TRURO, N.S. — Raymond Tynes is one of two new appointees to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.
Tynes served as the first African Nova Scotian municipal town councillor in Truro, a position he held for 12 years. He was also the African Nova Scotia school board member for four years, and an executive director of the Colchester Community Workshops.
He is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and was presented with the Dr. Burnley “Rocky” Jones Human Rights Award in 2016
Denise Mentis-Smith, of Halifax, was also appointed. She is a graduate of the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. She was called to the Nova Scotia bar in 1996 and is a noted speaker on human rights and issues affecting the African Nova Scotian community.
Cheryl Knockwood, of Sydney, who has been a commissioner since 2015, has been reappointed. She is a lawyer and works for the Membertou First Nation as its governance coordinator.
Commissioners’ responsibilities include the strategic direction of the commission and making decisions on human rights issues, including referrals of complaints to boards of inquiry.
They meet six times a year at the Halifax office and in a community outside of the Halifax Regional Municipality at least twice a year.
