The human rights of Indigenous people in Ontario (including status, non-status, First Nations, Métis and Inuit) are protected by the all Code grounds. However, discrimination because a person identifies as Indigenous involve the grounds of race, creed and ancestry.
The OHRC is concerned that the most recent expansion of police discretionary power to enforce the latest “stay-at-home order” will likely result in a disproportionate impact on members of marginalized and vulnerable communities.
The OHRC wrote to colleges and universities, asking them to identify what actions their administrations are taking to provide equitable and inclusive learning environments, including efforts to investigate discrimination and harassment in a timely and effective way.
In an opinion editorial published online at National Newswatch on April 4, 2021, Chief Commissioner Ena Chadha discusses how Martin Luther King’s fight against poverty must guide our post-COVID vision.
The OHRC calls on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and Metrolinx, as the owner and operator of PRESTO, to make sure that they adopt a human rights-centred approach to their fare system planning and implementation.
Universities and colleges must take a hard and unflinching look at the ways their policies, practices, and attitudes perpetuate discrimination. This opinion editorial by Chief Commissioner Ena Chadha was published on tvo.org on March 22, 2021.
On March 12, 2021, the OHRC wrote to Solicitor General Jones to make a submission to the ministry’s review of Regulations under the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 to determine whether any of the prescribed temporary exemptions should continue, be narrowed or removed.
"COVID-19 fears are fanning the flames of racism in Kenora,” an op-ed by Chief Commissioner Ena Chadha, was published on March 1, 2021 on TVO.org.
Letter to the Minister of Health outlining ongoing human rights concerns and the need for public consultation, calling on the Government to publicly release and consult human rights stakeholders including the OHRC on the latest versions of its proposed COVID-19 triage framework and the Emergency Standard of Care.
As Wabaseemoong Independent Nations in Northwestern Ontario fights an outbreak of COVID-19, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is aware of reports of businesses and organizations in Kenora refusing services to Indigenous people and of social media posts spreading racist comments and misinformation.
On December 10, 2020, Chief Commissioner Ena Chadha wrote to General (Retired) Rick Hillier and the Vaccine Distribution Task Force to stress the important role that human rights principles, considerations and obligations should play in vaccine distribution planning.
