We commit to embodying the following in all of our work and ways of working:

• Respectful, engaged, trusting and collaborative relationships: We will engage in respectful, trusting and collaborative relationships, and put the lived-experience of people at the centre of our work.
   
• Transformative approaches: We will be courageous, persistent, creative and innovative in pursuing systemic change and real impact.
   
• Integrity: We will be principled and independent in advancing and securing substantive equality.
   
• Accountability: We will be transparent and accountable to the people of Ontario both in terms of the pursuit of our mandate and the use of our resources.

The OHRC has created a Community Advisory Group to provide ongoing ideas and advice as we work to meet our strategic priorities: embodying human rights through reconciliation, enforcing human rights in the criminal justice system, advancing human rights by addressing poverty, and promoting a human rights culture through education. This group was set up to begin – and in many cases to continue – an ongoing, meaningful conversation between the OHRC and the many communities we serve. The conversation is about collaboration, partnerships and mutual support.

Our Strategic Plan commits us to putting people and their rights at the centre – and this group will help us do just that.

We had an application and selection process, which began with inviting individuals to submit a statement of interest. We asked members to commit to one-year terms, which are renewable.

Community Advisory Group members reflect a wide cross-section of Ontario communities, including:

• Persons with lived experience, across Code grounds
• Persons who have worked in organizations providing services to the community or representing community members in their area of related expertise
• Persons with diverse geographic representation
• Persons with academic or policy expertise
• First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit peoples
• Representation from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC)
• Representation from the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC).

The OHRC works with many diverse stakeholders across Ontario. We will continue to seek advice, partnerships and support on an ongoing basis with individuals who may not be members of the Advisory Group. Our ultimate goal is to make sure that all Ontarians have a voice on human rights issues.

Zanana Akande

Zanana Akande was the first Black woman to be appointed to Ontario’s Cabinet, when she served as Minister of Community and Social Services in Premier Bob Rae’s government.

After leaving politics, Ms. Akande served as president of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, the Canadian Alliance of Black Educators and the Toronto Child Abuse Centre. She worked with several other community-based endeavours including the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Family Services Association, the Elizabeth Fry Society and Doctors Hospital. She was the recipient of the African Canadian Achievement Award for Education and the Award of Distinction from the Congress of Black Women.

Ms. Akande is quoted as saying “A city as large and culturally diverse as Toronto owes whatever success in racial harmony it enjoys to the constant vigilance of its citizens, its officials, and its organizations.” In her years of public service she has continued to demonstrate the vigilance necessary to promote and encourage Toronto’s attempts towards racial harmony.

Nigel Barriffe
President, Urban Alliance on Race Relations

A community organizer and an elementary teacher with the Toronto District School Board in Rexdale, Nigel is a Board member of the Rexdale Community Legal Clinic, Board Chair of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, and a member of the Good Jobs For All Coalition. Nigel’s activist work focuses on quality public education, good green jobs, and a more just society for all inside and outside the classroom.

Elton Beardy
Board Member, Feathers of Hope

Juana Berinstein
Director of Policy and Communication, Association of Ontario Midwives

Juana Berinstein is the Director of Policy and Communications for the Association of Ontario Midwives (since 2007). Under her leadership, the Association has successfully campaigned for the expansion of midwifery, the development of birth centres and funding for Aboriginal midwifery. She has been involved in policy initiatives, systemic advocacy and community consultation at the municipal, provincial and federal level in the areas of health, workers’ rights and social justice.

Juana has a Master’s degree in Communication and Culture. She was a Board Member (2010-13) at Health Nexus, a leading non-profit organization working on health promotion and equity, and a mentor with Rainbow Health Ontario’s public policy institute, which looked at addressing health barriers for the 2SLGBTQ community (2014). She immigrated to Canada at the age of 7 from Argentina and lives in Toronto with her partner and their two wonderful daughters.

Paul Champ
Champ and Associates

Paul Champ is a human rights and employment lawyer based in Ottawa. Paul and his clients have established legal precedents in disability rights, privacy, racial discrimination, First Nations’ health care and child welfare, prisoners’ rights, and corporate accountability for abuses in foreign countries. Paul has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on several occasions and in 2013 he was honoured by the International Commission of Jurists with the Tarnopolsky Human Rights Award for outstanding contributions to domestic and international human rights.

Uppala Chandrasekera
Director, Public Policy, Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario

Uppala Chandrasekera has over 15 years of work experience in the health sector, ranging from front-line work assisting individuals and families with mental health and addictions issues, to supporting mental health programming province-wide, and implementing the national strategy to address mental health across Canada.

Currently, Uppala is the Director of Public Policy at the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario, and she also serves on the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Her writings examine impact of the lived experience of discrimination on the health and well-being of marginalized individuals and communities, and her advocacy efforts are focused on reducing health disparities, promoting human rights and addressing discrimination in the health care and social services systems.

Twitter: @UppalaC

Jeewan Chanicka
Superintendent, Equity, Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression, Toronto District School Board

Jeewan Chanicka is the Superintendent of Equity, Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression at Toronto District School Board. His work is focused on embedding an anti-oppressive/racist approach through structures that impact student achievement and well-being. As an instructional leader in schools, he has worked to develop culturally responsive social justice inquiry for classrooms and schools. He has also spent much of his career working with students identified as being "at risk" and re-engaging them in schooling. He has consulted with the United Nations University of Peace, and was a Torchbearer for the 2015 PanAm games.

Jeewan is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee award for his work in Education and Community Service. He is a community organizer and co-founder of the Coalition Against White Supremacy and Islamophobia. Recently, he recieved the Mary Samuels Educational Leadership Award from the Harmony Movement. Jeewan sits at the Anti-Racism Directorate's Provincial Roundtable on Islamophobia.

Lisa Cirillo
Executive Director, Downtown Legal Services,University of Toronto Faculty of Law Community Legal Clinic

Lisa Cirillo is the Executive Director of Downtown Legal Services, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law legal clinic. Lisa has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. She studied law at Queen’s University and received her LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Since her call the Bar in 1998, Lisa has practiced law in a wide variety of social justice organizations including DLS, ARCH Disability Law Centre and the Ontario Human Rights Commission. In addition to her legal work, Lisa has extensive experience in public legal education, community outreach, teaching and training. She is a frequent presenter and requested speaker on a wide variety of public interest topics including family law, violence against women, poverty law, access to justice and human rights issues.

Lisa joined the Board of ACCLE (the Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education) in 2011 and served as President from 2013 – 2017. She also serves as a member of the National Steering Committee for NAWL (National Association of Women and the Law) and Legal Aid Ontario’s Clinic Law Advisory Committee.

Claudette Commanda
Executive Director, First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres

Mojdeh Cox
National Director of Anti-Racism and Human Rights, Canadian Labour Congress

Mojdeh Cox is an award-winning and provincially recognized anti-racism and anti-oppression public educator and speaker. She has worked with municipalities, not-for-profit organizations, and small- to medium-sized businesses to develop strategies to be more inclusive and address system racism. In her professional life, Mojdeh works in government relations within the labour movement, advocating for better social, political and economic conditions for working people.

Mojdeh’s profound personal experiences with racism, sexism and xenophobia propelled her into what is not only her passion, but also survival as an activist for human rights. Mojdeh lives in Ottawa with her spouse and four children.

Michael Creek
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Working For Change

Michael Creek is the Director of Strategic Initiatives with Working for Change (www.Workingforchage.ca); former coordinator of the Toronto Speakers Bureau, Voices from the Street, where he has learned research, public policy and public speaking. Michael is a psychiatric consumer/survivor and a person with a lived experience of homelessness and poverty.

Michael is also a Board Director at the Inner-city Family Health at Saint Michael’s Hospital, and is an Honorary Friend of Nursing with the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO).

Michael continues to work with marginalized communities and people, and encourages them to speak out so that their voices can make a difference in shaping policy and planning with governments. Only when we as a society allow people who have been silenced by oppression and circumstance to be heard can we understand how to build a better place for us all.

Natalie Dagenais
Director, Policy, Research and International Division, Canadian Human Rights Commission

Natalie Dagenais is the Director of the Policy, Research and International Division at the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC). Natalie has spent most of her career working in the human rights field. She started her career with a federally regulated employer, then joined the Public Service where, except for an assignment with the Treasury Board Secretariat in the early 2000s, she has worked mainly for the CHRC, where she has held various other positions, including that of Director of the Investigations Division.

Natalie has a Civil Law Degree (LL.L) and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), both from the University of Ottawa. She has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 1995.

Jeremy Dias
Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity

Jeremy Dias was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and grew up there until moving to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where he attended high school. As a youth, he was motivated by social and political inequality to take action, volunteering with many organizations and charities. In high school, he started and led several clubs including Stop Racism and Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving. He also founded and coordinated Sault Ste. Marie’s first regional LGBTQ youth group.

After coming out in high school, Jeremy faced extreme cases of discrimination by students and school officials. At 17, he began a legal case against his school and school board, and at 21 won Canada’s second largest human rights settlement. Jeremy used the money to found the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity, the International Day of Pink and the Jeremy Dias Scholarship.

Jeremy has been featured on Canada AM, Much Music, CTV News, Global News and CBC News; and has been a keynote speaker at countless conferences and events.

He has completed a degree in Psychology and Political Science at the University of Ottawa, continues to volunteer for several organizations including Minister of the Status of Women’s Gender Based Violence Prevention Advisory Committee and the Ottawa Police Liaison Committee. He is also a columnist for 2B Magazine in Montreal. Jeremy Dias currently serves as Director of the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity (and the International Day of Pink).

Debbie Douglas
Executive Director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Debbie Douglas is an active feminist and anti-racism activist. She is the Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, where she leads a sector of more than 230 agencies concerned with immigrant and refugee integration and social and economic inclusion.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Debbie was active in the leadership of Ontario’s first shelter geared to abused immigrant women; was also an advocate for employment equity and worked to establish anti-discriminatory systems and practices in public institutions with a focus on the intersection of identities. Debbie serves on many boards including the Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement, Women’s College Hospital, and co-chairs the City of Toronto’s Newcomer Leadership Table. She is the former co-chair of the National Working Group on Immigration and Settlement at the Canadian Council for Refugees.

Among her many awards are the 2004 YWCA Toronto Women of Distinction Award, and the 2014 Race Relations award from the Urban Alliance on Race Relations. This year, she was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Inspire Awards.

Yasin Dwyer

Imam Yasin Dwyer was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to parents of Jamaican heritage. Before joining Muslim Chaplaincy at Ryerson University, Yasin was a part of the multi-faith chaplaincy team at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He has lectured extensively on topics such as spirituality and the arts, Black Canadian culture and the history of Muslims in the west. Along with working alongside many non-profit organizations in Canada, Yasin was the first full-time Canadian Muslim chaplain to work with the Correctional Service of Canada, a position he held for 12 years. He is also a board member of the Montreal based Institut Route de la Soie/Silk Road Institute, which is dedicated to expressing Canadian Muslim narratives through the visual, auditory and performing arts.

Patti Fairfield
Executive Director, Ne-Chee Friendship Centre

Patti Fairfield is the Executive Director of the Ne-Chee Friendship Centre in Kenora, Ontario. Patti first started working at the friendship centre as an Employment Counsellor in October 2002. She started serving as Acting Executive Director in January 2013 and became the permanent Executive Director in October 2013, overseeing 20 programs that cover everything from employment and training, education, health, justice and social services.

Through her employment she sits on many committees.  She has been a Rotarian since 2014 and sits as a volunteer Board member for both Sunset Area Victim Crisis Assistance and Referral Service and the Adult Learning Line.

Janina Fogels
Senior Counsel and Manager of Legal Services, Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC)

Janina Fogels is currently Senior Counsel and Manager of Legal Services at the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, the clinic pillar of the human rights system. She is dedicated to advancing social justice and human rights through advocacy, education and community outreach initiatives. Janina was Executive Advisor to the Chief Commissioner of the OHRC from 2017-2018, where she provided the Chief Commissioner with advice and support in the implementation of strategic priorities, and worked with OHRC partners, stakeholders, government and community in matters of governance and strategy. Before this, she was the Manager of Client Services at the HRLSC where she directed a team in the provision of intake and application-stage legal services, a project which resulted in increasing the number of human rights applicants who are represented by the HRLSC at mediations and in significant and sustained increases in the number of cases settled by the HRLSC. Prior to joining the HRLSC in 2009, Janina practiced union-side labour and employment law in Toronto. A graduate of McGill University and the University of Toronto, Janina has worked with the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), Human Rights Watch, and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

Mustafa Farooq
Executive Director, National Council of Canadian Muslims

Mustafa Farooq is Executive Director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). A lawyer by profession, Mustafa completed his Juris Doctor at the University of Alberta and Osgoode Hall (York University) and later earned his Master of Laws (LLM) at UC Berkeley in California. He previously served as a senior political staffer to a provincial cabinet minister, in which role, he worked on various legislative and policy initiatives.

Mustafa was also a visiting scholar at Osgoode Hall Law School researching countering violent extremism policy in Canada. His book entitled Law, Politics, and Countering Violent Extremism (Routledge) is forthcoming.

He is a published writer and commentator in various news media and publications on issues related to Canadian Muslims, human rights and civil liberties, and public policy issues including Islamophobia and national security.

Kenneth Hale
Director of Advocacy and Legal Services, Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)

Kenneth Hale is a lawyer and the Legal Director of the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO). His work there focuses on law reform, training and test cases on behalf of low-income residential tenants. He was the Lawyer-Director of South Etobicoke Community Legal Services for over 20 years before moving to ACTO in 2008. His commitment to human rights arises from helping clients and communities to overcome the impact of poverty and housing insecurity, and seeing the barriers to success faced by members of equality-seeking groups.

Ian Hamilton
Executive Director, Equitas – International Centre for Human Rights Education

As Executive Director of Equitas – International Centre for Human Rights Education, Ian helps set the strategic directions and oversee the work of a team of 40 staff. This team designs and delivers innovative human rights education programs across Canada and overseas, which empower learners, particularly children and youth, to become leaders for social change in their communities. Before joining Equitas in 1997, Ian worked with Rights and Democracy and then spent almost two years in Thailand assisting their campaign to establish a National Human Rights Commission. Ian grew up in Toronto and graduated from University of Toronto in 1990 with a Bachelor’s Degree in History.

Kelly Hannah-Moffat
Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity, University of Toronto

As the University of Toronto’s Vice President, Human Resources & Equity, Professor Kelly Hannah-Moffat is responsible for employment and labour relations with 22 unions and three staff associations, salary and benefits negotiations with the Faculty Association, as well as addressing risks associated with collective agreement negotiations, mediations, grievances and work stoppages. She creates and implements policies that reflect the University's commitment to equity and diversity for students, faculty and staff. She is the Crisis Manager for the University, the Co-Chair for the High Risk Committee and is part of the Institutional On-Call Executive system.

Professor Hannah-Moffat is responsible for the Personal Safety, High Risk, Sexual Violence Prevention and Support team and assisted in the development of the new Sexual Violence Policy. She is a Full Professor in Criminology, and her research has made important contributions to criminology, sociology, and legal issues. Her interdisciplinary research on criminal records disclosures, risk, punishment, and marginalized and diverse populations has contributed to the advancement of knowledge in sociology, criminology, law and social justice, and penal history. Her work has had concrete implications for social and criminal justice policy change, institutional/legal reform and institutional risk meeting practices.

Dakota Heon
Meeting Co-chair, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres – Indigenous Youth Council

Aanii, Wachey, Sago, and Hello. My name is Dakota Heon and I was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, but now reside in North Bay, Ontario. I am an Indigenous student currently enrolled at Nipissing University and am completing a Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare and Development with a Social Services Work Diploma.

Outside of being a student, I also do quite a bit of volunteer work. Some of this work includes sitting on the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres’ Indigenous Youth Council. My current position is the meeting co-chair and my previous position was the Northeast Regional Youth Representative.

Raihanna Hirji-Khalfan
Training Consultant

Raihanna Hirji-Khalfan has over 10 years’ experience designing, leading and implementing educational initiatives for youth and adult learners on disability, ableism and accessibility, human rights, leadership development, anti-oppression and Islamophobia. 

Raihanna holds a degree in Law, a Master of Science in Business & IT, a Master of Arts in Critical Disability Studies and is a LLM Canadian Common Law candidate at Osgoode Law School. 

In her former role as Accessibility Officer at McMaster University’s Equity and Inclusion Office, Raihanna managed the University’s compliance obligations with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). She also co-led a campus-wide initiative on Challenging Islamophobia on Campus that sought to identify and acknowledge everyday forms of racism and islamophobia with a view to creating support mechanisms on campus for staff, students and faculty. 

Raihanna is passionate about supporting the development of women and youth. She lives in Mississauga, Ontario and is currently a homeschooling mom. 

Carl James
Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora, York University

Dr. Carl James is the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora in the Faculty of Education, and cross-appointed to the Graduate Programs in Sociology, Social Work, and Social and Political Thought at York University. In his role as Chair, he gives particular attention to issues of Black and other racialized people using a framework of equity, inclusivity, and social justice; and in the process seeks to foster university-school-community-government partnerships.

A former youth and community worker, James is widely recognized for his work with racialized communities; and nationally and internationally, for his scholarship and research pertaining to equity and access to opportunities in terms of race, class, gender, racialization, immigration and citizenship. On an international level, James has worked with teacher educators, teachers and teacher-candidates at Uppsala University, Sweden (1997 to 2013). In addition to his many community awards, James also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Uppsala University for his contribution to social equity and anti-racism education; and is an elected Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada.

Dr. Salha Jeizan, EdD.
Chair, MIAG – Centre for Diverse Women and Families

Dr. Salha Jeizan is an educator, community leader and activist who works and volunteers with grassroots organizations, advocating for women and youth. She is committed to raising awareness of issues facing diverse comminutes. Salha is a professor with Sheridan College and Adjunct Faculty at Capella University. She has served on many boards and is the chair of MIAG – Centre for Diverse Women and Families, immediate past president of The Federation of Muslim Women, a committee member on Parent Involvement Committee of the Peel District School Board (PDSB), Muslim Advisory Committee of Peel Regional Police, and founder of Umoja Women’s Association.

April Julian
Director of Education, Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust

April Julian joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and Education Trust (CCLET) in 2009. She became Deputy Director of Education in 2014, and Director in 2016. An Ontario Certified Teacher, April is responsible for developing and delivering CCLET’s various education initiatives in Ontario and beyond. With the help of her colleagues at CCLA/CCLET, April delivers civil liberties programming to nearly 10,000 learners each year – including elementary and high school students, pre-service and in-service teachers, newcomers to Canada, and youth in custody. In her work, April strives to encourage a deeper understanding and respect for the rights and freedoms of everyone in Canada.

Farrah Khan
Manager, Consent Comes First – Office of Sexual Violence Support and Education at Ryerson University

Farrah Khan has spent two decades working diligently to raise awareness about the connection between equity and gender-based violence. She was named co-chair of Ontario’s first permanent provincial roundtable on Violence Against Women and the Federal Strategy Against Gender-based Violence Advisory Council. She conducts training across North America on gender justice, sexual violence, forced marriage and consent. Farrah is co-founder of innovative community projects including Use the Right Words: Media Reporting on Sexual Violence, Heartbeats: The IZZAT Project, and is a regular contributor to major news media outlets. She is the Manager of Consent Comes First, Office of Sexual Violence Support and Education at Ryerson University, where she works with community members affected by sexual violence, creates educational programming and aids in shaping campus policy and procedures. Farrah has received many awards, including the Toronto Community Foundation Vital People Award and a Women Who Inspire award from Canadian Council of Muslim Women.

Saleha Khan
Organizational Development Specialist – Diversity & Inclusion, City of London

Saleha J. Khan is a human rights and social justice activist and educator with more than 15 years of experience in training with law enforcement and the public service sector, working with diverse communities in Ontario, Canada and abroad. Saleha’s areas of expertise include social justice, human rights and responsibilities, hate crimes, and the settlement sector’s challenges and opportunities with the new Canadians. She has worked in the human capital, equity and inclusion field for more than 15 years, She is involved in volunteer efforts in empowering women and members of immigrant and racialized communities, regarding family and partner abuse. Saleha is the co-founder of the Family Honour Project, housed out of London, Ontario, She is also a charter member of the London Chapter for Sorpotimist International. Saleha received the Canadian Council of Muslim Women’s Women who Inspire Award for 2015.

She is currently employed as the Diversity and Inclusion Specialist with the City of London, Ontario. Saleha can be reached via LinkedIn.

Anita Khanna
National Director, Public Policy and Government Relations United Way Centraide Canada

Anita Khanna works at Family Service Toronto as National Coordinator, Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty in Canada and Director of Social Action and Community Building. Anita is an advocate for social justice and equity whose work is driven by anti-racist, anti-oppressive analysis. She was Executive Director of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) and City-Wide organizer at Social Planning Toronto. Anita’s work and activist experience spans legal, gender-based violence, migrant justice and youth advocacy issues. Please tag @campaign2000 on twitter and on Facebook.

Raja Khouri
President, Canadian Arab Institute

Raja Khouri is president of the Canadian Arab Institute, a policy think tank he co-founded in 2011. Raja is co-founder of the Canadian Arab/Jewish Leadership Dialogue Group, and an international consultant in organizational development and capacity building. Raja formerly served on several government and civil society bodies, such as Ontario’s Hate Crimes Community Working Group (for the Attorney General and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services), the Minister of Education’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy Roundtable, the Pride Toronto Community Advisory Panel, the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs, and as advocacy co-chair of Human Rights Watch Canada. He served as president of the Canadian Arab Federation in the period following the events of 9/11.

Raja’s earlier career included a senior management position at CIBC and management consulting tenures in Europe and the Middle East. He has designed and chaired conferences, given and moderated lectures, many media interviews, and published commentaries in journals and major Canadian dailies. He’s the author of Arabs in Canada: Post 9/11. Raja served as a Commissioner with the OHRC from 2006 to 2016.

Lori Kleinsmith
Health Promoter, Bridges Community Health Centre

Lori Kleinsmith has worked as a Health Promoter at Bridges Community Health Centre since 2009. Lori is a passionate social justice and health equity advocate and has been an active member of the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network for several years. She is the current chair of the Niagara Dental Health Coalition and co-chair of the City of Port Colborne’s Social Determinants of Health Committee of Council. Follow Lori on Twitter at @LoriKleinsmith.

Shalini Konanur
Executive Director, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario

Shalini Konanur is the Executive Director and a lawyer at the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO). As a student at Osgoode Hall Law School Shalini worked at both Parkdale Community Legal Services and CLASP in the worker’s rights division. Shalini has been actively involved in several areas of poverty law reform, including lobbying at the municipal, provincial and federal level for social assistance, housing, immigration, employment and family violence reform. Shalini has also spearheaded SALCO`s test case work, challenging issues of racial, gender and religious discrimination at the Supreme Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. Shalini’s work focuses on the promotion of access to justice for racialized communities in Canada and on addressing poverty for SALCO’s low-income constituency.

Robert Lattanzio
Executive Director, ARCH Disability Law

Roberto Lattanzio is the Executive Director of ARCH Disability Law Centre. He joined ARCH as an articling student in 2003 and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2004. Robert received his LL.B and B.C.L. law degrees from McGill University in 2003 with distinction, and received his B.A. from Concordia University in 1999 with honours. He has acted as counsel in test case litigation at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and has made law reform submissions to various levels of government, committees and administrative bodies. Robert has presented and written on topics such as equality and human rights law, administrative law, education law, legislative reform, and social science evidence. Robert has a long-standing interest in disability issues and worked extensively with disability communities prior to attending law school.

Elizabeth McIsaac
President, Maytree Foundation

Elizabeth McIsaac is the president of Maytree, an organization committed to exploring solutions to poverty in Canada using a human rights approach. She has a deep history with Maytree; she previously served as the Director of Policy and was the executive director of one of Maytree’s signature ideas: the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC). Elizabeth is also a dedicated champion of the non-profit sector, having most recently established and led a research hub at the Mowat Centre focused on public policy and the sector.

Fallon Melander
Manager, Indigenous Relations, Metrolinx

Fallon Melander is Anishinaabe, a mother, a wife, a travel enthusiast and a member of Wikwemikoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. She completed her B.A. at the University of Western Ontario and her LL.B. at the University of Ottawa. She is Policy Counsel for Legal Aid Ontario leading the Aboriginal Justice Strategy, and is a member of the Indigenous Bar Association.

Noa Mendelsohn Aviv
Director, Equality Program, Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Noa Mendelsohn Aviv joined CCLA in 2002 as a legal researcher. Since 2005 she has directed CCLA’s Expression and Equality programs. Noa has been published, made submissions, appearances and presentations, and advocated on such issues as refugee protection, LGBTQ rights, racial profiling, freedom of expression and religion, and the intersectionality of rights, in particular religious freedom and equality. Noa has coordinated many CCLA interventions in a variety of Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and human rights tribunals; appeared before Parliamentary and provincial legislative committees, governmental and public bodies; and provided written submissions. She has also appeared on panels, at conferences, in press interviews, and provided guest workshops and lessons through CCLET’s public education project. In addition, Noa manages CCLA’s law student volunteer programs.

Noa has an LL.B. and LL.M. from the Hebrew University in Israel, and a B.A. (with distinction) from York University. She completed her legal articles at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and was called to the Israeli Bar in 1998. She worked for a few years as an associate at a private law firm in Jerusalem, practicing litigation, labour, commercial and corporate law. Noa has also served as Field Coordinator for a large research project on eating disorders in women, and as Acting Administrative Director of Hebrew University Law Faculty’s Center for Human Rights.

Juliette Nicolet
Policy Director, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres

Juliette Nicolet is the Policy Director at the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, a position she has held for 11 years.  Prior to that she articled then served as counsel for three years at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. She holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Toronto and obtained both her LLB and her BCL at McGill University.

Juliette supervises a unit of eight policy analysts covering a range of subject areas related to advancing public policy supportive of Friendship Centres at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. In her work vis-à-vis the provincial government, Juliette sits on various urban Indigenous technical tables with ministries across the provincial government. 

Juliette has worked consistently to make the connection between government policy and people's lives on the ground, in order to inform policy development in a coherent and constructive way, with the resulting landscape facilitating the creation of programs and services that achieve real outcomes for real people. She has extensive relationships and experience with Friendship Centres and has substantially supported their capacity for local engagement and service delivery as community hubs in the urban Indigenous community.

Kike Ojo
Principal Consultant, Kojo Institute

Kike Ojo is the Project Manager for One Vision One Voice: Changing the Child Welfare System for African Canadian Families, a community-led project facilitated by the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies. Kike has worked in the field of child welfare in Ontario for over 10 years, advancing an equity agenda to address services to all marginalized people. Prior to her child welfare career, Kike worked within multiple social service sectors and within communities in the US and Canada, and has presented many keynotes, guest lectures and workshops.

Kike’s work and volunteer efforts earned her the Lincoln M. Alexander Community Award for extraordinary leadership in eliminating racial discrimination in Ontario, and several other awards and recognitions. Over the past two years, Kike has been featured in the Toronto Star, on The Agenda with Steve Paikin (TVO), CBC News, and CBC Radio across Ontario.

Kike’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in International Justice and Human Rights from McMaster University, a Master of Arts in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Education, University of Toronto. Additionally Kike is a certified Alternative Dispute Resolution mediator.

Paula Osmok
Executive Director, John Howard Society of Ontario

Paula Osmok is the Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Ontario, a position she has held since 2002. During this time, she established the Centre of Research and Policy, and through its team of professional researchers, policy analysts and evaluators, has engaged in leading-edge research and policy work, making significant contributions to social and criminal justice literature and program development in Ontario. She was elected for four successive terms as a public school trustee in her local community, serving as Chair of the Board and of many committees.

She has presented at many conferences and training sessions on a range of criminal and social justice topics including the importance of human rights in carceral settings. A special focus is required for carceral settings because prisons are environments where human rights can be most easily disregarded.

Paula holds an MSc, in Criminal Justice Studies from the University of Leicester in the UK.

Pam Palmater
Chair in Indigenous Governance, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson University

Pam Palmater is a Mi’kmaw citizen and member of the Eel River Bar First Nation. She’s been a practicing lawyer for 18 years and holds the Chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University. Pam is an activist and was one of the spokespeople and educators for the Idle No More movement. She is a well-known public speaker often called before Parliamentary and United Nations committees as an expert on Indigenous rights.

Twitter: @Pam_Palmater
Facebook: Pam Palmater
Website: www.pampalmater.com
Blog: www.indigenousnationhood.blogspot.com
LinkedIn: Dr. Pam Palmater
Instagram: Pam_Palmater

Jessica Reekie, B.A. LL.B.
Executive Director, Ontario Justice Education Network

Jess Reekie is the Executive Director of the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN), a charitable not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that develops innovative educational tools that introduce young people to the justice system, help them understand the law, and build their legal capability (www.ojen.ca).

A graduate of Harvard University and Dalhousie Law School, Jess practiced immigration and refugee law before she began working in the field of public legal education. She joined OJEN in 2008, first as a Program Manager developing public legal education programs and resources for newcomer youth, later becoming Director of Programs where she oversaw all of OJEN’s justice education work with vulnerable and marginalized youth. In 2014, she became OJEN’s Executive Director. Jess also serves as a Board Member for the Public Legal Education Association of Canada (PLEAC).

Cecil Roach
Coordinating Superintendent, Equity and Community Services, York Region District School Board

In his 33-year career as an educator, Cecil Roach has had the opportunity to have a very profound impact on the lives of young people. He has done this as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and now Coordinating Superintendent.

Born on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat (now sadly devastated by a continuously erupting volcano) and arriving in Canada in his early teens, Cecil completed most of his schooling in Montreal where he graduated from Marymount High School, Vanier College CEGEP, and Concordia and McGill Universities. He maintains that his time as one of the “barrel children” (children whose parents left them behind with a grandparent while they prepared for their reunion in Canada) has given him special insight into the dynamics of immigration and its effect on student achievement and well-being. This experience has also strengthened Mr. Roach’s belief that schools are places where students, regardless of their social identities, can expand dreams on their journey towards full participation in Canadian society.

Cecil taught English for 16 years in Quebec at Chambly County High School and Centennial Regional High School and in Ontario at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute before becoming an administrator in 1995. He is currently serving as Coordinating Superintendent, Equity and Community Services for the York Region District School Board.

Paul Robitaille
Chair, Métis Nation of Ontario Youth Council

Paul Robitaille is a Métis graduate student and community organizer, with a strong passion for youth empowerment and cultural revitalization. Paul’s academic and professional work seeks to promote greater understanding and collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through creating opportunities for respectful cross-cultural dialogue and knowledge exchange. Paul is excited to join the Community Advisory Group and to collectively work towards building a more inclusive, equitable and barrier-free Ontario for all Ontarians.

Nancy Rowe
Elder, Traditional Teacher

Giidaakunadaad (The Spirit Who Lives in High Places) n’dizhinikaaz (is my name): Nancy Rowe is a Mississauga, Ojibwe of the Anishinaabek Nation located at New Credit First Nation, Ontario. Nancy holds an honors BA in Indigenous Studies and Political Science. She is an educator, consultant and a Traditional Practitioner of Anishinaabek lifeways, views and customary practices, and is currently completing a Master’s degree of Environmental Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo.

She is an avid volunteer who coordinates Akinomaagaye Gaamik, a grassroots initiative to provide educational opportunities for all peoples interested in Indigenous perspectives of life, health, education, history and the environment. “Education is the doorway through which we all can create a common ground and understanding of not only Indigenous Peoples but also, and more importantly, our environment.”

Balpreet Singh
Legal Counsel, World Sikh Organization of Canada

Balpreet Singh received his law degree from the University of Ottawa. After articling with a boutique disability and human rights law firm in Toronto, he became legal counsel for the World Sikh Organization of Canada in 2009.

His practice focuses on human rights law and religious accommodation. Balpreet Singh has helped resolve several key accommodation issues for Sikhs in Canada, including accommodation for the wearing of the kirpan in courthouses in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, on VIA Rail trains, as well as in Canadian embassies and consulates internationally.

Balpreet Singh has worked with various public and private sector organizations to create resources and provide training on religious accommodation issues and best practices when interacting with persons of the Sikh faith.  He currently also serves as a director for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.  

Catherine Soplet

Catherine Soplet joins the OHRC Community Advisory Group with a musician’s insight and results since 2007 on complex issues of education and poverty. Her 2017 collaborations in a new role as Executive Director (Acting) for NabrHUBS INC. intend to gauge impact of parent mentoring on student tutoring. Since joining the Peel Poverty Action Group and Peel Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2010, Catherine’s mantra, “Schools anchor neighbourhoods, attract talent and build prosperity,” has been taken to every level of government

Chantal Tie
Lawyer, Human Rights Legal Support Centre

Chantal Tie is an advocate, litigator and educator, dedicated to social justice and the defense of human rights. She wrote her LLM thesis on discrimination in Canadian immigration, and the same interest in the rights of immigrants, women and marginalized groups drives her advocacy and litigation work. She was awarded the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2015, in recognition of her social justice work.

She has represented individuals and organizations in rights-based litigation at all court levels, including among others, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), Elizabeth Fry Society, Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) and Amnesty International.

Called to the Bar in 1982, her interest in social justice extends beyond Canada, having worked for the Canadian Bar Association on justice projects in Bangladesh and China. She currently volunteers on collaborative projects with The Equality Effect, including a successful constitutional challenge in Kenya on behalf of 160 girl victims of rape and a challenge to the requirement for corroboration in rape in Malawi.

Chantal was Chair of the Court Challenges Program of Canada, Co-chair of LEAF’s litigation committee and CCR’s Inland Protection Working Group and is now on the Executive of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, co-chairing the litigation committee. For 21 years, she was Executive Director of South Ottawa Community Legal Services and is now counsel at the Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre. She teaches Immigration and Refugee Law at the University of Ottawa.

Jessica Wolfe
Duty Counsel, Aboriginal Legal Services Toronto

Jessica Wolfe is Anishinaabe from Brunswick House First Nation, and mother of two children, Meghan and Ruby. A recovering social worker, she graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2006 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2007. Jessica worked for 10 years as Criminal Duty Counsel at Old City Hall Courthouse in Toronto, and specifically in the Gladue Courts representing Indigenous persons in conflict with the settler criminal justice system. She recently accepted the Senior Staff Lawyer position at Aboriginal Legal Services, a legal clinic that provides legal services to low-income Indigenous persons in the areas of human rights and poverty law, and engages in law reform activities, community organizing, public legal organizing, test-case litigation, coroner’s inquests, public inquiries, and interventions at all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada.

November 2014

Chief Commissioner

• Executive Advisor (reports to Executive Director)
• Commission and Secretariat Coordinator (Designated Bilingual) (reports to Executive Advisor)

Executive Director

• Executive Assistant Vacant
• Administrative Assistant

Chief Administrative Officer – Centralized Services Branch

• Junior Financial Analyst 
• Information Technology Team Lead
• Coordinator of Administrative Services
• Technology Support Analyst
• Administrative Clerk (2 positions)
• Web Administration Developer
• Network specialist
• Network Architect, Web Lead 

Manager - Communications & Issues Management

• Senior Communications Officer
• Media Relations Officer (Designated Bilingual)
• Information Officer (2 positions, 1 Designated Bilingual)
• Special Events Coordinator
• Analyst Issues Coordinator
• Correspondence Coordinator

Director Policy, Education, Monitoring & Outreach

• Administrative Assistant
• Senior Policy Analysts (5 positions, 1 Designated Bilingual)
• Human Rights Education and Change Specialist ( 2 positions, 1 Designated Bilingual)
• Public Education and Outreach Officer (3)
• Electronic Education Specialist

Manager – Legal Services and Inquiries (Designated Bilingual)

• Counsel (6 positions, 1 Designated Bilingual)
• Legal Secretary
• Inquiry Analyst (3 positions, 1 Designated Bilingual)
• Articling Student

Developing a culture of human rights

Promoting human rights is key to developing a culture where everyone can play a part as we move to achieving the vision of society described in the Preamble to the Human Rights Code. This vision is consistent with that described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, part of Canada's Constitution. It is a vision where everyone feels that they are an important part of the community and that they are able to participate fully to its development and well-being while respecting and taking responsibility for the rights of others.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission works to promote, protect and advance human rights in Ontario.  The Human Rights Code provides a range of different tools that the OHRC may use, including, among others, policy development, research, public education and training, human rights inquiries and legal action.

The OHRC has unique legal powers under the Human Rights Code.  We may conduct inquiries, make an application (a complaint) directly to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario to allege discrimination and seek a Tribunal order, or intervene in applications before the Tribunal. The OHRC may also take part in cases before other administrative tribunals and courts.  (For our powers under the Code, see here: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h19#BK33).

This Litigation and Inquiry Strategy sets out when and how the OHRC decides to conduct an inquiry or take an application to the Human Rights Tribunal or when to intervene in a legal proceeding. 

What is an Inquiry?

The Code says the OHRC can conduct an inquiry to:

• Look into incidents of or conditions of tension or conflict in a community, institution or sector of the economy and to make recommendations, and encourage and co-ordinate plans, programs and activities, to reduce or prevent such incidents or sources of tension or conflict.
• Look into programs, policy and practices made under statute for consistency with the Code and make recommendations.

Inquiries can be large or small, simple or complex.  They could include:

• Private letters to an organization asking about an issue and requesting a response or more information
• Public meetings
• Online-questionnaires or feedback forms
• Fact-finding, investigation, and requesting and obtaining information

What are Commission-initiated Applications?

The OHRC may make its own applications directly to the Tribunal to allege discrimination and ask for a Tribunal order, or intervene in other applications before the Tribunal.  Section 35 of the Code says the OHRC may intervene as a full party to an application at the Tribunal if the applicant gives their permission.  The OHRC can then participate in all stages of the proceeding, including calling evidence, cross-examining witnesses, presenting written and oral submissions and any negotiations or mediation. 

How do we choose which cases to be involved with?

Every year the Commission sets high level goals and priority issues to meet our statutory mandate.  However, human rights cases and issues for inquiry often emerge that are clearly important but may not fall within our current priority areas.

We look at new issues on a case-by-case basis to decide if any response is needed or whether an inquiry, intervention or Commission-initiated application at the Human Rights Tribunal is called for. We consider:

• Would this support our statutory mandate, high-level strategic goals and priority areas of work?
  • Would it complement current, future or potential activities of the Commission?
• Will it have a broad, systemic impact?
  • Does it raise significant  issues of public policy or public interest from a human rights perspective?
  • Will it benefit vulnerable or marginalized people protected by the Code?
  • What is the likely outcome?
• Will it shape, clarify or advance human rights law in Ontario?
• Is it an issue of such importance that Commission involvement is required because of:
  • The seriousness or importance of the matter?
  • The complexity of issue?
• Could it be done within current OHRC resources?

How do we spot emerging issues?

Our Issues Management team monitors developments in human rights and related social issues, proposed provincial legislation, noteworthy Tribunal and court decisions, and other factors that could affect human rights in Ontario. We identify potential matters for litigation or inquiry through:

• Issues raised in news media and other electronic publications
• Cases scheduled to be heard by courts or tribunals as well as court and tribunal decisions
• Notices from the Tribunal of applications that may raise significant human rights issues through, for example, interim decisions identifying opportunities for potential Commission intervention
• Requests for Commission initiated-applications, inquiries or interventions from the public. To make a request contact info@ohrc.on.ca
• Issues identified by staff and Commissioners 
• Information from the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies about potential inquiries and legal proceedings
• Opportunities from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (which provides free legal advice to individuals who think they may have a discrimination claim)
• Stakeholders or other partners also identify opportunities 

Some examples of OHRC Inquiries and Litigation

• The Commission intervened as a full party in JT. v. Hockey Canada, an HRTO application about locker room access for trans amateur hockey players.  The Commission and applicant negotiated a settlement requiring Hockey Canada to allow all players in Ontario to access locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity, review and revise its procedures to protect privacy about players’ trans status, and provide training to all Ontario coaches as trainers about gender identity and related discrimination and harassment.

• Moore v. British Columbia (Education), 2012 SCC 61 (CanLII) at the Supreme Court of Canada, involved a student with severe dyslexia whose specialized learning program was cut by the school district because of budgetary constraints.  The OHRC argued that the selection of a comparator group was not required and the service at issue was general education, not special education.  Both arguments were adopted by the Supreme Court, which ultimately held that the school district’s action amounted to discrimination.   

• Peel Law Association v. Pieters, 2013 ONCA 396 (CanLII) at the Court of Appeal for Ontario,  involved two Black lawyers who were singled out and approached in an aggressive manner by a librarian in the Peel Law Association lounge.  The OHRC’s argument about the three-part test for a prima facie case of discrimination was confirmed by the Court of Appeal, which rejected the stricter test of discrimination applied by the Divisional Court.  The decision also made clear that racial profiling is a form of everyday racism.

• We intervened in Claybourn v. Toronto Police Services Board, 2013 HRTO 1298 (CanLII) to further access to justice.  The Tribunal considered the interpretation and application of section 45.1 of the Code in the context of previously filed public complaints under the Police Services Act (“PSA”) to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director about the conduct of police officers.  The Tribunal accepted the OHRC argument that the reasonable expectations of the parties had to be considered. It exercised its discretion not to dismiss the Tribunal applications under section 45.1 and confirmed that discipline under the PSA and relief to victims of discrimination under the Code can both be pursued. 

• Jahn v. Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, at the Tribunal, dealt with mental health and the corrections system. We addressed the systemic issues that Ms. Jahn raised in relation to appropriate mental health services and the placement of people with mental illness in segregation. The settlement between the OHRC, Ministry and Ms. Jahn will help to ensure the proper identification and care of women with mental illness in provincial correctional institutions.
  • In August of 2013, the Commission intervened in TB, MSB, and JBS v. Halton District School Board and Halton Student Transportation Services at the Tribunal.  Following settlement negotiations with the applicants and the OHRC, the school board and transportation service agreed to move the children’s bus stop closer to the family home, seek the Commission’s involvement in preparing and delivering training on human rights accommodation and inclusivity, amend their transportation policies to accommodate parents with Code-related needs, and recommend similar policy amendments to the Halton Catholic District School Board.
• We held an inquiry into a rental housing licensing bylaw in the City of Waterloo in 2012, which imposed, among other things, per-person floor area requirements, gross floor area requirements, and minimum separation distances on certain rental units with three or more occupants.  As a result of the inquiry and subsequent negotiations, the City made a number of changes including requiring that the impact on tenants be considered before it revokes or suspends a licence, committing to monitoring the impact of the bylaw on Code-protected groups with the assistance of an expert, and making changes that make it easier for people to share bedrooms.    
• In January 2014, the OHRC participated in an inquest into the deaths of three individuals with mental health disabilities, and issued a report in February of 2014 to help raise public awareness about how police use of force uniquely affects people with mental health disabilities. 

• OHRC litigation has led to partnerships to create and sustain human rights organizational change with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. 

We, the staff of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, in full compliance with the spirit, intent and provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code, are committed to providing the highest quality customer service.

This statement of our commitment reflects our best efforts to provide excellent customer service, within the limits of our resources, by:

• being sensitive, aware and knowledgeable about the realities of prejudice and discrimination
• recognizing and accommodating the diverse needs of our many client groups
• providing accessible services, information and materials
• acting on issues brought to the Commission as quickly as possible while maintaining the high quality of our work
• responding to questions, concerns and criticism in a prompt, fair and respectful way.

1. Our mission:

2. Our commitment to service:

1. being sensitive, aware and knowledgeable about the realities of prejudice and discrimination; 
2. recognizing and accommodating the diverse needs of our many client groups; 
3. providing accessible services, information and materials; 
4. acting on issues brought to the OHRC as quickly as possible while maintaining the high quality of our work; and
5. responding to questions, concerns and criticism in a prompt, fair and respectful way.
6.  

3. Providing goods and services to people with disabilities:

3.1 Communication:

3.2 Assistive devices:

3.3 Accessible documents:

3.4 Scent sensitive office:

4. Use of service animals and support persons:

5. Notice of temporary disruption:

6. Training for staff:

7. Feedback process:

8. Modifications to this or other policies:

Introduction

This document outlines the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) multi-year AODA accessibility plan (accessibility plan) for 2020–21 – 2025–26 to:

1. Prevent and remove barriers for persons with disabilities
2. Meet the requirements set out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and its regulations.

Statement of commitment

The OHRC supports the full inclusion of persons with disabilities as set out in the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code), the OHRC’s Policy on ableism and discrimination based on disability, and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). The Code has primacy over the AODA. The OHRC is committed to complying with the accessibility standards set out in the AODA’s Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) and the duty to accommodate disability related needs under the Code.

AODA requirements

Ontario Regulation 191/11: Integrated Accessibility Standards (IASR) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) include accessibility standards for:

• Policies, training, plans and reports
• Procurement
• Customer service
• Information and communications
• Employment
• Transportation
• The built environment.

Section 4 of the IASR requires the Government of Ontario and designated public sector organizations, including the OHRC, to create, maintain and make publicly available a multi-year accessibility plan. The accessibility plan must be created, reviewed and updated in consultation with persons with disabilities. The accessibility plan must also be reviewed at least once every five years, and all organizations are required to report annually on the progress they have made to implement the accessibility plan and comply with the IASR. The status reports must be made available to the public.

The Ontario Public Service’s 2017–21 OPS Multi-Year Accessibility Plan describes the OPS’ commitment to accessibility, and the steps the government is taking to prevent and remove barriers for persons with disabilities in employment, services and in making policy. The OPS accessibility plan outlines the government’s strategies to prevent, identify and remove barriers for persons with disabilities. The Ministry of the Attorney General’s Accessibility for People with Disabilities Plan sets out what the ministry plans to do to prevent and remove barriers for persons with disabilities, and what steps it is taking to comply with the requirements set out in the AODA and its regulations.

The OHRC has considered these requirements and plans in the development of its accessibility plan.

Guiding principles and policies

In accordance with section 3 of the IASR, and our mandate under section 29 of the Code, we have established and are also guided by our policies and other functions that promote, protect and advance understanding of human rights for people with disabilities.

For example, the OHRC has published various policies and reports including its Policy on ableism and discrimination based on disability, Minds that Matter: Report on the consultation on human rights, mental health and addictions, and its Policy on preventing discrimination based on mental health disabilities and addictions. The OHRC has also published eLearning modules on Ableism and discrimination based on disability, Human rights and the duty to accommodate and Working Together: The Code and the AODA.

Application

The OHRC accessibility plan applies to:

• All employees, (part-time, full-time, contract, students)
• Visitors, stakeholders, vendors, contractors
• Commissioners
• Advisory group members.

Strategies and actions for 2020–21 – 2025–26

The OHRC is committed to advancing the human rights of persons with disabilities using our mandate under the Code, through activities such as public education, policy development, public inquiries and litigation.

The OHRC makes the following commitments to meet the goal of being an organization that is fully accessible to persons with disabilities. The OHRC’s activities will help us comply with the Code, the AODA and the IASR in the following areas:

• Customer service
• Information and communications
• Employment
• Accessibility training
• Procurement.

Customer service

In accordance with Part IV.2 of the IASR, the OHRC is committed to ensuring that all individuals have access to and can effectively use its services, goods and facilities. The OHRC has the following in place to meet its obligations and commitments:

• Customer service policy on Providing goods and services to people with disabilities, as required by the IASR
• Communications supports such as sign language interpretation and captioning for OHRC-hosted public events as required; other forms of accommodation are available upon request
• All OHRC-hosted public events take place at accessible locations or on accessible video conferencing platforms. The OHRC takes steps to confirm that each physical and virtual event space is fully accessible before finalizing an event
• Standard language on all invitations invites people to contact the OHRC about additional Code-related accommodation requests before event dates
• As required under Section 11 of the IASR, a web-based feedback process is available to help the OHRC better understand how well customer expectations are being met. People can also provide feedback via telephone, TTY, mail or fax
• The OHRC is committed to providing customer service in a way that best respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities. The OHRC will continue to adhere to its customer service policy on Providing goods and services to people with disabilities and the IASR by:
  
  • Ensuring that stakeholders, clients and employees are aware of their roles and responsibilities under this accessible customer service procedure
  • Promptly addressing accommodation and accessibility issues identified in a dignified and respectful way, to facilitate effective access to, and participation in, OHRC services
  • Responding to identified accommodation and accessibility needs on an individual basis.

In consultation with people with disabilities, the OHRC will review and make any necessary changes to improve the accessibility of its:

• Customer service policy and practices in accordance with the standards under the IASR, including:
  
  • Routinely asking individuals if they require any disability-related accommodations or assistance
  • Reviewing potential barriers that visitors with disabilities may experience when arriving at the OHRC’s offices, including the accessibility of the current elevator lobby phone, staff phone list and lack of “glass door” reception for visitors with vision and/or hearing loss or other types of disabilities
  • Clarifying that the customer service policy applies to individuals who use mobility devices
  • Reviewing potential barriers that individuals who use mobility devices may experience within the OHRC’s offices, including along internal paths of travel to and within meeting rooms
  • Informing visitors that the OHRC has a quiet room available for persons with disabilities who may require private space to take medication or rest.
• Mechanism/procedure for the OHRC to receive AODA compliance-related feedback or inquiries, including complaints, in accordance with section 11 of the IASR:
  
  • Including clarifying the process to provide feedback via website, phone and TTY.

Information and communications

In accordance with Part II of the IASR, the OHRC is committed to making sure its information and communications systems and products are accessible to persons with disabilities.

• The OHRC takes into account individual disabilities when communicating with people. The OHRC will continue to review its digital and other communication methods in an effort to improve accessibility to its services.
• The OHRC’s website is designed to comply with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA.
• The OHRC has in place internal emergency procedures and plans, including personalized evacuation plans, with the Persons in Need of Assistance list continuously updated and confidentially shared with the property manager.
• Staff will continue to receive appropriate specialized training on emerging procedures and plans, video conferencing platforms, designing accessible eLearning modules, and other topics to improve the accessibility of the OHRC’s online resources.
• Staff routinely take steps to make the website and communication products as accessible as possible, including:
  
  • The tools and products that are used to develop the website and other online materials have built-in accessibility features
  • Web developers and any other external vendors are selected, in part, based on their experience designing accessible websites
  • Any online materials, such as eLearning modules, are tested regularly during their development and are tested on an ongoing basis by staff and by external persons with disabilities
  • Captioning and transcripts are provided for all video content
  • The OHRC provides local and toll free TTY numbers for communicating with people who are Deaf, deafened or hard of hearing
  • The OHRC uses a range of communication methods such as mail, email, telephone, video conferencing including Internet-based communications platforms, and social media platforms to communicate with stakeholders and members of the public
  • All public documents, including correspondence and publications, are available in accessible digital formats, such as HTML or accessible PDFs, and MS Word document format is available upon request
  • All staff are expected to use plain language to write publications, documents, training materials and correspondence. Assistance with plain language editing is available for all OHRC policies and publications.

In consultation with people with disabilities, the OHRC will review and make any necessary changes to improve the accessibility of its:

• Website, as it works towards revamping the website design, including but not limited to the accessibility of posted documents inPDF format, and potentially MS Word format, as well as online eLearning modules/videos, including whether any elements of these online products may be causing barriers (e.g. watermarks on documents or music playing in the background of eLearning modules/video)
• Social and other media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and especially Twitter
• Other OHRC digital information and communications, including email, electronic document formats and distribution, and its audio/video teleconferencing software and practices, including making sure video conferencing participants who require them have access to and know how to use accessibility features such as captioning
• Other information technology the OHRC uses including computer software (e.g. correspondence software, VPN access) and hardware (e.g. employee personal computers, telephones, audio-video conferencing equipment)
• Plain language writing at Grade 10 and lower levels for people with reading-related disabilities
• Emergency procedures, plans and public safety information including making sure staff know what to do when visitors with disabilities are on-site during an emergency
• TTY phone line, including reviewing current use and best practices, or alternatives, for contacting the OHRC office that meet the preferred mode of communication for individuals who are Deaf, deafened or hard of hearing.

Employment

In accordance with Part III of the IASR, the OHRC is committed to ensuring that the recruitment process for new staff is accessible.

• The OHRC is committed to accessible employment practices and policies to attract and retain employees with disabilities. The OHRC is also committed to providing accommodation to employees with disabilities in a way that best respects their dignity and allows them to carry out their essential job duties and take part fully and meaningfully in the OHRC’s work. The OHRC also believes that inclusive design and integration are preferable to individual accommodations, where possible.
• The OHRC informs candidates and employees about their right to accommodation and will advise candidates about the type of testing that they will be expected to do during the interview process, so that candidates can request an appropriate accommodation for a disability if need be.
• The OHRC follows the OPS Employee Accommodation and Return to Work Guidelines and Operating Policy for developing and documenting individual accommodation plans, return-to-work plans and workplace emergency response information for employees with disabilities.
• New OHRC employees receive information and training on employees’ rights and responsibilities under the Code, the AODA and OPS policies that foster an inclusive workplace. These include the OHRC’s customer service policy on Providing goods and services to people with disabilities and commitment to promote a scent-sensitive office space.
• The OHRC will continue to adhere to OPS policies and procedures on employment accommodation for both current and prospective employees with disabilities, as well as the standards outlined in the IASR.
• The OHRC has an accessible quiet room for staff and visitors, which improves accessibility for persons with disabilities who may require private space to take medication or rest, for example. It improves accessibility for staff and visitors based on creed. It also improves accessibility for women who are breastfeeding.

In consultation with people with disabilities, the OHRC will review and make any necessary changes to improve the accessibility of its employment policies and practices (e.g. employee recruitment, accommodation procedures and plans) in accordance with Part II of the IASR as well as Ontario Public Service policies including making sure time limits for recruitment tests are designed inclusively and do not generally adversely affect candidates with disabilities, and accommodations are available to meet the disability-related need for more time.

Accessibility training

In accordance with sections 3 and 80.49 of the IASR, the OHRC is committed to making sure that all staff and commissioners remain informed about their rights and responsibilities under the Code, the AODA and the IASR by providing ongoing training.

• All OHRC staff and commissioners receive ongoing training on disability-related policies and procedures, including AODA mandatory training on the requirements of the accessibility standards under the IASR, and on the Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities. All current staff have completed the OHRC’s eLearning module Working Together: The Code and the AODA.
• The OHRC has an internal guide on plain-language writing and staff have been trained on plain-language writing. In addition to providing ongoing training to staff, as part of its mandate, the OHRC will continue to offer training on disability and the duty to accommodate to the public.
• In accordance with the OPS requirements, the OHRC will track staff and commissioner training on accessibility and the duty to accommodate for disability and other grounds of the Code.

In consultation with people with disabilities, the OHRC will review and make any necessary changes to improve its staff and Commissioner training on IASR requirements, including making sure:

• New staff receive information and training on the OHRC and OPS inclusive workplace policies
• Current staff receive refresher training on the AODA, including the accessible customer service requirements
• Relevant staff receive regular training on evolving best practice standards for accessible website design and online resources
• All staff receive refresher training on plain-language writing at Grade 10 and lower levels.

Procurement

In accordance with section 5 of the IASR, the OHRC is committed to incorporating accessibility design, criteria and features when procuring or acquiring goods, services or facilities.

• The OHRC will continue to comply with the procurement standard in the IASR and the accessibility obligations in the Ontario Public Service Procurement Directive Issued by Management Board of Cabinet in December 2014.
• The OHRC will identify accessibility requirements in project terms of reference, requests for proposals and contracts with third-party service providers.
• Where necessary, staff with disabilities will be consulted about any accessibility considerations at the outset of the procurement, so that they are included in the contract.

In consultation with people with disabilities, the OHRC will review and make any necessary changes to improve the accessibility of its procurement practices.

OHRC achievements from its 2014–19 multi-year AODA accessibility plan

The OHRC implemented the following initiatives as part of its 2014–19 Multi-year AODA accessibility plan:

• Reviewed its customer service policy on Providing goods and services to people with disabilities
• Designated an accessible quiet room for staff and visitors
• Amended staff email signatures to include information about alternative forms of accommodation on request
• Installed an accessible public telephone in the OHRC 9th floor elevator lobby
• Developed and launched a Policy on ableism and discrimination based on disability
• Reconfigured lighting in its boardrooms to improve accessibility
• Updated the OHRC’s internal guide on plain language writing and provided training to all staff
• Prepared accessibility guidelines and a checklist for the Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA) to ensure commission documents, communications, meetings and events, including conferences and training sessions, are accessible for people with disabilities and other human rights-related needs
• Developed public eLearning modules on duty to accommodate disability including Working together: the AODA and the Code
• Trained staff and commissioners on human rights, accessibility and the duty to accommodate employees and clients with disabilities, including training on the AODA and the Code
• Routinely sought feedback at the end of education and training sessions to understand how well Code-related accommodation needs of participants were met.

Feedback process

In accordance with section 11 of the IASR, the OHRC encourages feedback about its accessibility, including customer service, its website, employment practices, procurement, etc. Feedback can be submitted using an online request form, available at: www.ohrc.on.ca/en/contact/ohrc-feedback. Feedback can also be made in writing, by telephone, TTY or email to:

Ontario Human Rights Commission
Executive Director’s Office
180 Dundas Street West, Suite 900
Toronto, ON M7A 2R9 

Tel: 416-314-4562
Toll Free: 1-800-387-9080
Fax: 416-325-2004
TTY Local: 416-326-0603
TTY Toll Free: 1-800-308-5561
Email: info@ohrc.on.ca

The Executive Director or a delegate will review the customer feedback, investigate the situation, try to resolve it and provide a response within 14 business days of receiving the information.

Conclusion

The OHRC will report publicly through our annual report about our progress on implementing this accessibility plan, our commitments to identify and remove barriers for persons with disabilities, and the steps we have taken to comply with the requirements of the IASR.

Preamble

Appendix I
Relevant provisions of the Code

Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world and is in accord with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as proclaimed by the United Nations;

And Whereas it is public policy in Ontario to recognize the dignity and worth of every person and to provide for equal rights and opportunities without discrimination that is contrary to law, and having as its aim the creation of a climate of understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and worth of each person so that each person feels a part of the community and able to contribute fully to the development and well-being of the community and the Province;

And Whereas these principles have been confirmed in Ontario by a number of enactments of the Legislature and it is desirable to revise and extend the protection of human rights in Ontario;

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

 . . .

Part III: The Ontario Human Rights Commission

The Commission           

27. (1) The Ontario Human Rights Commission is continued under the name Ontario Human Rights Commission in English and Commission ontarienne des droits de la personne in French.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Composition

 (2) The Commission shall be composed of such persons as are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Appointment

 (3)  Every person appointed to the Commission shall have knowledge, experience or training with respect to human rights law and issues.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Criteria

 (4)  In the appointment of persons to the Commission under subsection (2), the importance of reflecting, in the composition of the Commission as a whole, the diversity of Ontario’s population shall be recognized.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Chief Commissioner

 (5)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall designate a member of the Commission as Chief Commissioner.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Powers and duties of Chief Commissioner

 (6)  The Chief Commissioner shall direct the Commission and exercise the powers and perform the duties assigned to the Chief Commissioner by or under this Act.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Term of office

 (7)  The Chief Commissioner and other members of the Commission shall hold office for such term as may be specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Remuneration

  (8)  The Chief Commissioner and other members of the Commission shall be paid such remuneration and allowance for expenses as are fixed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Employees

 (9)  The Commission may appoint such employees as it considers necessary for the proper conduct of its affairs and the employees shall be appointed under the Public Service Act.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Note: On the later of the day the Statutes of Ontario, 2006, chapter 35, Schedule C, section 132 comes into force and the day the Statutes of Ontario, 2006, chapter 30, section 4 comes into force, subsection (9) is amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 2006, chapter 35, Schedule C, subsection 132 (5) by striking out “the Public Service Act” at the end and substituting “Part III of the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006”.  See: 2006, c. 35, Sched. C, ss. 132 (5), 137 (1).

Evidence obtained in performance of duties

 (10)  A member of the Commission shall not be required to give testimony in a civil suit or any proceeding as to information obtained in the performance of duties under this Act.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Same, employees

(11)  An employee of the Commission shall not be required to give testimony in a civil suit or any proceeding other than a proceeding under this Act as to information obtained in the performance of duties under this Act.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Delegation

 (12)  The Chief Commissioner may in writing delegate any of his or her powers, duties or functions under this Act to any member of the Anti-Racism Secretariat, the Disability Rights Secretariat or an advisory group or to any other member of the Commission, subject to such conditions as the Chief Commissioner may set out in the delegation.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Divisions

 (13)  The Commission may authorize any function of the Commission to be performed by a division of the Commission composed of at least three members of the Commission.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Acting Chief Commissioner

 28.  (1)  If the Chief Commissioner dies, resigns or is unable or neglects to perform his or her duties, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint an Acting Chief Commissioner to hold office for such period as may be specified in the appointment.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Same

 (2)  An Acting Chief Commissioner shall perform the duties and have the powers of the Chief Commissioner and shall be paid such remuneration and allowance for expenses as are fixed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Functions of Commission

 29.  The functions of the Commission are to promote and advance respect for human rights in Ontario, to protect human rights in Ontario and, recognizing that it is in the public interest to do so and that it is the Commission’s duty to protect the public interest, to identify and promote the elimination of discriminatory practices and, more specifically,

1. to forward the policy that the dignity and worth of every person be recognized and that equal rights and opportunities be provided without discrimination that is contrary to law;
2. to develop and conduct programs of public information and education to,
   
   1. promote awareness and understanding of, respect for and compliance with this Act, and
   2. prevent and eliminate discriminatory practices that infringe rights under Part I;
3. to undertake, direct and encourage research into discriminatory practices and to make recommendations designed to prevent and eliminate such discriminatory practices;
4. to examine and review any statute or regulation, and any program or policy made by or under a statute, and make recommendations on any provision, program or policy that in its opinion is inconsistent with the intent of this Act;
5. to initiate reviews and inquiries into incidents of tension or conflict, or conditions that lead or may lead to incidents of tension or conflict, in a community, institution, industry or sector of the economy, and to make recommendations, and encourage and co-ordinate plans, programs and activities, to reduce or prevent such incidents or sources of tension or conflict;
6. to promote, assist and encourage public, municipal or private agencies, organizations, groups or persons to engage in programs to alleviate tensions and conflicts based upon identification by a prohibited ground of discrimination;
7. to designate programs as special programs in accordance with section 14;
8. to approve policies under section 30;
9. to make applications to the Tribunal under section 35;
10. to report to the people of Ontario on the state of human rights in Ontario and on its affairs;
11. to perform the functions assigned to the Commission under this or any other Act.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Commission policies

30.  The Commission may approve policies prepared and published by the Commission to provide guidance in the application of Parts I and II.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

. . .

Annual report

 31.6  (1)  Every year, the Commission shall prepare an annual report on the affairs of the Commission that occurred during the 12-month period ending on March 31 of each year.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Report to Speaker

 (2)  The Commission shall submit the report to the Speaker of the Assembly no later than on June 30 in each year who shall cause the report to be laid before the Assembly if it is in session or, if not, at the next session.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Copy to Minister

 (3)  The Commission shall give a copy of the report to the Minister at least 30 days before it is submitted to the Speaker under subsection (2).  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

Other reports

  31.7  In addition to the annual report, the Commission may make any other reports respecting the state of human rights in Ontario and the affairs of the Commission as it considers appropriate, and may present such reports to the public or any other person it considers appropriate.  2006, c. 30, s. 4.

See: 2006, c. 30, ss. 4, 12 (2).

Appendix II

Subdelegation of powers, duties and functions templates

Public Services of Ontario Act, 2006
Public Service Commission
August, 2007
[excerpts]

. . .

APPENDIX A1

Public Service Commission
Delegation of powers, duties and functions
to
prescribed individuals and chairs and deputy ministers
in respect of public servants appointed to work in
Commission public bodies
Pursuant to subsections 44(4), (5), (9) and (10) and clause 55(1)(c) of the
Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 (PSOA)

NOTE

PARAGRAPHS 1 AND 2, AND ONLY ONE OF PART A, B, C OR D, SHALL APPLY TO ANY
ONE COMMISSION PUBLIC BODY (THEREFORE, PARTS A, B, C AND D EACH BEGINS
WITH PARAGRAPH #3)

. . .

Delegation to deputy ministers and prescribed individuals in respect of public servants appointed to work in a Commission public body pursuant to PSOA subsections 44(4), (5), (9), (10)

1. This instrument sets out the Delegation of Authority under the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006, (the Act) made under subsection 44(4) of the Act by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to the persons described in Parts A, B, C and D of this document effective the date that the Act is proclaimed.
2. All references to section numbers in this document refer to section numbers of the Act.

PART A: For use where delegations are to a PSC delegate who is a public servant in the Senior Management Group and to a deputy minister

Delegation to prescribed PSC delegate in the Senior Management Group

3. Pursuant to clause 44(4)(a), the PSC delegates to the individual prescribed under clause 55(1)(c), if that person is in a position classified within the Senior Management Group, the PSC’s powers, duties and functions in respect of public servants appointed to work in the Commission public body for which that person was prescribed, as follows:

4. Dismissal Delegation to Deputy Minister

1. Pursuant to subsection 44(4), the PSC delegates to the deputy minister of the ministry whose minister is responsible for a Commission public body the power to dismiss a public servant under sections 34, 38 and 39 appointed to employment under subsection 32(2) to work in that Commission public body.
2. Pursuant to subsection 44(10), a deputy minister shall obtain PSC permission to exercise his or her discretion in respect of subsection 38(1) for a regular employee who is employed in the Senior Management Group 2, 3 or 4, Information Technology Executive 2, 3 or 4, Financial Management and Control Group 2 or 3, Crown Counsel 5 or Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner 1 classifications.
3. Pursuant to subsection 44(10), the deputy minister may not subdelegate the delegation in paragraph 4a) of this document with respect to subsection 38(1).

5. Abandonment of Position Delegation to Deputy Minister

Pursuant to subsection 44(4), the PSC delegates to the deputy minister whose minister is responsible for a Commission public body the power under subsection 42(1) to declare in writing that a public servant appointed to employment under subsection 32(2) to work in that Commission public body has abandoned his or her position and that his or her employment by the Crown is terminated.

6. Pursuant to subsection 44(9), the PSC imposes the following restriction on a deputy minister’s entitlement under subsection 44(6) to subdelegate to one or more public servants employed under section 32 who work in his or her ministry any of the powers, duties or functions delegated under subsection 44(4) in respect of public servants appointed to work in a Commission public body:

• A deputy minister may only subdelegate the powers, duties and functions set out in paragraphs 4 and 5 to one or more public servants in positions in classifications within the Senior Management Group or Crown Counsel 5.

. . . 

Introduction

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (the “OHRC”) is committed to and works to provide the highest quality service to the people of Ontario. The OHRC developed its Public Complaints Policy and process (the “Policy”) to ensure that it responds to complaints from members of the public in a transparent, fair and timely manner.

As a non-board governed agency of the Ontario Public Service (OPS), the OHRC is subject to the OPS Service Directive and the OPS Common Service Standards.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the OHRC and the Attorney General requires the OHRC to have a formal process for responding to complaints about the quality of services it provides.

The OHRC’s mandate is to eliminate and prevent discrimination and to promote and advance human rights in Ontario. The OHRC primarily engages with partner and stakeholder organizations to achieve its mandate. The OHRC has limited direct interactions with members of the public. To the extent these interactions happen, they are to respond to requests for:

• an inquiry or Commission-Initiated Application (CIA) under subsections 31 and 35 of the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code) respectively;
• intervention in an application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario under subsection 37 of the Code;
• consultation, public education or speaking engagements;
• access to records pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; and
• accessible formats for various OHRC publications.

From time to time, the OHRC receives complaints about its service from members of the public. This Policy applies only to the types of complaints listed below. 

Types of complaints covered

This policy applies to complaints from members of the public and other entities about:

• the conduct of any individuals employed by OHRC;
• the conduct of OHRC Commissioners;
• the quality of service received from the OHRC when accessing programs and services.

Complaints related to dissatisfaction with the OHRC’s decisions whether to conduct an inquiry or CIA, or their outcomes, are not covered under this policy.

How To File A Complaint

1. Complaints about OHRC staff should be directly raised with the involved staff member. The staff member and, if required, their manager, will attempt to resolve the complaint.

2. If the complaint is not resolved, the complainant may:

• Fill out a complaint form (Appendix A) and send it by email to info@ohrc.on.ca. Specifics of the complaint should be included (i.e., what happened, where and when it occurred, the names of any witnesses and the resolution being sought).  
• If the complainant needs help filling out the complaint form, they may call the OHRC at 416-326-9511.

3. The OHRC will acknowledge the complaint by email within 2 business days of receiving the complaint. The OHRC may ask the complainant for more information.

Resolving A Complaint

1. Addressing a complaint is the responsibility of the next-level manager removed from the complaint:

• a complaint about a staff member will be addressed by their manager;
• a complaint about a manager will be addressed by the Executive Director;
• a complaint about a commissioner will be addressed by the Chief Commissioner;
• a complaint about the Executive Director will be addressed by the Chief Commissioner.

2. A complaint about the Chief Commissioner will be referred to the Ontario Ombudsman.

3. Upon receipt of the complaint, the Communications and Issues Management branch will acknowledge the complaint and will forward the complaint to the Executive Advisor in the Executive Director’s Office who will assess the complaint.

4. The Executive Advisor, in consultation with the Executive Director, will forward the complaint to the appropriate responsible manager for resolution.

5. The complaint will be kept confidential within the provisions of the Freedom Information and Protection of Privacy Act.  However, in keeping with the principles of procedural fairness, the individual who is the subject of the complaint will be advised of the complaint and all relevant documents, including the complaint, will be shared with the individual.

6. The responsible manager or delegate will address the complaint and attempt to resolve it within 21 business days from the date of the acknowledgement letter.

7. The responsible manager or delegate may request the individual who is the subject of the complaint to provide a written response to the complaint. If the complaint cannot be resolved within 21 days, the complainant will be informed as soon as the matter has been reviewed.

8. The responsible manager or delegate will send the complainant a written decision, including the reasons, within 21 business days of the acknowledgement letter, unless the complainant has been informed of a different timeline. If the complaint involves a staff member, a copy of the decision will be given to the staff member.

9. If the complainant is not satisfied with the results of the resolution process, they may:

1. File a request with the Chief Commissioner’s Office for review of decisions made by OHRC managers and Executive Director. The requests may be sent by email to cco@ohrc.on.ca; or
    
2. Raise their concerns with the Ontario Ombudsman for decisions made by the Chief Commissioner.

Decision to not deal with a complaint

The OHRC will not deal with a complaint if the:

• complainant does not identify themself or does not wish to provide their home and email addresses and telephone number;
• complainant does not respond to a request for more information; or
• matter has already been raised and addressed by the OHRC.

Alternative formats

This Policy is available in accessible formats upon request.  

OHRC Community Engagement Strategy: 2019 Update

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) approved a Community Engagement Strategy, Communities for change, in 2018 and also committed to reviewing it on an annual basis. This Update summarizes the results of the 2019 review.

A new environment

By adopting and adhering to its engagement strategy, the OHRC has deepened its relationships with a broad range of individuals and organizations, including NGOs, community groups, Indigenous peoples, the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) and other statutory human rights institutions. 

The OHRC remains committed to the core activities outlined in Communities for change. In this update, we identify the following opportunities and priorities for engagement, considering the limitations arising from new government directives:

• Prioritize travel outside Toronto that is critical to Commissioner-approved initiatives
• Prioritize travel related to OHRC’s membership in the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA)
• Seek support from the requesting party for travel and accommodation costs associated with OHRC training or speaking, where appropriate
• Explore third-party support for regionally diverse community members to attend the annual Community Advisory Group (CAG) Summit
• Attend large gatherings of Indigenous leaders, such as Annual General Meetings, Chiefs’ Assemblies, etc.
• Continue to leverage approved travel opportunities to engage in fact-finding tours and activities
• Seek a municipal host and/or third-party sponsor for “Taking it Local” training
• Deepen and expand our reach through traditional and social media.

Engagement with human rights duty holders

For 2019 – 2020, the OHRC will prioritize creating durable and reciprocal relationships with duty holders. The OHRC’s Strategic Plan 2017 – 2022 commits it to:

• Provide practical guidance to facilitate duty holders’ compliance with human rights obligations in practice, with a particular focus on employers
• Continue to provide education and outreach to help duty holders and others understand and act on their human rights and responsibilities.

Building on the OHRC’s ongoing collaboration with the Human Rights Professionals Association (HRPA) and based on the success of the CAG, the OHRC will explore creating a “Duty-holders Advisory Group” (DAG) pursuant to s. 31.5 of the Code. The DAG would provide for more robust communication between duty holders and the OHRC, and help identify and apply best practices, and createproducts that allow employers to meet their human rights obligations. 

Initiative-specific advisory groups

Consistent with its commitment to put people at the centre of its decisions, in 2019 the OHRC will bring together advisory steering committees comprised of Commissioners, CAG members, Elders/leaders, and people with lived experience in priority areas. These advisory steering committees will guide staff in implementing Commissioner-approved initiatives.