Public consultation process

The Commission regards this Discussion Paper as the first step in addressing human rights and family status. It is the Commission’s intent to develop a policy statement on discrimination on the basis of family status. This policy will cover all social areas, and will consider such issues as universal design, systemic barriers to persons identified by family status, the duty to accommodate needs related to family status, bona fide requirements, and the effects of intersecting grounds of discrimination.

The Commission is therefore seeking input from stakeholders on the issues raised in the Discussion Paper. The Commission hopes that this input will assist in identifying further human rights issues related to family status, and provide perspectives and information on the issues raised in this Discussion Paper. Submissions may be sent to:

Policy and Education Branch
“Family Status Consultation”
Ontario Human Rights Commission
180 Dundas Street West, 7th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2R9
Fax: (416) 314-4533
E-mail: consultation@ohrc.on.ca

Submissions should be provided prior to July 22, 2005. Based on the materials provided in the submissions, the Commission may undertake further consultations.

The Commission is also interested in hearing the personal experiences of individuals who believe they have experienced discrimination based on their family status. A brief survey has been attached to this Discussion Paper, and is also available on the Commission’s website. Individuals are invited to complete this survey and return it to the Commission by mail or fax or via the website, prior to August 31, 2005.

All documents related to this consultation, including this Discussion Paper, are available on our Web Site at www.ohrc.on.ca. Should you have any questions about the consultation process, you may contact the OHRC by telephone at (416) 314-4507, or 1-800-387-9080, or by TTY at (416) 326-0603 or 1-800-308-5561.

Information provided during the consultations is subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The information obtained during the consultation may be made public.