Tara Jackson
Tara Jackson
Tara Jackson (Tara) is an experienced and outstanding Investigator, Mediator, Conciliator, and Human Rights Practitioner with over 26 years providing investigations and mediation to the public and private sectors. She has been a career Public Servant with the Ontario Public Service (OPS) and her specialty includes providing investigation services to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Ministry of Correctional Services, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. Her expertise includes advance knowledge and application of critical race and anti-oppression theories.
As an outstanding human rights specialist, Tara’s experience includes administrative law enforcement of the Ontario Human Rights Code. She has investigated and mediated hundreds of human rights cases in Ontario resulting
in cutting edge decisions and has advanced the cause of human rights in the province. For example, she has led investigations and mediations dealing with anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism, racial profiling, sex, gender, gender identity (sexual harassment, cuts to medical services available to Transgender communities, race-based decisions involving the Safe Schools Act,disability-related decisions involving major transit operators serving persons who are blind, and movie theatres serving the needs of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing) and the intersection of these issues.
Tara has held several positions and performed in roles such as Director, Manager, Registrar, Special Advisor and Project Co-ordinator. She also possesses extensive work experience in correctional services, human resources, and audit, which involved working with attorneys handling human rights tribunal cases, and working on award-winning teams handling policy advancement and human resources work. In her respective roles and responsibilities, she has acquired invaluable experience investigating cases of wrongdoing, breaches of code of conduct, professional standards and ethics, and has worked extensively with the OPS’ internal harassment and discrimination prevention units in a variety of management and advisory positions. In these roles, Tara brought her expertise and management skills to overseeing investigations, mediations and workplace restoration projects. Tara’s in-depth involvement with the Ontario Government’s internal Respectful Workplace Policy has led to her sound knowledge and application of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Tara is a trainer, who created and presented diversity training to hundreds of managers and front-line employees. She trains and assists employers, unions and organizations in the creation of workplace harassment and workplace violence policies. She possesses oral and prolific analytical writing skills honed via education and a wealth of case management experiences, including working on the advisory team, which created a new racial discrimination policy for the province of Ontario.
