Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 01/02) - As other members tried desperately to contain snickers, North Slave MLA Leon Lafferty pressed the legislative assembly's legal counsel on potty rights.

In a discussion on including gender identity as a prohibited ground for discrimination, Lafferty wanted to know: does a trans-gendered woman have the right to use a men's restroom?

"I sort of have a problem how we can protect people and their privacy," he said.

"Mr. Lafferty always seems to come up with the most interesting questions," said legislature legal counsel Katherine Peterson.

"I would think that it's appropriate for the employer to require that you use the facilities appropriate to your biology," she said. "And until that biology changes through the miracles of science that's a reasonable requirement."

Deliberations on bill one, the new human rights act, flew through committee of the whole on Tuesday as MLAs quickly parsed through a number of proposed changes. The bill was signed into law on Wednesday night.

One important change, put forward by justice minister Roger Allen, massages the wording "family affiliation" as a prohibited ground for discrimination.

"The ground might be interpreted to prevent a person who owns a business from hiring a member of his or her family over other applicants," he said, and an amendment to that effect was passed by MLAs.

Allen also successfully pushed for a change that allows owners of dwelling units to give preference to family members.

Regulars MLAs won another bid, to allow for an adjudicator to assess a $10,000 penalty against someone who has wilfully, maliciously or repeatedly broken the human rights code. The fine would come on top of other penalties already included in the act.

Allen, strenuously objected, saying, "The object of human rights legislation is to promote respect for human rights in our society. The general purpose is not to punish."

But MLA Charles Dent, who supported the amendment, lashed into Allen.

"Did I hear the Minister say that he was worried about the government being found guilty of contravening this act, and there might be substantial damages that have to be paid? My goodness. ... If this government is in fact violating human rights, they should be prepared to pay punitive damages," he said.

But despite other criticisms from MLAs -- which included a comment from Mackenzie Delta representative David Krutko that the act does not sufficiently address aboriginal interests -- the bill sailed through the legislature.

A clearly delighted Allen walked around the assembly on Tuesday, shaking hands with each of the MLAs.

"Human rights law is society's way of saying that all people should be treated with dignity and respect," he said. "Discrimination is not acceptable.

"People should not be treated badly because characteristics like their gender, race or religion."