Christine Hanson Elected Chair of CASHRA

The director and CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission has been elected chair of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies at the association's Annual General Meeting in Charlottetown on June 28.

Christine Hanson will serve a two-year term at the head of the association whose membership is comprised of all provincial and territorial human rights agencies as well as the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Nova Scotia has played an active role in the association in recent years. At this week's national conference, the association launched its second online training course, Safer Spaces in Canada, adapted from the Nova Scotia commission's modules developed to educate employers and members of the public on human rights best practices.

"Collaborating across Canada with colleagues in different jurisdictions has allowed us to bring important educational material to a larger, national audience in both official languages," said Ms. Hanson.  "We can learn from one another, do more together than we can working independently on certain aspects of human rights work, including education."

Safer Spaces in Canada addresses the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace, a serious problem brought to light through the Me Too movement and denouncements of such behavior from across the globe.

The course is available for free on the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies website along with Serving All in Canada, a course launched last year to help employers educate front-line retail staff on how to prevent consumer racial profiling.

Ms. Hanson will replace outgoing chair Charles Dent who chairs the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission.

To learn more about Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies, visit cashra.ca .