The Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission has implemented Criterion #14 after the 2022 awards ceremony because of the number of complaints they’ve received regarding the Commissioners deciding the winner of the award while also being the same group of people who sent their human rights case to a hearing.
Hilary Hennessey, the Public Relations Specialist for the Human Rights Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador, explained the decision, stating, “We have made the decision to change our eligibility criteria for the Human Rights Award, as people raised concerns about our selection process.”
Furthermore, she stated that “Nominations for the award are reviewed by the Human Rights Commissioners. This is the same group of people who decide what cases at the Commission go to a hearing. To prevent conflicts of interest, we decided to put criterion 14 in place which prevents people with ongoing human rights complaints from being nominated for the Human Rights Award.”
Hennessey also added that they added Criterion 9, which states that nominees cannot be politicians. She said that they “made these changes based on community feedback and conducting a review of other scoring sheets used in human rights award selection processes across Atlantic Canada.”
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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