The Ontario Human Rights Code
Ontario's Human Rights Code, the first in Canada, was enacted in 1962.
The Code prohibits actions that discriminate against people based on a protected ground in a protected social area.
Ontario's Human Rights Code, the first in Canada, was enacted in 1962.
The Code prohibits actions that discriminate against people based on a protected ground in a protected social area.
From: Human Rights at Work 2008 - Third Edition
In 1962, many laws dealing with discrimination were brought together, along with additional protections, to create the Code. The Code has been amended at various times since then. The most recent amendments were passed in December 2006. The Ontario Code only provides protection against discrimination in Ontario. There are other pieces of human rights legislation in each of the other provinces and territories and federally.
From: Policy on height and weight requirements
Section 5
(1) Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without
discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability.
Section 11
From: Right at home: Report on the consultation on human rights and rental housing in Ontario
Adequate housing is essential to one’s sense of dignity, safety, inclusion and ability to contribute to the fabric of our neighbourhoods and societies.[3] As the Commission heard in this consultation, without appropriate housing it is often not possible to get and keep employment, to recover from mental illness or other disabilities, to integrate into the community, to escape physical or emotional violence or to keep custody of children.
From: Human Rights and rental housing in Ontario: Background paper
The Code is quasi-constitutional legislation which has primacy over all other legislation in Ontario, unless the other legislation specifically states that it applies despite the Code.[77] This means that if another piece of legislation contains a provision which conflicts with or contravenes the Code, the Code will prevail.
From: Policy on human rights and rental housing
From: Public consultation paper: Human rights and mental health strategy
International, federal and provincial human rights legislation prohibit discrimination against persons with mental health disabilities.[3] In Ontario, human rights protections for people with mental health disabilities and addictions are grounded in the Ontario Human Rights Code. People with mental health issues are covered under the ground of “disability” in the Code.
From: Balancing conflicting rights: Towards an analytical framework
This section of the paper surveys the balancing tools found in the Code and relevant case law. Documents such as Commission briefing notes and Policy Papers provide invaluable commentary on these tools and their insights are woven into the following discussion. The goal of this section is to identify the resources for balancing conflicting rights that will be utilized in the scenarios discussed in Section IV.
From: Human rights and the family in Ontario
Protection against discrimination on the basis of family status was added to the Code in 1982, following the recommendations made in the 1977 report on the Code’s mandate, Life Together.[40] Initially, the Code contained an exception permitting residential buildings or parts of residential buildings to be designated as adult only.
From: Annual report 2006-2007
The Commission has begun a process of transformation that will fundamentally alter the way it works. This will be one of the biggest changes at the Commission since its inception in 1961.