Justice Minister Anne McLellan has announced plans for a review panel to examine Canada's Human Rights Act and find ways to modernize it and improve the complaint process.

The review panel will be chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Gerard La Forest, a judge with expertise in administrative, constitutional and human rights law. Other members of the panel are William Black, a professor of human rights law at the University of British Columbia; Renée Dupuis, a Quebec City lawyer, and former commissioner with the Canadian Human Rights Commission; and Harish Jain, a professor in the faculty of business at McMaster University and noted expert on systemic discrimination issues.

The team of human rights experts will examine the purpose and grounds, the adequacy of the scope and jurisdiction of the act, how to simplify and speed up the complaints process, and the powers and procedures of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Tribunal.

The panel is expected to hold public consultations and report back to the minister by April 2000.