The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission joined with five other human rights commissions to intervene in the case of British Columbia Human Rights Commission v. Robin Blenco e, before the Supreme Court of Canada. Blencoe successfully argued in the B.C. Court of Appeal that his right to liberty and security of the person, protected by section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated when the B.C. Human Rights Commission took too long to process two complaints of sexual harassment. According to Blencoe there was serious damage to his reputation and dignity by allowing these complaints to drag on for more than two years. The Court of Appeal agreed and prohibited a human rights tribunal from proceeding with the complaints. For a variety of reasons delays often occur as complaints are processed through initial screening, attempts at mediation, investigation and referral to a tribunal hearing.
Commissions are chronically under-funded, and the process is complex.
All Commissions are concerned about delays and are working to reduce them. But they also believed that delays do not violate the rights of respondents under the Charter. The Saskatchewan Commission intervened to argue that the complex process that a complaints proceeds through is designed to protect the interests of the respondents. A complaint cannot be referred to a hearing until attempts have been made to settle the matter and the allegations have been investigated and found to have merit. Delays brought about by the complex process affect both respondents and complainants.