• Most human rights complaints in N.W.T. based on disability, commission says

  Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
  Date: 2026-09-18 11:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, Social Services, Justice, Governance]

  The Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission announced in its 2025-2026 annual report that 51 per cent of all new discrimination complaints were based on disability, prompting commission chair Charles Dent to urge the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories to enact dedicated accessibility legislation. The commission highlighted that the territory currently relies on National Building Code standards rather than proactive laws, while the Department of Infrastructure lacks a mandate to set rules for private or municipal buildings. Additionally, a commission study of 88 residents in the North Slave region revealed systemic barriers, with 90 per cent of Indigenous respondents and 78 per cent of newcomers reporting discrimination over a five-year period, alongside widespread public distrust of government and fear of immigration status retaliation. The commission is also pressing to expand the N.W.T. Human Rights Act to include protections against discrimination based on unrelated criminal convictions and genetic information.

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• N.S. mother vows to finish late son’s fight for improved income support for tent residents

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-09 20:16:42.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Housing, Social Services, Justice, Governance]

  Following an August 5, 2026 Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruling establishing that a tent qualifies as accommodation for income assistance, the Nova Scotia provincial government updated its legislation and disability supplement regulations to exclude people living in tents from accessing enhanced financial support. In response, the provincial NDP introduced a private member's bill titled Bradley’s Law—named after Bradley Lowe, a 30-year-old who died at a Halifax encampment in 2023 during a legal challenge over income assistance rates—to mandate that financial support be provided regardless of housing status. Human rights lawyer Vince Calderhead has petitioned the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission to investigate the provincial policy change as a human rights violation.

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