Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Benoit-Antoine Bacon announced today that the Queen’s Human Rights Office and Equity Office will undergo an external review, which will examine the mandate and function of the two offices in light of internal and external changes regarding human rights, equity, and accessibility.

“These two crucial offices and their mandates have grown and evolved over the past 20 years, and it’s important that the university take the time to examine their structure and functionality in order to best serve the present needs of the Queen’s community,” says Dr. Bacon.

The review is timely, Dr. Bacon says, given recent legal and cultural developments affecting post-secondary institutions’ approaches to human rights, the introduction of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, as well as the renewed focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion at Queen’s.

The Human Rights Office, established in 1992, was previously reviewed in 1997 and again in 2007 by the ex-chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. This will be the first review of the Equity Office, which was established in 1997.

Specifically, the external review – led by Gervan Fearon, President, Brandon University, and Angela Hildyard, Special Advisor to the President and Provost, University of Toronto – will examine:

• The mandate and function of the Human Rights Office and the Equity Office, in relation to best practices and new developments for such offices, and changes to legal requirements related to human rights, equity, and accessibility in post-secondary institutions.
• The organizational and reporting structure of the two offices to determine if they are optimally structured and staffed to meet the needs of the university community.
• The functionality/efficiency of relationships with other internal units and stakeholders, including:  senior administration, university counsel, Security and Emergency Services, Residences, Student Wellness Services, the University Ombudsman, Human Resources, and Faculty Relations.

Drs. Fearon and Hildyard will visit Queen’s in late March, and will have the opportunity to meet with members of the Human Rights Office and the Equity Office, as well as other members of the community.

Their final report is expected in late spring, and the results and recommendations will be shared with the university community.