Building on the Legacy: Collaboration, Action and Accountability Towards an Inclusive Society – Annual Report 2022-2023

 

 

June 29, 2023

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Room 180, Main Legislative Building

Queen’s Park

Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A2

Dear Mr. Speaker:

Under Section 31.6 (2) of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is required to submit a report on its activities for the previous fiscal period by June 30 of each year, to be tabled in the Legislature.

Accordingly, I am pleased to provide you with Building on the Legacy: Collaboration, Action and Accountability Towards an Inclusive Society, the OHRC’s annual report of its activities from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

Sincerely,

 

Patricia DeGuire

Chief Commissioner

Ontario Human Rights Commission

 

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The OHRC envisions

An inclusive society where everyone takes responsibility for promoting and protecting human rights;

where everyone is valued and treated with equal dignity and respect; and where everyone’s human rights are a lived reality.

The OHRC’s mission 

Is to promote and enforce human rights, to engage in relationships that embody the principles of dignity and respect,and to create a culture of human rights compliance and accountability.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is based in what is now known as Toronto, guests on the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The OHRC recognizes that this land is the Traditional Territory of many First Nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation,the Haudenosaunee, the Chippewa and the Wendat peoples.

The OHRC further acknowledges that Toronto is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. It is mindful that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13, the Williams Treaties, and the Dish with One Spoon Wampum. The OHRC honours these lands and is grateful to the Indigenous peoples who have cared for and continue to care for lands across Turtle Island.

 

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Message from the Chief Commissioner 

Building on the Legacy: Collaboration, Action and Accountability Towards an Inclusive Society  

As Chief Commissioner, I am pleased to present this year’s annual report, which shares how the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) delivered on its mandate to the public in 2022–2023. It is a snapshot of the actions taken and results achieved by the OHRC last year to build on its legacy through collaboration, to be accountable to the public, and to create a more inclusive society for Ontarians.  

The OHRC’s legacy is decades in the making. Last year marked the 60^th anniversary of Ontario’s Human Rights Code – the first legislation of its kind in Canada. This report marks some key human rights moments, and the significant role individuals and communities have played in recognizing, protecting, and advancing human rights.

As Ontario emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, significant societal challenges remained. Globally and locally, there has been a rise in hate-motivated actions and crimes. The pandemic amplified existing disparities in health, employment, and housing precarity, and homelessness. These circumstances have heightened the urgency to advance human rights in society and institutions. It is more important now than ever for the OHRC to build on its legacy of leadership on human rights issues.   

In the last year, the OHRC has intentionally taken a collaborative approach to carry out its mandate by working with rights-holders and duty-holders to bring about change through the creation of policies, community engagement, and recommendations, which build on the foundation of and to foster a more inclusive society. This tactical approach can be seen, for example, in its work with education partners and other stakeholders.  

The OHRC will continue to listen and collaborate with rights-holders and duty-holders to enable them to enjoy and exercise human rights.  

This collaborative tactic engenders trust and the shared belief that everyone is accountable for maintaining human rights. The OHRC is committed to moving forward with its Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) that fosters a keen sense of belonging.  

This report shares many of the results from the OHRC’s work with communities and stakeholders across Ontario to educate, raise awareness, and take action on human rights:  

• Marking the one-year anniversary of the OHRC’s Right to Read inquiry report. The inquiry – the first of its kind in Canada – called for critical changes to Ontario’s approach to teaching early reading. After the release of the report, the Ministry of Education announced several positive measures to respond to the OHRC’s recommendations such as in October 2022, when new universal screening was put in place for reading for Ontario’s youngest learners. 
  
   
• Helping migrant workers seek justice through the OHRC’s intervention in Logan v Ontario. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) found that the Ontario Provincial Police discriminated against migrant workers based on race, colour and place of origin when it conducted a DNA sweep of migrant workers. In its decision, the HRTO relied in part on the OHRC’s policy on Eliminating Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement. 
  
   
• Making health and well-being a priority focus area in the OHRC’s work. Research has shown two issues which significantly impact health and well-being are the inability to exercise the right to housing and the inability to exercise the right to mental health and addiction disability care. These issues combined cause and sustain poverty. On March 14, 2023, the OHRC released an interim report titled PovertyPOV: What we are hearing that highlighted and summarized some of the responses received from its survey concerning poverty.  
  
   
• Awarding of the first-ever Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards to recognize and celebrate people across Ontario who are advancing human rights in their communities. 
  
   
• Celebrating the 60^th anniversary of Ontario's Human Rights Code through a joint conference with the Toronto Metropolitan University's Human Rights Services, and the Lincoln Alexander School of Law in June 2022. 
  
   
• Recognizing a landmark decision – Ontario (Health) v Association of Ontario Midwives. The Court of Appeal for Ontario confirmed the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario’s decision that Ontario midwives experienced gender-based discrimination and should be compensated equitably to eliminate the gender wage gap.    

The results noted above represent just a small part of the OHRC’s collaboration and accountability in supporting Ontarians to embed human rights in everything they do.  

Although I am pleased with the OHRC’s work this year, I realize there is still much to do. The revitalized strategic plan for 2023–2025, Human Rights First: A plan for belonging in Ontario, helps in directing the OHRC to create a human rights culture in Ontario. It places belonging and intersectionality at the centre of human rights work, with an emphasis on building relationships and partnerships to achieve this. The plan outlines five key priority areas for continuing to protect, promote and advance human rights in Ontario.   

As society evolves and everyone recognizes how delicate our democracy is, I encourage Ontarians to join me in creating a place where everyone feels that they belong. Governments, organizations, everyone in Ontario has a role in bringing about change. Everyone must intentionally play a part in making Ontario an inclusive society that benefits all.   

Finally, I commend the OHRC team who has with diligence, expertise, and dispatch continued to serve Ontarians. I am honoured to be the servant-leader of such a stellar team of Commissioners, senior managers, and staff who believe it is an honour to serve Ontarians.

 

Patricia DeGuire  

Chief Commissioner   

 

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2022–2023 By the numbers

 

Right to Read

 

$134 million

The total amount that the Ministry of Education has committed to implement the recommendations.

31

The total number of boards that have publicly committed to follow Right to Read recommendations.

2,143

Total registered participants for the Human Rights @ 60 conference. On June 23, the OHRC and the Lincoln Alexander School of Law and Human Rights Services

of Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) hosted a full-day virtual conference to mark the 60th anniversary of the Code and explore new directions for human rights law and policy​.

548

The total number of responses for the Poverty POV survey. Survey responses were received from all regions in Ontario with the majority coming from larger urban areas (37%),

medium urban areas (27%) and small rural communities (17%). We heard relatively equally from the central, east, west, and northern parts of the province.

 

Website interaction

 

787,376

Total number of people who accessed OHRC eLearning

673,174

People who accessed Working together through the OHRC website and external learning management systems

63,769

People who accessed Call it out: Racism, racial discrimination, and human rights through the OHRC website and external learning management systems

50,433

People who accessed Human Rights 101 through the OHRC websiteand external learning management systems

 

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Indigenous reconciliation

Indigenous Reconciliation Advisory Group

The Ontario Human Rights Commission continues to engage with and seek advice from the Indigenous Reconciliation Advisory Group (Advisory Group),

established in 2019.

The Advisory Group is made up of individuals from diverse First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous communities and organizations with deep knowledge of discrimination and inequality experienced by Indigenous people in Ontario.

In July 2022, the Advisory Group members participated in a strategic planning engagement session to help inform the development of the OHRC’s 2023–2025 Strategic Plan, Human Rights First: A plan for belonging in Ontario.

During the September 2022 Advisory Group meeting, members provided valuable feedback on: the consultation process for the OHRC’s Poverty Point of View (POV) public consultation work; the proposed content of an OHRC policy statement on the discriminatory display of names, words and images; and OHRC's development of policy positions. During the January 2023 Advisory Group meeting, members shared their organizations’ current human rights priorities, and provided advice on the direction of the OHRC’s work.

Current members include:

• Karen Drake (Co-Chair), Associate Dean (Students) and Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University and former OHRC Commissioner
• Brian Eyolfson (Co-Chair), OHRC Commissioner
• Giidaakunadaad (Nancy Rowe), Knowledge Keeper, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN)
• Grand Chief Joel Abram, Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians (AIAI)
• Luke Hunter, Director of Governance and Treaty Implementation, Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN)
• Marian Jacko, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Indigenous Justice Division, Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG)
• Coralee McGuire-Cyrette, Executive Director, Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA)
• Gertie Mai Muise, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC)
• Jennifer St. Germain, Chief Strategy Officer, Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO)
• Amanda Kilabuk, Executive Director, Tungasuvvingat Inuit (TI)
• Maurice Switzer, Principal, Nimkii Communications and former
  
  OHRC Commissioner
• Tim Bucci, Director of Justice, Six Nations of the Grand River
• Ramona Reece, Human Rights Advisor, Human Rights Legal Support Centre
• Jeffery G. Hewitt, Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School,
  
  York University
• Ray Hookimaw, Feathers of Hope
• Ogichidaa (Grand Chief) Francis Kavanaugh, Grand Council Treaty #3 (GCT3)
• Dalton Latondress, Region 7 Youth Representative, Métis Nation of Ontario Youth Council
• Brian David, former Director of the Akwesasne Justice Department and former member of Council, Mohawks of Akwesasne

“Urban Indigenous people in Ontario have faced far too many barriers in having their rights upheld for far too long. The OFIFC is grateful for our relationship with the OHRC and the collaborative work we are undertaking together to advance human rights priorities for Urban Indigenous communities.”



-  Gertie Mai Muise, CEO, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC)

Ongoing Indigenous reconciliation work

Policy statement on the discriminatory display of names, words, and images

The OHRC is developing a policy statement to clarify the scope of people’s rights and responsibilities in situations that involve the display of discriminatory names, words, and images. In September 2022, OHRC staff engaged the Indigenous Reconciliation Advisory Group and learned more about how this issue affects Indigenous communities. The OHRC received positive feedback on the need for and potential impact of such a policy and feedback on how to support implementation by duty-holders at the local level.

Policy statement on hiring based on Indigenous identity

At the request of and in consultation with the Advisory Group, the OHRC is developing a policy statement in response to ongoing media reports of alleged Indigenous identity misrepresentation during the hiring process, and its negative impact on Indigenous people and communities. The policy statement will provide guidance to non-Indigenous employers. It will address the hiring of Indigenous candidates and working with local Indigenous communities to develop policies to appropriately take steps to verify Indigenous identity during the hiring process, while meeting their obligations under the Human Rights Code.

The Advisory Group has advised the OHRC on the proposed content and draft policy positions and will provide further input before a final policy statement is released.

Responding to anti-Indigenous discrimination in retail settings

The OHRC is collaborating with Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) and OFIFC to support the development of fact sheets and a podcast on issues related to discrimination faced by First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous people while shopping. These public education materials will explore discrimination experienced by members of First Nations when using status cards, as well as racial profiling and other forms of increased surveillance experienced by First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous people. The products will help retailers and security staff understand their legal obligations. Indigenous law students from the University of Toronto have researched and drafted the materials, with the OHRC’s guidance.

 

Public education

In September 2022, OHRC staff gave a presentation to the multi-ministry Legal Management Table on Indigenous Legal Issues on the OHRC’s ongoing Indigenous human rights work.

 

Public statements

Statement on unmarked graves in Kenora

In January 2023, the OHRC released a statement in English and Anishinaabemowin (northwestern Ontario Ojibway dialect) expressing condolences after the announcement of 171 plausible burials found in the traditional lands of Wauzhushk Onigum, at the former residential school site in Kenora, Ontario. Also, the statement asked governments to immediately order the release of all death records of Indigenous children held by any Canadian authority, church or any other entity that had care, custody, or control over Indigenous people, or operated any residential school, to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) according to Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 71 and 77. After, OHRC staff opened preliminary discussions with NCTR staff to discuss ways the OHRC could support the ongoing work on unmarked burial sites throughout Ontario.

Accountability and timely action key to addressing systemic discrimination in policing

In February 2023, the OHRC released a statement calling for meaningful and timely action to address systemic anti-Indigenous discrimination in policing. The OHRC’s statement followed reports of delayed charges against officers in two separate instances involving serious police misconduct. The events highlighted the pressing need for a broader shift towards accountability in policing. The disproportionate impact of these incidents on Indigenous people, families and communities underlines the need for timely and meaningful action towards justice, and reconciliation for Indigenous people.

 

Internal capacity building

In May 2022, all OHRC staff took Bimickaway Indigenous cultural competency training, presented by the Indigenous Justice Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General. The OHRC will continue to build internal capacity and work towards applying an Indigenous reconciliation approach to all aspects of its work.

 

Media highlights

• Toronto Star, February 4, 2023, “Swapping Shakespeare with Wagamese will accurately reflect today’s world for high school students”
• Anishnabek News, June 23, 2022, “OHRC presents first-ever Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards”
• Today’s Farmer, June 23, 2022, “Elgin Middlesex Chiefs now Canucks amid ongoing youth sports shift from Indigenous names”

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Criminal justice

Logan v Ontario (Solicitor General), 2022 HRTO 1004

In October 2013, a sexual assault occurred in the rural southwestern Ontario farming community of Vienna. The complainant described her attacker as Black, in his mid to late 20s, muscular, did not have facial hair, and was 5’10” to 6’ tall. She believed he was a migrant worker.

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) decided to seek DNA from all the migrant workers in the area. Working with local farmers, the OPP collected DNA samples from all the migrant workers in the vicinity, ranging in age from 22 to 68, ranging in height from 5’2” to 6’6”, ranging in weight from 110 to 328 pounds, and those with full beards. The migrant workers targeted in the DNA canvass were all Black and Brown men.

As a result, the migrant workers felt they were targeted because of their race and for being migrant workers. This experience left them feeling “humiliated, defeated and saddened.”

The HRTO application

In 2015, 54 of the migrant workers launched applications with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) alleging discrimination by the OPP under the Code on grounds of race, colour, and place of origin (migrant worker status).

The OHRC intervened in 2016 to address the potential systemic aspect of the application: the over-policing of Black and Brown people. This is central to the OHRC’s strategic focus on systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system. In addition, migrant workers are a particularly vulnerable group who are subjected to systemic discrimination in criminal justice, immigration, and employment law systems. 

At the outset, the OPP attempted to have the applications dismissed for delay because they had been filed more than one year after the date that the DNA canvass took place. The OHRC argued that these seasonal migrant workers were unfamiliar with the Canadian legal systems and were fearful that if they complained they would be viewed negatively by their employer and would not be invited back to work the following year. These barriers were eventually overcome through the efforts of a community group in educating and organizing the migrant workers; however, this took some time to accomplish. The HRTO agreed and found that the delay was incurred in good faith, noting the extreme vulnerability that the migrant workers faced. The applications were allowed to continue. Leon Logan’s application was the lead case.

The OHRC’s arguments at the HRTO

At the HRTO hearing, the OHRC argued that the DNA canvass discriminated against the migrant workers; workers were treated as potential persons of interest and were asked to provide their DNA to the police even though many of them did not fall within the range of descriptions the victim had provided.

The HRTO’s decision

In 2022, the HRTO released its decision. It concluded that Mr. Logan (and by extension, the 53 other migrant workers), had proven that the OPP’s DNA canvass discriminated against them, contrary to the Code.

In reaching its conclusion, the HRTO largely agreed with the submissions of the applicants and the OHRC. It found that the OPP conducted the DNA canvass of the migrant workers in the area based on their race, colour, and place of origin (their migrant worker status). The HRTO based its decision on the evidence that some migrant workers “did not match even a generous interpretation of [the] physical descriptions” given by the victim. In making this finding, the HRTO relied on the OHRC’s policy on Eliminating Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement, which states that disregarding other aspects of the suspect description in favour of race raises concerns of racial profiling.

In addition, the HRTO found that the OPP carried out their investigation with heightened suspicion and scrutiny of the migrant workers, which resulted in a failure to reassess the scope of the DNA canvass, in light of the alibi information provided by the migrant workers.

In sum, the HRTO concluded that racial discrimination was reasonably inferred from the circumstantial evidence.

As a remedy, the HRTO awarded Mr. Logan damages in the amount of $7,500. The HRTO indicated that it would hold a further hearing to determine whether

non-monetary and/or public interest remedies would be appropriate in  

the circumstances.

 

Toronto Police Service inquiry report update

This past year, the OHRC has seen some progressive steps taken by the Toronto Police Service (TPS), resulting, in part, from the work of the OHRC’s inquiry into the TPS and its two previous inquiry reports.

On June 15, 2022, the TPS acknowledged, based on its race-based data collection on use of force and strip searches, that it continues to disproportionately use force and other enforcement actions against Black and other vulnerable communities. The TPS’ analysis confirms what the OHRC had already identified in its research. In addition, the then Chief of Police James Ramer stated that the TPS and the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) have committed to working with the OHRC to make needed changes in the organization. The OHRC commends the TPS and TPSB for those positive steps and remains committed to work with them towards change.

The OHRC has also been working steadily to deliver its final report on the TPS inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the TPS. Part of that work has been ensuring that a broad range of policing and community safety, and well-being perspectives are included in this report. Flowing from this work, in May 2022, the OHRC held a policy roundtable in cooperation with the TPS, which included representatives from stakeholder and community groups, select institutions, academia, the justice system, and policing. The roundtable explored various policing and community safety issues relevant to the inquiry’s mandate.

The OHRC plans to release the final report later in 2023.

 

Ontario Human Rights Commission’s statement on the Toronto Police Service announcement of race-based data collection

Findings from the TPS’ analysis of strip search and use of force data collected in 2020 confirm that Black and other racialized communities were overrepresented in these police practices. On June 15, 2022, TPS shared their data, analysis, and findings with the public and the Interim Chief of Police issued an apology for not doing enough to ensure that everyone benefits from fair and unbiased policing. 

TPS’ data analysis found that Black people were 2.2 times over-represented in enforcement actions compared to their presence in Toronto's population. East/Southeast Asian people and Middle Eastern people were 1.2 times more likely to have force used on them by police, respectively. In addition, Black, South Asian, and East/Southeast Asian people were more likely to experience higher or more severe use of force across all use of force incidents tracked by TPS. Racial differences in use of force for Black people remained after controlling for factors such as the type of call for service or the involvement of a weapon.

Concerning strip searches, Black, East/Southeast Asian, and South Asian people were over-represented in strip searches compared to their presence in arrests for drug related offences.

In response to the data, TPS developed 38 action items, including:

• a review of non-emergency interactions suitable for call diversion;
• mandatory reviews of body-worn camera footage and in-car camera system for all use of force incidents; and
• the development of an active bystandership course for all TPS members.  

The OHRC published a statement following the release of the data underscoring that the data and acknowledgement from TPS confirm what Black communities have said for decades: that they are disproportionately subjected to use of force and other enforcement actions. In addition, many of the use of force findings were consistent with findings from the OHRC’s first two TPS inquiry reports. The OHRC will continue to engage with TPS regarding the data and the lived experiences of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities, with the goal of rooting out systemic racial discrimination in policing.

 

Ontario Human Rights Commission submission on Equipment and Use of Force Regulatory Amendment and Implementation of Modernized Use of Force Report

Concerns regarding police use of force practices continually raise concerns amongst Code-protected groups across the province. For decades, the OHRC has made recommendations and submissions to police services, police service boards and the province to help identify, monitor, and eliminate the disproportionate impact of police use of force. Most recently, this work includes recommendations made in the Framework for change to address systemic racism in policing. The OHRC’s submissions to the Ministry of the Solicitor General on the Equipment and Use of Force Regulatory Amendment and Implementation of Modernized Use of Force Report (UOF reports) continues this important work. 

The OHRC’s submissions highlighted welcomed changes to the regulation and the use of force report. They also pointed out gaps that will undermine police services’ ability to accurately track the impact of police use of force practices on Code-protected groups. 

Welcomed changes to the Equipment and Use of Force Regulation include the requirement that chiefs of police review their use of force procedures and training courses annually. In addition, chiefs of police must submit a report to their respective police services board that includes an analysis of data from UOF reports and identifies any trends. The amendments also mandate reporting when a police horse or dog is used during a use of force incident that results in an injury that requires the services of a physician, nurse, or paramedic. 

Towards effective regulation, meaningful and positive change, the OHRC recommended that use of force reports capture lower-level use of force used by officers. Lower-level use of force by police officers falls outside of the reporting requirements established by the regulation.

Other recommendations include that the use of restraints, such as handcuffs, physical restraints or zip ties should be considered a reportable use of force in the amended regulation and that UOF reports include more contextual information about use of force incidents. For example, information on whether the subject had or was perceived to have a mental health disability, was experiencing a mental health crisis, or was experiencing issues related to substance abuse. These are relevant Code-related factors that should be collected, analyzed, and used to inform leading practices.

The OHRC looks forward to engaging with the province and police services on this important issue. 

 

Court of Appeal reaffirms midwives’ right to pay equity

In June 2022, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released Ontario (Health) v. Association of Ontario Midwives, a decision reaffirming that the Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits systemic gender discrimination in employment. The decisions in this case are a significant advancement for pay equity in Ontario. In a 2018 decision, the HRTO found that Ontario midwives had experienced systemic gender discrimination in compensation from 2005 to 2013. In 2019, the HRTO ordered the Ontario government to take steps to end midwives’ gender wage gap resulting from this discrimination. Ontario challenged the HRTO decision in the Ontario Divisional Court and later, in the Court of Appeal.

The OHRC intervened to argue that the Court of Appeal should apply key principles for systemic discrimination claims from the 2021 Supreme Court of Canada decision Fraser v Canada (Attorney General) and OHRC policies. This includes looking at the results of a system, including whether seemingly neutral rules, policies, procedures, systems, or structures of a system have an adverse impact on disadvantaged groups. The OHRC emphasized that systemic discrimination is often deep-rooted and invisible, so claims must be analyzed using a flexible and contextual approach. This approach considers the systemic and cumulative effects of policies and conduct along with evidence about the circumstances of the disadvantaged group. For midwifery, a profession imbued with gender, this includes evidence of the historical, social, and economic barriers women have faced in pay levels and the well-known impact of gender on the compensation of sex-segregated workers.

The OHRC also emphasized that duty-holders must monitor for discrimination or respond when concerns about discrimination are known or raised. The Fraser decision reinforced this saying that since systemic discrimination is frequently a product of continuing to do things “the way they have always been done,” duty-holders must be “particularly vigilant about the effects of their own policies” on members of disadvantaged groups.

The Court of Appeal accepted the OHRC’s arguments and found that the HRTO’s decision was reasonable. The Court confirmed that the framework for systemic discrimination claims requires critically examining the results of a system and considering a duty-holder's policies, procedures, systems, and structures together, rather than individual elements in isolation. It emphasized that systemic discrimination is often a result of maintaining the status quo and recognized that the broader context for systemic claims is also important. The Court noted that for Ontario midwives, this context includes the fact that midwifery is the ultimate sex-segregated profession: women providing a service for women related to women’s health. This, combined with the fact that jobs that are considered “female jobs” are often undervalued, created an obvious risk that midwives would be undercompensated because they are almost exclusively women.

The Court said that the HRTO adjudicator was allowed to consider the fact that the Ontario government could not point to any proactive attempts to monitor midwives’ compensation for the impact of gender discrimination and failed to take reasonable steps to respond when the Association of Ontario Midwives raised the issue of discrimination, despite knowing the risk of systemic gender discrimination in midwives’ compensation.

The Court noted that the HRTO adjudicator had appropriately recognized how deeply held attitudes about women’s work can lead to giving their work less value, often without conscious decision-taking. These unconscious attitudes are hidden and rooted in seemingly neutral compensation policies and practices. The Court confirmed that establishing discrimination does not require showing an intention to discriminate or that a prohibited ground was the cause of, or the only factor in, the adverse treatment. The Court recognized that gender, as a factor in setting compensation levels, can coexist with other non-discriminatory factors.

As Ontario did not seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, the HRTO decisions are final.

The midwives’ decisions confirm what the OHRC has long said, that failing to take reasonable steps to proactively monitor, understand and evaluate concerns of discrimination can be a factor supporting a systemic discrimination claim.

 

Weilgosh v London District Catholic School Board, 2022 HRTO 1194

On May 11, 2022, the HRTO held a preliminary hearing before a three-member panel on the scope of its jurisdiction to hear an application relating to alleged employment-related discrimination that took place in a unionized workplace.

The OHRC intervened as a party in the proceeding to argue that the HRTO has concurrent jurisdiction with labour arbitrators to consider and determine employment-related human rights claims that arise in unionized workplaces. The OHRC submitted that the history and wording of Ontario’s Human Rights Code demonstrate the legislature’s intent to create a regime of concurrent jurisdiction, in which the HRTO has the power to defer matters that are better addressed by a labour arbitrator.

On October 4, 2022, the HRTO released its decision on the matter, concluding that the HRTO does have concurrent jurisdiction with labour arbitrators to resolve human rights claims that arise out of a unionized workplace.

The HRTO’s reasons are consistent with and draw upon the OHRC’s submissions.

On November 4, 2022, the respondent filed an application for judicial review with the Divisional Court. The OHRC will be participating in that judicial review. 

 

Corrections and the need for independent oversight: Ontario must protect the rights of prisoners against strip searches

For decades, courts, international authorities and experts across Canada have agreed that strip searches are inherently degrading, humiliating, and traumatic.

In 2022, the OHRC made submissions to the Ministry of the Solicitor General, urging the ministry to take steps to better regulate the use of strip searches in Ontario’s correctional institutions.

While courts and researchers have consistently recognized the harmful effects of strip searches on all people, those harms are experienced disproportionately Code-protected groups – including people with mental health disabilities, women, Indigenous, Black, and transgender people. Strip searches can have a disproportionately negative impact because of the history of trauma experienced by members of these groups and the fact that systemic discrimination results in greater contact with police and correctional officials.

In Ontario, the Independent Advisor on Corrections reported in 2017 that people incarcerated in provincial correctional facilities were being routinely strip searched in many circumstances, including every time a person was moved into segregation. The Independent Advisor concluded that, “many of the routine strip searches mandated in Ontario extend this search power to situations that are far beyond what is occurring across the rest of Canada.”

In its submissions to the government, the OHRC called on Ontario to:

1. Place strict limits on when a strip search can be conducted;
2. Provide detailed definitions, policies and procedures for conducting strip searches;
3. Prescribe protections in the way a strip search can be conducted;
4. Require training to ensure that corrections staff understand the need to minimize the use of strip searches and the way those searches must be completed;
5. Increase access to rehabilitative programs and trauma-informed counselling; and
6. Implement accountability measures.

The OHRC understands that the government is currently working to modernize its framework for conducting searches of people in custody of Ontario’s adult correctional institutions, with the goal of safely reducing the use of strip searches and strengthening oversight of those searches.

The OHRC has long called for the establishment of an independent oversight body for Ontario corrections. Experience shows that in corrections, regulatory changes cannot be expected to be truly effective without such oversight.

To achieve its goal of making its practices constitutionally compliant and addressing the harms of strip searches in its correctional institutions, Ontario should adopt some form of independent oversight of the correctional system. Such a body is vital for protecting the Code and Charter rights of prisoners.

Further, Ontario must keep prisoners with mental health disabilities out of segregation.

The OHRC is seeking independent oversight as a remedy in its 2020 contravention motion in OHRC v Ontario. That motion asks the HRTO for an order to hold Ontario accountable for failing to meet its obligations under both its Jahn v MCSCS settlement and the 2018 OHRC v Ontario Consent Order to keep prisoners with mental health disabilities out of segregation. The case is currently before the HRTO.

The long history of the Jahn litigation demonstrates that independent oversight of Ontario corrections is necessary for the government and the public to know whether correctional policies are being effectively implemented. This includes the treatment of prisoners with mental health disabilities and the use of segregation. No prisoner should be subjected to the unconstitutional harms caused by segregation, prisoners with mental health disabilities should receive the care they require, and the government should be held accountable for meeting its legal obligations.

The OHRC will continue to use its broad statutory powers to advance its call for Ontario to implement a system of independent oversight that protects the rights and dignity of all prisoners in Ontario.

 

Continuing to address systemic racism and discrimination in Peel Region

Human Rights Project

In October 2020, the OHRC, Peel Regional Police (PRP) and the Peel Police Services Board (PPSB) signed a Memorandum of Agreement to launch a multi-year organizational change project called the Human Rights Project. This partnership was formed to address systemic racism and discrimination in policing and promote transparency and accountability. It also aims to enhance Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities’ trust in policing in Peel Region.

“Peel Regional Police is committed to working with the Ontario Human Rights Commission to address the issues of systemic racism in policing. Through community partnerships and collaboration from our members, we are working towards a shared vision of building a safe, inclusive and equitable society.”



-  Nishan Duraiappah,  Chief of Peel Regional Police

Since this time, the OHRC and PRP have reached out to diverse communities in Peel to have conversations about their lived experiences, concerns with policing and suggestions on changes to the practices and culture of policing. In the past year, the OHRC and PRP worked with community groups and organizations and held a series of public engagement sessions and key informant interviews with people who live, work or study in Peel. The feedback from the communities will inform the OHRC’s recommendations on the legally binding commitments that PRP and PPSB will be required to implement to identify and address systemic racism and discrimination in its policing operations and services.

“The ARAC's mission is to meet the needs of the diverse Peel community by prioritizing anti-racism in policing with intentionality, transparency, and accountability. We recognize that all stakeholders have a crucial role to play in this effort. By embracing the OHRC recommendations, we aim to establish a strong foundation for anti-racism within the Peel Regional Police Services. This approach emphasizes cultural responsiveness and safety for all members of our diverse community in Peel.”



-  Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, Peel Regional Police

These commitments will also be informed by the seven key principles in the OHRC’s Policy on eliminating racial profiling in law enforcement, which include: acknowledgement, engagement, policy guidance, data collection, monitoring and accountability, organizational change and a multi-year action plan.

In addition to the community engagement activities, PRP established an independent Anti-Racism Advisory Committee in May 2022. The volunteer committee consists of community members who meet regularly to advise PRP on the development and implementation of the Human Rights Project and the OHRC’s recommendations.

Throughout this year, the OHRC will continue to work with PRP and PPSB to finalize the recommendations and build a multi-year plan to address systemic racism and discrimination in policing in the region. The project team will seek feedback from affected groups, including individuals, organizations, and communities in Peel to identify effective strategies and solutions that are informed by the perspectives of those who are most affected.

 

Media highlights

• Globe and Mail, August 18, 2022, “OPP discriminated against migrant workers: tribunal”
• CBC News, August 26, 2022, “Peel police used force on Black people 3.2 times more than their share of population last year: new data”
• Toronto Sun, November 30, 2022, “Another coroner's inquest jury recommends replacing London, Ont. Jail”

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Poverty

Poverty Point of View (POV)

Research has shown two issues that significantly impact health and well-being are the inability to exercise the right to housing and the inability to exercise the right to mental health and addiction disability care. Combined, these issues cause and sustain poverty.

While these issues have always existed in Ontario, the COVID-19 pandemic, the high cost of living and the rise in the needs for mental health and addiction care have meant that the most vulnerable in Ontario are struggling even more. This is especially true for people experiencing homelessness, substance use, gender-based violence, and complex trauma.

In July 2022, the OHRC began a province-wide engagement on poverty as it relates to the right to affordable, adequate, and accessible housing and the right to mental health and addiction care. The OHRC called on stakeholders, service providers, Indigenous organizations and advocates to provide written submissions based on a background paper and engagement guide. 

In November 2022, the OHRC launched a public survey, held a launch event for service providers, and has since held nine key informant meetings, with more planned throughout 2023. The survey closed at the end of 2022; the OHRC received over 500 responses. 

On March 14, 2023, the OHRC released an interim report titled Poverty POV: What we are hearing that highlighted and summarized some of the responses received. Broadly speaking, the consultation has so far revealed five core issues that are preventing people from exercising their rights to housing and mental health and addiction care, leading to and sustaining deepening levels of poverty.

These are:

1. Experiencing discrimination based on Code grounds such as race, disability, and receipt of social assistance, among others
2. Lack of deeply affordable housing, including housing with supports, and an increase in homelessness
3. Inadequate income supports
4. Inability to access mental health and addiction care in a timely way
5. Lack of sociodemographic data collection

The OHRC will continue a comprehensive analysis of survey responses and continue to hold key informant meetings and accept written submissions. Our final report – slated for release in the fall – will provide practical and concrete recommendations, and we plan to work with community partners to track progress and with duty-holders to help them adhere to their human rights obligations.

 

Extreme weather statements

Extreme weather – hot and cold – impacts all Ontarians but poses a particular threat to people who the Code protects, especially older people, people with disabilities, people who are experiencing homelessness and people with lower incomes residing in housing with little access to cooling.

Climate change is likely to increase Ontario’s experience with both extreme heat and extreme cold. As these weather events continue, duty-holders must uphold and protect the human rights of people who are disproportionately impacted.  

The OHRC commends the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) for taking positive steps to address this issue. It is committed to continue meeting with the ministry to offer support in taking a human rights-based approach to extreme weather and housing.

OHRC statement on human rights, extreme heat waves and air conditioning

In August 2022, the OHRC released a statement outlining how access to cooling during extreme heat waves is a human rights issue.

The statement called on the Government of Ontario to include air conditioning as a vital service, as they have done with the running of heat. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, regulations can be used to establish a provincial maximum temperature to make sure that vulnerable tenants (often from Code-protected groups) are protected against extreme heat. The regulation would also stop threats of eviction for these tenants using safely installed air conditioning (AC) units.

The OHRC was pleased to read on April 5, 2023, that MMAH is taking action on the right to access cooling as a vital service by giving tenants authority to install AC units.

A human rights-based approach to AC/cooling will make sure all Ontarians have accessible, adequate, and safe housing.

OHRC statement on human rights and access to cold weather services

In February 2023, amidst an extreme cold weather snap and a homelessness crisis across Ontario, the OHRC released a statement that called on the provincial government, District Social Services Administration Boards, and municipalities across Ontario to uphold the rights of people experiencing homelessness by fairly funding and providing enough indoor spaces around-the-clock for anyone seeking shelter, either in warming centres or in community spaces.

The statement outlined that when a person has nowhere to go in inclement weather, this can result in tragic outcomes such as the loss of a limb or freezing to death, which are preventable. Even moderate temperatures, especially when coupled with rain or snow, can be life-threatening if a person is unsheltered.

The statement also reiterated that people experiencing homelessness are disproportionately members of groups and communities who have experienced historic and ongoing systemic discrimination. Governments at all levels must work to limit the ongoing effects of this discrimination and keeping people from freezing to death on the streets is part of that essential work.

 

Encampments and shelter closings

In December 2022, resulting from the OHRC’s Poverty POV consultation and ongoing monitoring of the homelessness crisis, the OHRC released a statement on human rights, encampments and shelter closings.

The statement reinforced that informal encampment and shelter residents are rights holders under human rights law, and that solutions to homelessness and informal encampments must be grounded in human rights-based approaches and delivered with respect and compassion.

Overcrowded, inaccessible and unsafe shelter beds that are only accessible one night at a time are not an adequate alternative to informal encampments. This situation also does not respect people’s human rights such as the right to adequate, accessible, and affordable housing.

The OHRC’s statement echoed support for a recent report commissioned by the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate that provides five urgent recommendations for all levels of government when addressing encampments. The OHRC supported the following recommendations: 

• De-centering policing and law enforcement: A rights-based approach to encampments requires all governments, including municipalities and the federal government, to end their practices of using trespass orders, by-laws, and policing to forcibly evict unhoused people from encampments.  

• Municipal governance and interjurisdictional responsibilities: In adopting a rights-based approach to encampments, federal and provincial governments have an obligation to provide funding and services that offset the disproportionate impact faced by municipalities in addressing the housing crisis and the existence of encampments.

• Ensure the meaningful participation of encampment residents: A rights-based approach requires meaningful and inclusive participation of people living in homelessness in the design and implementation of policies, programs and practices that affect them. 

• Recognize the distinct rights of Indigenous peoples: A rights-based approach requires governments to acknowledge Indigenous rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Canadian Constitution, treaties and case law. Governments should meaningfully engage all relevant Indigenous stakeholders and nations, as identified by Indigenous peoples themselves, in the development of policy approaches to encampments. 

• Address the conditions within encampments and provision
  
  of basic services: A rights-based approach requires access to basic services such as clean water, sanitation facilities, electricity, and heat. 

 

Migrant worker housing – Kingsville

On August 16, 2021, the Town of Kingsville passed an interim control by-law prohibiting any person from using any lands, buildings, or structures for the purpose of housing agricultural workers anywhere other than on the agricultural lands where they are employed, until a housing study has been completed.

On June 24, 2022, the OHRC wrote a letter raising concerns about potentially discriminatory recommendations contained in the housing study for migrant workers in Kingsville. The letter reminded the Town of Kingsville that migrant workers are already subject to extensive discrimination in their lives and work and that under the Code, the Town has an obligation to ensure that the existing vulnerable position of migrant workers is not further worsened by town policies or by-laws.

In early August, the Town posted official plan alterations and zoning by-law amendments for public comment reflecting the revised recommendations. The OHRC was satisfied with the amendments but believed Kingsville could make further changes to protect workers. On August 30, the OHRC wrote a follow-up letter in support of another stakeholder’s submission to protect workers.

On September 26, 2022, the Chief Commissioner appeared before the Kingsville Town Council meeting as part of a group of representatives supporting the OHRC recommendations. The Town Council then passed a motion to approve the amended zoning by-law, which now offers greater protection to migrant workers.

 

More Homes Built Faster Act – OHRC submissions

With the passing of the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 in November, the OHRC wrote to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in response to its call for submissions from the public addressing specific regulatory changes stemming from the Act.

The OHRC’s submissions highlight that while the OHRC welcomes the government’s effort to address the housing crisis, it is vital to take a human rights-based approach to housing law, policies, programs, and by-laws.

 Adequate housing is essential to one’s sense of dignity, safety, inclusion, and ability to contribute to the fabric of neighbourhoods and societies. The importance of housing to human dignity and its status as a human right have been confirmed through the Ontario Human Rights Code and international law.

The important social role of homes is recognized through the Code’s specific protections against discrimination in accommodation. Every component of the right to housing must be exercised without discrimination.

The OHRC made four submissions regarding the More Homes Built Faster Act, which include:

Support for municipal rental replacement by-laws

This submission stated that the OHRC is supportive of MMAH’s efforts to standardize rental replacement bylaws and encourages MMAH to take a human rights-based approach to this work.

The OHRC believes there is an opportunity to strengthen or implement rental replacement by-laws to increase human rights-based tenant protections and protect affordable rental stock. As a result, the OHRC would have reservations about weakening or eliminating rental replacement by-laws. Municipalities should not be able to enact by-laws that result in a reduction of affordable market rental housing stock.

The City of Toronto’s rental replacement by-law provides a useful template of positive steps a municipality can take to preserve rental stock and protect vulnerable tenants.

Inclusionary Zoning

In the submission, the OHRC shared that it is concerned that the proposed alterations to O. Reg 232/18 significantly limit municipalities’ ability to develop inclusionary zoning frameworks based on local needs.

Of more concern, the proposed alterations appear to threaten and weaken the effectiveness of inclusionary zoning as a key tool for creating and maintaining, long-term affordable housing for the many Ontarians who are experiencing difficulties to find a home.

Therefore, the OHRC urges MMAH to include the following in its proposed alterations and standardized rules:

• Define affordability by using percentage of household income (30 per cent) paid towards housing and not percentage of average resale purchase price of ownership units or of the average market rent for rental units;
• Require that the period of affordability be permanent, (for example, 99 years); and
• Increase set aside rates to align with most other inclusionary zoning policies in North America (for example, 10 per cent).

Strengthening inclusionary zoning policies has the potential to increase access to affordable housing, especially for people with low incomes, who are disproportionately members of Code-protected groups. This approach will tend towards respecting the equal dignity and worth of each Ontarian. Weakening or eliminating inclusionary zoning policies will have the contrary effect.

Rent to own

Due to discrimination in accommodation, including its effect on the ability of Code-protected groups to purchase homes, governments, service providers and housing providers have an obligation under the Code to take positive action to proactively identify and fix the disproportionate impact that laws, policies, or systems have on vulnerable groups.

Rent-to-own arrangements present a powerful tool to address decades of discrimination in accommodation that have prevented Code-protected groups from building generational wealth.

That is why this OHRC submission encourages MMAH to proffer incentives to rent-to-own arrangements targeted to Code-protected groups for housing providers. Rent-to-own arrangements that are designed with the unique needs of Code-protected groups in mind could include specific arrangements for single parent families, women, Indigenous people, and newcomers, among others.

A Place to Grow and Provincial Policy Statement

As in previous OHRC submissions for the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), the OHRC calls on MMAH to recognize that planning policy instruments have the potential to affect the housing rights of people who require affordable housing like group homes, seniors' residences, shelters, lodging houses and social housing.

The significant and disproportionate impact that restrictions on the development of affordable housing can have on Code-protected groups means that these planning decisions will engage the protections of the Code. The OHRC urges MMAH to identify protecting human rights as a core element of the new planning policy instrument, including the right to acceptable, accessible, and affordable housing.

 

Poverty Advisory Group (PAG)

In 2019, the OHRC created a Poverty Advisory Group (PAG) under section 31.5 of the Code to help guide its work. PAG members contribute diverse views on wide-ranging topics relating to poverty and overall well-being.

The PAG met three times during 2022. Topics covered included the OHRC’s Poverty POV consultation, COVID-19 recovery, social assistance, migrant worker housing, homelessness, accessible housing, and member roundtables. The PAG will continue to meet through 2023 with a focus on the OHRC’s Poverty POV initiative.

Current members include:

• Patricia DeGuire, Chief Commissioner and Poverty Advisory Group Chair, OHRC
• Douglas Varrette, Staff Lawyer, Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto (previous member)
• Elizabeth McIsaac, President, Maytree
• Michael Kerr, Coordinator, Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change
• Mike Creek, Director Strategic Initiatives, Working for Change
• Bruce Porter, Executive Director, Social Rights Advocacy Centre
• Kwame McKenzie, CEO, Wellesley Institute
• David McKillop, Vice President, Strategy and Public Affairs, Legal Aid Ontario (previous member)
• Sami Pritchard, Director of Advocacy and Communications, YWCA Toronto
• Paul Bailey, Executive Director of Black Health Alliance
• Wendy Porch, Executive Director, Centre for Independent Living in Toronto
• Amanda Kilabuk, Executive Director, Tungasuvvingat Inuit

 

Media highlights

• Globe and Mail, August 31, 2022, “Ontario passes controversial long-term care bill”
• CBC News, December 15, 2022, “Toronto city council has debated it for decades. Now, it's finally legalized rooming houses city-wide”
• Barrie 360, February 9, 2023, “We’re in a crisis’: Head of Barrie shelter says warming centres need to be open round-the-clock”

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Education

Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read inquiry continues to inspire change

This past February marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read inquiry report. The inquiry, the first of its kind in Canada, called for critical changes to Ontario’s approach to teaching early reading. 

The OHRC’s landmark report has influenced other jurisdictions across Canada to re-examine their approaches to teaching reading, as well as inspiring human rights commissions in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to launch similar initiatives.

The OHRC’s inquiry looked at human rights issues that affect students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.

“In the spring of the 2020–21 school year, the Program Department and the Special Education Department, established the Science of Reading (SOR) Committee. The committee, with its multi-disciplinary lens, developed professional learning sessions for teachers based on the Science of Reading. The goal of these sessions is to further build teacher capacity around the science of teaching students to read. SOR is evidence-based and demonstrates to us how children learn to read, what instruction is required and what materials and resources are needed to support that instruction. SOR has shown us the importance of Structured Literacy, which applies the Science of Reading to classroom practice. We knew that our reading instruction must become more explicit, systematic and sequential and this was confirmed with the OHRC’s Right to Read report.” 

-  Greater Essex County District School Board

Its main recommendations included:

1. Curriculum: Adopting a new kindergarten program and grades 1 to 8 language curriculum that features direct and systematic instruction in foundational reading skills and preparing current and future teachers on evidence-based approaches to teaching students to read
   
    
2. Screening: Screening every student, at least twice a year from kindergarten to grade 2, to identify students at risk for reading difficulties, using standardized, evidence-based screening tools
   
    
3. Reading Interventions: Standardizing and providing stable funding for evidence-based reading interventions and making access to interventions equitable for all students
   
    
4. Accommodations: Providing and supporting timely and effective accommodation, including greater access to evidence-based software and assistive technology
   
    
5. Professional Assessments: Improving access to professional assessments and ensuring greater consistency and transparency in the assessment process.

The report was informed by three years of work, two leading experts, thousands of submissions, tens of thousands of documents, community meetings, Indigenous engagements and public hearings across the province. The result is 157 recommendations and a blueprint to make sure the one million children in Ontario who annually require systematic and explicit instruction get what they need to learn to read.

“We know that with the implementation of the changes recommended in the Right to Read report, fewer students will need a referral for learning assessments… Lakehead Public Schools has responded strongly and positively to the recommendations from the OHRC Right to Read report, focusing on training and resources in the Science of Reading. As more clear direction, resources and supports are provided by the Ministry of Education, we will establish strong programming and intervention strategies to ensure the reading success of every student.”

-  Lakehead District School Board

Educators, school boards and Ministry of Education respond

Education partners responded to the OHRC’s call for action. Many teachers and other educators have spearheaded professional learning on structured literacy and continue to push for change in Ontario’s classrooms.

Several school boards have proactively worked to build capacity and expertise to address the recommendations. Some school boards also worked to identify key actions and performance measures prior to the release of the Right to Read report.

The Right to Read recommendations require system-wide change at the provincial level. Informed by its discussions with the OHRC during the inquiry and after the release of the report, the Ministry of Education announced several positive measures to respond to the OHRC’s recommendations in February 2022, March 2022, October 2022, March 2023 and most recently in April 2023. These announcements target three out of five of the main areas the inquiry identified as essential to meeting students’ right to read.

“We are beginning to see the impact that these approaches are having on our students through observations and successes they are celebrating within the classroom. But we also recognize, we have only just begun to scratch the surface of the work that needs to be done…”

-  Elementary Principal, North Region, Near North District School Board

So far, the Ministry of Education’s response includes:

1. Curriculum: Aligning the elementary English and French language curricula   with scientific, evidence-based approaches that emphasize direct and systematic instruction and eliminating the three-cueing system by September 2023. In Spring 2022, the ministry released a science-based guide for educators to support effective early reading instruction.
2. Screening: In April 2023, the Ministry of Education announced that it will invest $109 million in 2023–2024 to boost literacy rates. Beginning in the 2023–24 school year, students in year 2 of kindergarten to grade 2 will be screened for reading using evidence-based tools. The Ministry of Education will introduce a standardized and fully funded screening tool and training for educators. This means that roughly 400,000 students will be screened every year. The Ministry will also fund additional specialist teachers who can work one-on-one or in small groups to help students who need additional support in reading and invest in almost 700 educators to support development and excellence in literacy for Ontario students.
3. Reading Interventions: Informed by the OHRC and Ministry of Education’s dialogue, in 2020–21, the Ministry provided $11.76 million to support evidence-based reading intervention programs and $20 million for re-engaging students and providing early reading assessment supports. In March 2022, the Ministry announced $25 million to support evidence-based reading intervention programs and professional assessments – beginning immediately and into the 2022–23 school year. In its 2023 Budget, Ontario announced investments over the next two years, including $25 million over two years to provide support for students in senior kindergarten to Grade 2. The Ministry will also begin development of a French-language reading intervention program. The OHRC continues to engage community and education partners. The OHRC recognizes that the work to implement the recommendations has just started. The recommendations require long-term and systemic change and will involve many partners.

Since launching the Right to Read report, the OHRC continues to use a collaborative tactic to engage students, parents, advocacy organizations, educators, school and school board administrators through panels, webinars, and speeches. The OHRC’s audiences have included:

• Ontario Public School Boards’ Association
• Ontario Principals’ Council
• Ontario Bar Association
• Conseil ontarien des directions de l’éducation de langue française
• Regional Special Education Council
• Regional Supervisory Officer Curriculum Council of the Western Region of the Ministry of Education
• Sudbury Catholic District School Board
• Upper Canada District School Board
• International Dyslexia Association – Ontario Branch
• Dyslexia Canada
• Decoding Dyslexia
• Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario
• Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario – Kingston Branch
• Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies
• Right to Read Book Clubs run by teachers.

“During the 2019–20 school year, in anticipation of the OHRC’s release of the Right to Read report, a central team of Program and Special Education staff worked collaboratively to identify key priorities, actions and performance measures that have informed our district’s plan to support improved literacy outcomes for all students… The recommendations from the OHRC Right to Read report have inspired changes in how we teach reading and how we support students who are experiencing difficulties reading.”

-  Near North District School Board

In January 2023, the OHRC released a new strategic plan for 2023 to 2025; education continues to be a priority area. Building on the foundation established by the Right to Read inquiry, the OHRC will continue to work with government, school boards and education institutions to implement changes that will eliminate systemic discrimination across education settings. One of the OHRC’s performance measures includes monitoring the percentage of school boards that have a plan to implement the Right to Read recommendations.

 

Additional resources

• Right to Read audiobook
• Community responses
• Organization responses
• Right to Read by the numbers
• Right to Read video
• Right to Read report release news conference video

 

Tackling anti-Black racism in education

In 2022, the OHRC committed to examining and addressing anti-Black racism in Ontario’s publicly-funded education system. This will be done through community engagement, research on leading practices, issue monitoring, and consultation with the education sector, and students. This work will help identify concrete actions which must be taken at all levels of the education system and establish action and monitoring plans. Over the coming months, the OHRC will release an Action Plan to help combat anti-Black racism in education to hold duty-holders accountable and will provide practical guidance to education sector professionals.

 

Letter on Peel District School Board anti-racism policy

Comprehensive anti-discrimination policies play an important role in addressing racial discrimination in educational settings. The Peel District School Board (PDSB) has grappled with longstanding concerns regarding anti-Black racism and other forms of racial discrimination. These concerns intensified in recent years and culminated in the Ministry of Education issuing a report, which included 27 directions aimed at eliminating inequalities and anti-Black racism within the PDSB. In response to community-based concerns and directions from the Ministry, the PDSB developed an anti-racism policy in June 2022, which has the strong potential to address racial discrimination within the PDSB.

According to the Ministry’s directions, the OHRC consulted with the PDSB regarding the development of an anti-racism policy. By incorporating the use of race data collection, performance management measures and capacity building, the policy aims to ensure that Indigenous, Black, and racialized people with all their intersecting identities experience fair and just learning environments. Among other objectives, the policy commits to eliminating anti-Black racism that results in persistent achievement and graduation disparities and implementing a range of helpful measures or disciplinary actions to address policy violations.

The OHRC’s June letter to the PDSB’s Director of Education noted that this policy is in harmony with the OHRC’s guide to developing policies and procedures, which helps organizations develop policies that set out effective and fair ways to prevent human rights infringements.

 

Media highlights

• CBC News, November 16, 2022, “Oakville high school threatened with violence over teacher yet again”
• The Varsity, November 27, 2022, “University Affairs Board recommends amendments to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy”
• Toronto Star, March 10, 2023, “The hidden hate on campus: We tracked incidents at colleges and universities and found a growing problem”

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Human rights culture

Celebrating 60 years of the Ontario Human Rights Code

The Ontario Human Rights Code was proclaimed on June 15, 1962. It recognizes the dignity and worth of every person and the need to ensure people enjoy equal rights and opportunities without discrimination. To commemorate the Code’s 60^th anniversary, the OHRC launched a social media campaign and held events for people to engage with and learn more about the history of the Code.

Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards

On June 15, 2022, the OHRC announced the recipients of its first-ever Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards to recognize and celebrate people across Ontario who are advancing human rights in their communities. The award, named in honour of the first director and first Black chair of the OHRC, were presented in three categories:

Young Leaders, presented to a person under age 30 for their outstanding contribution to advancing human rights in Ontario.

The first recipient for this award was Autumn Peltier. Ms. Peltier is Anishinaabe-kwe, a member of the Wiikwemkoong First Nation. She is a water protector who began her fight for Indigenous Canadians’ right to clean drinking water when she was eight years old. She is the Chief Water Commissioner for Anishinabek Nation in Ontario, where she represents 39 First Nations and is responsible for relaying community concerns to the Anishinabek Council.

Distinguished Service, presented to a person who shows outstanding contribution to advancing human rights.

The recipient for this award was Rabia Khedr. Ms. Khedr advances disability rights through her own experience and bringing forward the voices of marginalized people, people of colour, women and people with disabilities, especially intellectual disabilities. She co-founded the Race and Disability Canada network to advocate for racialized individuals with disabilities, established DEEN Support Services to ensure culturally and spiritually relevant services for individuals with disabilities and is currently the National Director of Disability Without Poverty, an organization that is working to ensure people with disabilities have the supports necessary to avoid poverty and to take part in every aspect of society.

Lifetime Achievement, presented to a person or people with significant contributions over their lifetime to advance human rights. The recipients for these awards were Kim (Brooks) Bernhardt and David Lepofsky.

• Ms. Bernhardt played a significant role in the Northwestern Hospital settlement in 1994, which was the first extensive OHRC settlement requiring anti-racism organizational change. Through the Association of Human Rights Lawyers, she was pivotal in the 2008 amendments to the Code and in advocating for the OHRC to retain a proactive role in human rights in Ontario. She has also promoted employment equity through her volunteer work.
• Mr. Lepofsky is recognized across Canada as an advocate for people with disabilities. He was instrumental in winning two important cases against the Toronto Transit Commission to create audible and visual transit stop announcements – an innovation that has been adopted beyond Ontario to other parts of Canada and even other countries. He also played a key advocacy role in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) becoming law in June 2005. His work as a member of the AODA Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education Standards Development Committee has the potential to benefit students for generations to come.

A recording of the presentation is available on the OHRC’s YouTube page.

Human Rights @ 60 virtual conference

On June 23, 2022, the OHRC partnered with Toronto Metropolitan University Human Rights Services and the Lincoln Alexander School of Law to host a virtual conference called Human Rights @ 60: Reflecting and Reimagining.

The program featured keynote speeches from Cindy Blackstock (Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and Professor in the School of Social Work at McGill University) and Donna Young (Founding Dean of the Lincoln Alexander School of Law).

In addition, panel discussions evaluated the effectiveness of the Code and human rights system in addressing systemic discrimination and explored new directions for human rights law and policy, including what is required to decolonize the human rights system and better advance substantive equality for Indigenous peoples.

Over 2,000 people registered for the conference and post-event evaluations were very positive.

A recording of the conference livestream can be viewed here.

Zoom Webinar: There were a total of 2,143 registered participants for the Human Rights @ 60 conference. The Zoom webinar received 1158 unique views. Dr. Cindy Blackstock’s key remarks recorded the highest number of participants tuned into the webinar.​ ​YouTube: 1,266 views streamed live on June 23, 2022, 27 likes. The average number of participants at any given time watching the livestream was around 100 views.​

Submission on Canada’s 24^th and 25^th Reports to the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The OHRC made a submission to inform Canada's combined 24th and 25th periodic report to the United Nations on implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Areas of concern included:

• The over-representation of Indigenous and Black children in Ontario’s child welfare system;
• Statistics Canada data showing a recent rise in hate crimes;
• The OHRC’s application about the deaths of Joey Knapaysweet and Agnes Sutherland highlighting the serious and sometimes tragic result of systemic discrimination against First Nations peoples in Northern Ontario;
• Recent reports continuing to show Indigenous peoples and racialized communities (especially Black Canadians) are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system;
• The need for a regulatory framework to address the human rights impacts of artificial intelligence in policing, health care and other areas;
• The harmful impacts of segregation in jails on Black and Indigenous prisoners, prisoners with mental health disabilities and women;
• The OHRC’s 2021 policy statement on the obligation of government and other duty-holders to take a human rights-based approach to recovery from the pandemic, focusing on groups most affected, including Black, Indigenous and other racialized populations, people with low incomes, women and people with disabilities. Consistent factors include: deep-rooted levels of poverty, lack of affordable, adequate and accessible housing, and the experience of mental health and addiction disabilities;
• Reports like the 2022 report by Parents of Black Children that indicate that Indigenous, Black and other racialized students are experiencing significant discrimination, xenophobia and targeting in academic environments; and
• The OHRC’s 2022 Right to Read report, which shows that Indigenous, Black and other racialized students and students with other disabilities, are at increased risk for reading difficulties, and the report’s influence on Ontario’s education system.

 

Addressing the Increase in Hate in Society

The OHRC is building awareness about the real consequences of hate on people’s right to be free from discrimination. The new strategic plan provides for increased work around anti-hate. Some of this includes: working with the criminal justice system and other government institutions to challenge and address the dramatic increase in hate in society, having a more public presence on the issue; and ensuring that public institutions are more aware of and know how to use the human rights system to respond to manifestations of hate.

On March 6, 2023, the OHRC launched an anti-hate landing page on the website, which highlights work that has been done over the years, as well as key resources.

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The OHRC’s operational priority – organizational impact

 

Message from the Executive Director

Between 2021 and 2022, the OHRC celebrated the 60th anniversary of Ontario’s Human Rights Code. From their inception, the OHRC and the Code remain a fundamental pillar of Ontario society. The organization’s many achievements in advancing human rights in Ontario make it a leader amongst human rights commissions across the country.

The need for the OHRC to act on new and emerging issues is clear. This has been echoed throughout consultations the OHRC conducted in 2022 to inform its renewed strategic plan: that the OHRC’s work and dedication to advancing human rights remains paramount and central to building a more inclusive Ontario.

Unfortunately, the growth rate in the OHRC’s organizational capacity has not matched the rise in demand for its work. In fact, the OHRC’s capacity has largely stagnated for over a decade. Those consulted as part of the strategic planning engagement voiced great concerns with the internal state of the institution, including:

• The need for organizational transformation, including upgrades to technology and systems;
• More deliberate performance monitoring and accountability systems; and
• A strong emphasis on modern communications to increase the ability to reach critical audiences in promotion and public education.

Most importantly, the OHRC heard that it needed to take a serious look at its capacity both in terms of human and fiscal resources. But how does the OHRC remain in a position to meet increasing expectations and operate effectively, while sustaining long-term capacity and organizational health in an environment of fiscal constraints?

The answer for the OHRC has been big-picture thinking, and innovative and sustainable optimization strategies and solutions. This response is at the heart of a clear and intentional vision for organizational transformation, which was launched in 2022. It includes an optimization framework, consistent with that of the Ontario Public Service, that puts people-first culture at the centre and lays out an ambitious action-based roadmap toward greater organizational health. The aim of this plan has been to increase the use of advanced technologies for greater collaboration, accessibility, and integration, to attract top talent in the right positions, to build a high performing, engaged, inclusive and resilient workforce, and to strengthen the OHRC’s service delivery capacity and distribution of resources.

This year, the OHRC rolled out several key organizational improvement initiatives as part of this plan that have created momentum for positive change, meaningful growth, and greater organizational effectiveness. These included:

• Developing a corresponding operational plan to its strategic plan;
• Implementing a significant IT upgrade project and records and information management strategy, which have resulted in streamlining and integrating OHRC systems;
• Adopting the newest technology to increase data security and accessible and real-time collaboration;
• Transforming performance measurement at the individual, team, and institutional level; and
• Assessing organizational and functional gaps.

These transformational projects have had a significant impact on the way the OHRC now operates. However, more changes are needed, especially with regards to more effective resource distribution. That is why the OHRC is working closely with the Ministry to find opportunities to support and continue its organizational improvements and effectiveness.

The steps taken this year to improve the organizational health of the OHRC were helpful and timely. However, the organization must not lose sight of the unique opportunity at this moment to truly set the OHRC up for success in the immediate term and well into the future. Doing so will require the right levels of resources and funding needed to operate optimally.

Although efforts in optimizing capacity have clearly been substantial and a significant step in the right direction, there is still a lot more that is needed. The OHRC’s revitalized Strategic Plan provides a path forward. It sets out an ambitious agenda that includes promoting organizational and individual health and wellness; empowering and enabling staff to learn, grow and excel; continuing to align and optimize resources, systems, and processes; and becoming more data-driven, evidence-based, and outcomes-focused in planning, monitoring, and reporting accountabilities. The OHRC will also continue to build relationships with a greater emphasis on partnerships, collaboration, and undertakings of shared interest to help increase capacity in the delivery of key priorities.

The OHRC must continue to demonstrate its value in upholding the promise of the Code and remind everyone of the importance of investing in a strengthened human rights system. This will include a stronger focus on public education for rights and duty-holders, and the imperative of building a human rights culture across Ontario from which all residents can benefit.

A strong, independent, and well-resourced Ontario Human Rights Commission, one that can be visible, active, and responsive in addressing new and emerging human rights issues, could be a beacon of hope for all, including the most marginalized and vulnerable people in society. And that would truly be something to celebrate.

Michael Harris

A/Executive Director

 

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2022–2023 Performance targets

The OHRC has established success indicators linked to the focus areas and the foundational strengths of its 2017–22 Strategic Plan. There are key targets and results to highlight progress in connection with each strategic priority. However, certain indicators rely on annual OHRC surveys of stakeholders. During the past year, due to concerns about survey fatigue, the OHRC did not survey its stakeholders. Accordingly, the OHRC will not report on the indicators below that rely on this data.

 

Focus area: Indigenous reconciliation

Outcomes	Performance measures	Target	Result
The OHRC’s products and activities reflect a deep understanding of Indigenous perspectives	Percentage of key Indigenous leaders and community members who agree or somewhat agree that the OHRC’s products and activities reflect a deep understanding of Indigenous perspectives	5% increase in survey response rate	Not Available (Dependent on stakeholder survey results which has not yet been sent)
The OHRC is culturally competent and possesses an understanding of anti-Indigenous racism	Percentage of OHRC staff who receive training on Indigenous perspectives and issues, and how colonization impacts Indigenous peoples	100% of staff receive training on Indigenous cultural competency	100% of staff have taken Indigenous Cultural Competency Training (San’yas)

 

Focus area: COVID-19 pandemic

Outcomes	Performance measures	Target	Result
Duty-holders and members of the public are aware of their human rights and responsibilities related to the COVID-19 pandemic	Percentage increase in accessing the OHRC’s resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic	5% increase over previous year’s results in number of unique website views of guidance related to COVID-19	54,479 (-65%)

 

Focus area: Criminal justice

Outcomes	Performance measures	Target	Result
Police services collect identifier data related to their services for human rights compliance	Percentage increase in number of police services that collect identifier data relating to services for the purposes of human rights compliance	5% increase in the number of police services collecting identifier data	Not Available (Dependent on stakeholder survey results which has not yet been sent)
No prisoners in administrative segregation in Ontario	Number of prisoners in administrative segregation in Ontario	Zero prisoners in administrative segregation	16% increase (from 8,219 prisoners in 2020–2021 to 9,529 prisoners in 2021–2022), based on data available from the Ministry of the Solicitor General at this time
Prisoners with a mental health alert are not placed in segregation	Percentage of prisoners with a mental health alert or mental health disability placed in segregation	Zero prisoners with a mental health alert or mental health disability placed in segregation	2% increase (from 39% of prisoners in segregation in 2020–2021 to 41% of prisoners in segregation in 2021–2022), based on data available from the Ministry of the Solicitor General at this time
Reduced racial disparities in use of force in policing	Percentage reduction in racial disparities in police use of force	Baselines and targets for police use of force related to other police services will be established once the Solicitor General reports on race-based data collection in accordance with the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 and O. Reg. 267/18	Data unavailable, as the Ministry of the Solicitor General has not yet published this data
Indigenous, Black and other racialized people in Peel region have improved relationships with police	Percentage increase in responses by Indigenous, Black and other racialized people to Peel Regional Police community surveys who describe their experiences with police as positive	5% increase in results of Indigenous, Black and other racialized people who describe positive interactions with Peel Regional Police in community survey in 2023; and a further 5% increase by 2025	Based on the 2021 community survey results on perceptions of and experiences with Peel Regional Police, released in December 2021, the OHRC has assessed benchmarks for Indigenous, Black and other racialized people who describe positive interactions with Peel Regional Police at:  Indigenous – 43%  Black – 57% South Asian – 59% Other racialized – 47%

 

Focus area: Poverty

Outcomes	Performance measures	Target	Result
Advanced understanding of protections under the Code for people who experience poverty, hunger and homelessness	One new legal intervention related to poverty	One	The OHRC did not intervene in a new poverty related HRTO application. Over the last two years, the OHRC initiated two different interventions, which it continues to work on.
Human rights law recognizes how systemic discrimination causes and sustains poverty and disproportionately affects people experiencing poverty	Qualitative review of HRTO/court decisions relating to poverty issues	Case law review to be completed by 2022	Case law review completed, and informed a background paper for the OHRC’s consultation on poverty and systemic discrimination in the areas of accessible/affordable housing and mental health and addictions.

Focus area: Education

Outcomes	Performance measures	Target	Result
School boards identify and address systemic discrimination in the education system	Percentage of school boards informing the OHRC that they have adopted OHRC recommendations in the Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities	5% increase in the survey response rate 5% increase in percentage of school boards adopting recommendations in the Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities	Not Available (Dependent on stakeholder survey results which has not yet been sent)
Ontario’s curriculum is inclusive of various groups in society	Percentage of education and school board stakeholders who “agree” or “somewhat agree” that Ontario’s curriculum is inclusive of various groups in society	5% increase in the number of education and school board stakeholders who “agree” or “somewhat agree”	Not Available (Dependent on stakeholder survey results which has not yet been sent)

 

Focus area: Foundational strengths

Outcomes	Performance measures	Target	Result
Leadership voice: Members of the public are aware and have strengthened knowledge about human rights protections under the Ontario Human Rights Code	Percentage increase in accessing the OHRC’s resources on the OHRC website and through social media	Maintain unique website hits: 5% increase in social media followers and friends over 2019–20 results	Unique Pageviews: 5,395,233 (-15%) Social media followers/friends:  40,557 (-13.8%) Total engagements: 27 Total people outreached: 2,976 *Please see footnote
Our people: Strengthened culture at the OHRC that fosters engagement and supports achievement	Percentage increase in relevant question areas in annual OPS employee engagement survey for OHRC staff	2% increase in employee engagement index, inclusion index, leadership index	Employee Engagement Index:  71.8% (-7.2%) Inclusion Index:  74% (-3.4%) Leadership Index:  66.3% (-5.7%)
Our relationships: The OHRC maintains effective relationships with all stakeholders	Percentage of community leaders and experts and duty-holders, including employment and business leaders and police and school board stakeholders who “agree” or “somewhat agree” that the OHRC maintains effective relationships with all stakeholders	10% increase in the number of community leaders and duty-holders, including employment and business leaders and police and school board stakeholders who “agree” or “somewhat agree” that the OHRC maintains effective relationships with stakeholders	Not Available (Dependent on stakeholder survey results which has not yet been sent)

* As a supplemental indicator, we have included results related to public education and outreach (not including the Chief Commissioner’s speaking engagements)

 

New performance measurements

The OHRC’s 2017–22 Strategic Plan ended in December 2022, with planning activities for the renewal of the plan taking place over 2022. In early 2023, to support the strategic objectives in the new plan and to assist with evaluating ongoing organizational performance, the OHRC started development of a performance and risk management framework. Work on this framework will continue to enhance the OHRC’s ability to concretely show how it is achieving its strategic objectives and optimizing the way it collects and uses data.

The OHRC has maintained certain elements of the previous plan, especially those that focus on education, the criminal justice system, and Indigenous reconciliation as they remain quite relevant and current. The renewal of the plan presented an opportunity to include and integrate new and emerging issues faced by Ontarians. The following key performance indicators substantially represent the intended outcomes of the OHRC’s work over the next three years and will be used to support the OHRC in monitoring and demonstrating progress towards its

strategic objectives.  

 

New performance measurements table

Outcomes	Performance measures	Baseline	Targets
Reconciliation
The OHRC is a trusted ally to Indigenous communities in the work of reconciliation	Percentage of Indigenous partners who agree that the OHRC maintains relevant and effective relationships	TBD*	5% increase in the number of Indigenous partners who agree that the OHRC maintains relevant and effective relationships based on the results of the biennial survey
Criminal justice and Health and well-being
Duty-holders have and use accessible, relevant and practical human rights tools	Percentage of duty-holders who report having accessed relevant and practical human rights tools	TBD*	10% increase in the number of duty-holders who report they have accessed relevant and practical human rights tools
Education
Duty-holders in the education system are implementing changes that address systemic discrimination	Percentage of school boards that have a plan to implement the Right to Read recommendations	0%	Year-over-year increase to 100% by year two (75% in year 1 and 100% in year 2) of school boards having a plan to implement the Right to Read recommendations
Human rights culture
The public is more knowledgeable about human rights	Public satisfaction with the OHRC’s products	TBD*	80% satisfaction with OHRC products
Organizational impact
Improved employee experience	Percentage increase in employee experience rates	69.5%	2% increase in the employee experience rate based on the results of the biennial employee experience surveys

*Interim baselines will be determined through an analysis of currently available data and relevant data solicited on a future date.

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Financial summary

2022–23 Financial summary (April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023)

2022–23 Financial summary (April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023)	2022–23 Printed Estimates	Revised Budget March 31, 2023	Actual Expenditures March 31, 2023	2022–23 Year End Variance from Revised Budget
	($’000)				%
Salaries & Wages	$4,472.7	$4,277.3	$4,219.5	$57.8	1%
Benefits	$393.6	$478.5	$499.0	- $20.5	- 4%
Other Direct Operating Expenses (ODOE)	$622.5	$815.5	$691.3	$124.2	15%
Total Expenses	$5,488.8	$5,571.3	$5,409.7	$161.6	2.9%

2022–23 OHRC Appointee remuneration

Appointee (full-time)	Total remuneration for FY 2022-23	Annual Salary
Patricia DeGuire, Chief Commissioner	$173,587.96	$174,184.00
Total	$173,587.96	N/A

 

Appointee (part-time)	Total remuneration for FY 2022-23	Per diem remuneration rate
Violetta Igneski, Commissioner	$6,490.00	$472.00
Randall Arsenault, Commissioner	$4,484.00	$472.00
Jewel Amoah, Commissioner	$5,074.00	$472.00
Brian Eyolfson, Commissioner	$5,428.00	$472.00
Gary Pieters, Commissioner	$6,254.00	$472.00

 

Commissioners

OHRC Commissioners have in-depth knowledge and expertise in human rights and issues relating to vulnerable populations, public policy, social values, and concepts of fairness, justice and public service. 

 

Commissioner	Appointment
Patricia DeGuire, Chief Commissioner	August 19, 2021 – August 18, 2023
Jewel Amoah	May 28, 2022 – May 27, 2025
Randall Arsenault	January 9, 2023 – January 8, 2025
Brian Eyolfson	November 12, 2022 – November 11, 2025
Violetta Igneski	January 9, 2023 – January 8, 2025
Gary Pieters	March 25, 2023 – March 24, 2026
Sandi Bell	March 23, 2023 – March 22, 2025