Employment Equity Act (S.C. 1995, c. 44)

Marginal note:Report of activities of Human Rights Commission

32. The Commission shall include in its annual report referred to in section 61 of the Canadian Human Rights Act a report of its activities, including an assessment of their effectiveness, under this Act during the year.

Marginal note:Limitation

• 33. (1) The Commission may not give a direction under section 25 or 26 and no Tribunal may make an order under section 30 where that direction or order would

  • (a) cause undue hardship on an employer;

  • (b) require an employer to hire or promote persons who do not meet the essential qualifications for the work to be performed;

  • (c) with respect to the public sector, require an employer to hire or promote persons without basing the hiring or promotion on merit in cases where the Public Service Employment Act requires that hiring or promotion be based on merit, or impose on the Public Service Commission an obligation to exercise its discretion regarding exclusion orders or regulations;

  • (d) require an employer to create new positions in its workforce;

  • (e) impose a quota on an employer; or

  • (f) in the case of a direction or order respecting the establishment of short term numerical goals, fail to take into account the factors set out in subsection 10(2).

• Marginal note:Meaning of “quota”

  (2) In paragraph (1)(e), “quota” means a requirement to hire or promote a fixed and arbitrary number of persons during a given period.

• Marginal note:Public sector

  (3) In making a direction or order that applies to the public sector, the Commission, in the case of a direction, and a Tribunal, in the case of an order, shall take into account the respective roles and responsibilities of

  • (a) the Public Service Commission and the Treasury Board under the Public Service Employment Act and the Financial Administration Act; or

  • (b) a portion of the public sector referred to in paragraph 4(1)(c) or (d) under any other Act of Parliament.

Marginal note:Privileged information

• 34. (1) Information obtained by the Commission under this Act is privileged and shall not knowingly be, or be permitted to be, communicated, disclosed or made available without the written consent of the person from whom it was obtained.

• Marginal note:Evidence and production of documents

  (2) No member of the Commission or person employed by it who obtains information that is privileged under subsection (1) shall be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, other than proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, to give evidence relating to that information or to produce any statement or other writing containing that information.

• Marginal note:Communication or disclosure of information

  (3) Information that is privileged under subsection (1) may, on any terms and conditions that the Commission considers appropriate, be communicated or disclosed to a minister of the Crown in right of Canada or to any officer or employee of Her Majesty in right of Canada for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (4) Nothing in this section prohibits the communication or disclosure of information for the purposes of legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act.

• Marginal note:Employer’s consent required

  (5) No information obtained by the Commission or a Tribunal under this Act may be used in any proceedings under any other Act without the consent of the employer concerned.