Archive

As the new year unfolds, Ontario continues to open its doors to refugees fleeing the war in Syria. The Ontario Human Rights Commission offers our welcome and support to all newcomers – from Syria, countries in Africa, and other parts of the world.

Toronto - Navi Dhanota, represented by ARCH Disability Law Centre; York University and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) have worked together to develop new documentation guidelines to access academic accommodations. The change in guidelines means that students will no longer have to disclose their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) diagnosis to register for mental health accommodations and supports.

December 11, 2015 - Affordable housing is important to many individuals and groups protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code), such as students and other young persons, larger or single-parent families, persons with disabilities, Indigenous or racialized persons, and people who receive public assistance. Opposition to this housing, and to certain services, such as social services or methadone clinics, is often based on negative stereotypes and attitudes about the people who need the housing or service.

Dear Chief Bordeleau, I am writing to commend the Ottawa Police Service for its continued leadership in addressing bias and discrimination in Ontario. Your proactive approaches have built strong and positive relationships with communities affected by hate crimes and are to be commended. I know that many officers and members from across your Service have been involved in these efforts.

Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) calls to action, and to similar calls from racialized communities, by committing to address the goal of preventing and reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous and racialized children and youth in the child welfare system.

Housing-related legal cases and resources (2015)

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Draft Regulation on street checks of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (Ministry). We are pleased to have the support of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) on this important issue.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Draft Regulation on street checks of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (Ministry). We are pleased to have the support of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) on this important issue.

Toronto – The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) today releases an updated Policy on preventing discrimination based on creed. The OHRC introduced its first policy on creed in 1996. Since that time, Ontario society has grown increasingly more diverse and there have been many important legal and social developments. The update reflects today’s issues and changes to case law, and provides expanded information in areas like Indigenous Spirituality and creed-based profiling.

Today is International Human Rights Day—the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The human rights movement was a direct response to widespread antisemitism which ultimately led to the Holocaust. By adopting the Universal Declaration in 1948, Canada and the international community rightly said, “Never again.”

A broad network of community advocates, human rights and legal experts, academics, concerned and affected individuals and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is calling on the Province to ensure that its Draft Regulation on police street checks – or “carding” – achieves the Minister’s stated objective of ending arbitrary and discriminatory police street checks. 

Section 30 of the Code authorizes the OHRC to prepare, approve and publish human rights policies to provide guidance on interpreting provisions of the Code. The OHRC’s policies and guidelines set standards for how individuals, employers, service providers and policy-makers should act to comply with the Code.

The ultimate responsibility for maintaining an environment free from discrimination and harassment rests with employers, housing providers, service providers and other responsible parties covered by the Code. It is not acceptable to choose to ignore discrimination or harassment based on creed, whether or not a human rights claim has been made.

Indigenous peoples practice diverse spiritual traditions in Ontario,[487] reflecting the diversity of Indigenous peoples in Ontario and Canada.[488] This section addresses the duty to accommodate Indigenous spiritual beliefs and practices in areas covered by the Code.[489]

10.1 Creed-based holidays, leaves and ritual observancesWork and service schedules in Ontario have traditionally been structured around a Christian calendar. Many creeds require their members to engage in specific acts of worship and celebration at particular times of the day, week or year. When these observances do not coincide with existing work or service schedules, break times and statutory holidays, people may be adversely affected.

Under the Code, employers, unions, housing providers and service providers have a legal duty to accommodate people’s sincerely held creed beliefs and practices to the point of undue hardship, where these have been adversely affected by a requirement, rule or standard.[267]

The Code includes specific defences and exceptions that allow behaviour that would otherwise be discriminatory. Some of these recognize the associational rights of creed-based groups to give preference in certain circumstances to persons who share the same creed beliefs and practices.[221]  

It is not always possible to slot people’s experiences of creed discrimination into clear categories. Ways people face discrimination often blur together and overlap to a large degree. However, for this policy, it is helpful to describe the different ways creed discrimination can take place. The following sections cover some of the main ways.

To establish prima facie discrimination (discrimination on its face) under the Code, a claimant must show:

5.1 Ontario Human Rights Code Under Part 1 of the Code, people are protected from discrimination and harassment based on creed in five “social areas”:

Policy framework Creed is a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code. The fact that Ontario adopted the term creed (or "la croyance" in French) in its human rights legislation, and not another term (such as religion, religious belief or religious creed as used in other Canadian human rights statutes), is significant when interpreting its meaning. It suggests that creed may have a meaning that is distinct from these other closely related terms.[65]  

3.1 Historical context There has always been creed diversity in Ontario.[11] Ontario laws have long recognized ideals of religious freedom,[12] even if interpreting and applying these in the past in selective and discriminatory ways that did not protect, or seek to protect, religious equality.[13]

This policy is a complete revision and update of the OHRC’s original Policy on creed and the accommodation of religious observances first published in 1996. It sets out the OHRC’s position on creed and accommodating observances related to a person's creed. The policy offers Ontario citizens and organizations ways to address and prevent discrimination and conflict based on creed in an informed, proactive and principled way. In keeping with the Preamble to the Code, this policy is also designed to:

Setting the context In 1996, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) published its first formal Policy on creed, a ground that has been part of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) since its beginning over 50 years ago. There have been many important legal and social developments since then.

Toronto - A settlement has been reached with the Ottawa Police in a case that alleged a female police officer was denied training, job placement and promotion opportunities because of her family status, sex and maternity leaves. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) intervened at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario to address systemic barriers to promotion and advancement that women can face.