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Letter to Minister Naqvi re: Support for Bill 164, Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2017

October 24, 2017

I am writing to express the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) support for Bill 164, which was introduced on October 4, 2017 in the Legislature. We understand that the Second Reading will take place on October 26. As I expressed in our meeting on October 2, it is the OHRC’s position that Bill 164 improves the Human Rights Code by including new grounds of protection for people under social condition, police records, genetic characteristics, and immigration status.

Q&A on the duty to accommodate

Webinar Information

Q&A on the duty to accommodate

Human Rights and the Duty to Accommodate - Q&A

March 18, 2014 at 11:00 am

60 minutes

Accommodation rights and responsibilities under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

English

8. Socio-economic status, mental health and addictions

From: Minds that matter: Report on the consultation on human rights, mental health and addictions

Many individuals and organizations talked about people’s experiences with poverty. Poverty is a significant concern for people across Ontario with psychosocial disabilities. Unemployment, underemployment, discrimination and the lack of affordable housing for people with psychosocial disabilities were identified as major factors contributing to poverty.

Appendix A: Poverty, social condition and the Human Rights Code

From: In the zone: Housing, human rights and municipal planning

The OHRC knows that low social and economic status is a common factor in many types of housing discrimination. People identified by Code grounds are disproportionately likely to have low incomes. The shelter allowance rates for people and families who receive social assistance are far below market levels.

Ontario Human Rights Commission Submission regarding Interim Reports of the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario

March 2012 - The OHRC will focus its comments on the issues and barriers identified in the CRSAO’s reports that connect to the OHRC’s current priority initiatives dealing with racism experienced by Aboriginal people and other groups as well as disability, especially mental health discrimination.

Building human rights into municipal planning is aim of new OHRC guide

February 17, 2012

Kingston - Attorney General John Gerretsen today joined Barbara Hall, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, to launch In the zone: Housing, human rights and municipal planning. The guide offers municipalities information about their legal obligations, and about the tools and best practices they can apply to connect human rights and housing when making zoning and planning decisions.

Systemic and societal human rights issues in housing

From: Right at home: Report on the consultation on human rights and rental housing in Ontario

The Commission heard that the eligibility criteria for some of these programs make them inaccessible to people on disability pensions or social assistance. MMAH noted that some service managers allow or disallow social assistance recipients and social housing tenants from accessing rent bank assistance because they already benefit from other programs.

Minimum income criteria

From: Human Rights and rental housing in Ontario: Background paper

Those seeking rental housing who are in receipt of public assistance, as well as other Code-identified individuals with low incomes, have been particularly affected by the application of minimum income criteria. Many landlords apply a standard guideline that a tenant applicant should be spending no more than 25-35 percent of his or her income on rent. Those who fall short of this ratio are rejected.

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