Canadian Federal Court Of Appeals To Hear Quarter-Century Old Anti-Gay Discrimination Case Brought By Former Civil Servant Paul Richard

Monday, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeals will begin hearings in the case of 69 year old Paul Richard, who alleges, according to the Canadian Press, that throughout his career a civil servant from 1978-1985, he was routinely treated unfairly because he is gay. Mr. Richard first filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in August, 2005, claiming to have been the victim of systemic abuse by supervisors and colleagues. He addressed the lateness of the complaint, saying that struggles with his mental state preventing him from filing earlier. Richard refilled the complaint in 2007, and in August, 2009, the Commission said it would not hear the case, stating that the government had demonstrated that the lengthy delay would damage its ability to defend itself considerably. However, in April, 2010, the Federal Court rejected Richard’s challenge of the commission’s ruling, and on appeal, the court will hear arguments beginning November 1st. The federal government contends that any documents relevant to the events would have been destroyed, making a fair hearing impossible, a brief filed on behalf of the government saying “it is highly unlikely that the witnesses would presently be able to provide reliable evidence.” Richard counters that the government has had five years to search for witnesses and for documents, but has failed to outline any attempts to locate documents or witnesses. Richard, in court documents, says he has been successful in tracking down several relevant people, stating “Simple Internet searches, without any of the vast resources available to the federal government, have made this possible with only a few hours work.” Richard is requesting that the appeal court order the commission to hear his complaint or to render a decision based on the evidence before it, and added that a hearing on his complaint would both help him seek justice and open a window on a time when equality for gays in the workplace did not exist.