Ontario Human Rights Commission

Patrick HoussaisI spent an intense and fascinating summer working at the Ontario Human Rights Commission thanks to the Donner Fellowship Program. I was involved with most aspects of the Commission's work, from case reviews to observing at tribunal.

The experience that had the biggest impact on me was my involvement with the Race Policy Project, an effort to produce a Commission policy on racial discrimination. The Commission's policies are crucial as they assist Commission staff in their mediation and investigation functions and assist members of the public in determining whether they have a complaint to file and how to frame it. My involvement with the Race Policy Project provided me with a much deeper understanding of one of the most insidious, pervasive and complex forms of discrimination, and taught me that I knew a lot less about racism than I thought I did. It was an educational experience unlike any I could have received in the classroom.