4. Learn more about making a human rights claim

To get help from the Human Rights Tribunal, you must first make an application. You should try to get legal advice before you apply. You can get free legal advice about your application from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre.

In your application, you tell the Tribunal:

• what happened. Include copies of any communications you had with your employer, landlord, union representative, or service provider about breastfeeding pumping milk. Include the names of people who can be witnesses for you.
• why you think the decision to refuse to let you breastfeed or pump milk is against your human rights.

The deadline to apply to the Tribunal is one year from the date you were discriminated against.

If you miss the deadline, you can still apply. But, in your application, you must explain why you're applying late. If you have a good reason, such as you were in the hospital, the Tribunal might, in rare cases, decide to let you apply late.

After you file your application, your employer, landlord, union representative, or service provider will have a chance to respond. You may choose to attend mediation to try and resolve your issues. If you can't resolve your issues, there will be a hearing where a Tribunal member will decide if you were discriminated against. The whole process can take over a year to complete.

What the Tribunal can do

If the Tribunal decides you were discriminated against, it can order employers, unions, landlords, or service providers to:

• pay you money
• give you the accommodation you need
• change their practices so they follow human rights laws

You can ask for money to cover costs that you had or to replace money that you were forced to spend because of what happened.

You can also ask for money because of how their actions affected you. When an employer, union representative, landlord, or service provider does not respect your human rights, this can hurt you. The Tribunal can order them to pay you money for the hurt they caused you. You don't have to show that their actions cost you money.