The right to freedom from discrimination in employment applies to government contracts or subcontracts. This right applies to government agency contracts also.

The right to be free from discrimination in employment applies to carrying out government grants, contributions, loans or guarantees. This right also applies to government agencies.

There is an exception to the rule that services and contracts must be offered without discrimination. This section allows insurance providers to make distinctions based on age, sex, marital and family status or disability when they offer individual accident, sickness or disability insurance or group insurance (not part of an employment situation). However, these distinctions must be made on reasonable and genuine grounds.

Every person having legal capacity has a right to contract on equal terms without discrimination because of any Code ground.

A contract is a legal agreement. It can be a written or verbal agreement.

The Code sets out only three considerations. This means that no other considerations, other than those that can be brought into those three standards, can be properly considered under Ontario law. There have been cases that have included such other factors as employee morale or conflict with a collective agreement. However, the Ontario legislature has seen fit to enact a higher standard by specifically limiting undue hardship to three particular components.

There are six sections in the Code that have implications for the insurance industry (see Appendix). Section 3 prohibits discrimination in contracts, which would therefore prohibit discrimination in insurance contracts.