The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is pleased to endorse the Wellesley Institute’s Consensus Statement on Race-Based Data for Health, calling on all levels of the healthcare system, including governments, organizations, and healthcare providers, to collaborate in strengthening their capacity for the collection, use, and governance of race-based data to address inequities and promote health.
Section 1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) protects persons from discrimination in health services based on characteristics, including their race, sex, sexual orientation, place of origin, gender identity and gender expression, ethnic origin, disability, citizenship, creed, and ancestry.
The OHRC has consistently maintained that the collection of Code and non-Code based data is not only permissible under the Code but also necessary to comply with duty-holders’ legal obligation under the Code. Nearly fifteen years ago, the OHRC launched Count me in! Collecting human rights-based data, a guide on collecting data to address and mitigate Code-related discrimination. This guide has helped organizations across various sectors develop strategies that strengthen human rights and equality.
The Wellesley Institute’s Consensus Statement is a call to action for duty-holders in health services to establish mechanisms that effectively identify and address Code-based discrimination and harassment. Under the Code, duty-holders are legally obligated to take proactive measures to prevent non-discriminatory practices, and to provide effective remedies when discrimination occurs. This responsibility extends to not only collecting data but also using the data to inform meaningful actions to reduce disparities, ensure accountability, and promote substantive equality in health outcomes.
The Consensus Statement reinforces the OHRC’s Human Rights-Based Approach Framework (HRBA), a tool that provides practical guidance for applying a human rights approach to deliver discrimination-free services to all Ontarians, including people from marginalized groups. The Consensus Statement aligns with the HRBA to encourage governments, organizations, and healthcare providers facilitate meaningful engagement with affected communities on how they wish to access their data, determine who can access it, and give assurance that the results will be used to benefit the communities.
The OHRC is remains committed to addressing inequalities in healthcare, including anti-Indigenous discrimination and racism in the healthcare system. The OHRC looks forward to continuing this work with the Wellesley Institute.