolve criminal and civil disputes is an issue of concern to Amnesty International. The organization has documented alarming levels of discrimination and violence, particularly for women, when these laws and the systems that support them are applied.
I urge you to carefully consider this global reality and the message that will be conveyed worldwide as you consider the question of the scope and nature of the laws that can be used under the Arbitration Act.
Sincerely,
WRITE TO:
Mail, fax or e-mail the above letter, or your own letter to:
Dalton McGuinty,
Premier
Legislative Building
Queen's Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
Fax: (416) 325-3745
Dalton.McGuinty@premier.gov.on.ca