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The OHRC has made many recommendations over several years to address racial profiling. These are documented in our submissions to government ministries, police services and others, and in our 2003 inquiry report, Paying the price. Many of these recommendations are specific to policing, but others pertain more broadly to all organizations or institutions that may have a problem with racial profiling.

This section provides information on the demographics of survey respondents who took the racial profiling survey. 1. Region Table 11. Region where respondent lives by first letter in respondent’s postal code

Organizations Aboriginal Justice Strategy, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS) African Canadian Legal Clinic (ACLC) Black Law Students' Association (BLSA), Osgoode Hall Law School Black Lives Matter - Toronto (BLM - TO) Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario (CMHA Ontario) Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (REI), York University Colour of Poverty Hamilton Community Legal Clinic Hamilton Police Service (HPS)

4.1. Key themes The widespread nature of incidents of racial profiling reported during the consultation, along with a growing body of case law and social science and legal research, confirms that racial profiling exists and is a broad concern shared by many Ontarians.  

3.1. Racial profiling trends and experiences We heard many reports about racial profiling from individuals, community groups, academics and others. This section is divided into two parts. The first outlines the results from our racial profiling survey related to:

Racial profiling is a specific type of racial discrimination that pertains to safety and security. The OHRC currently defines racial profiling as: [A]ny action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin rather than on reasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment.[22]

What is racial profiling? Racial profiling is a specific type of racial discrimination that pertains to safety and security. The OHRC currently defines racial profiling as: [A]ny action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin rather than on reasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment.

Racial profiling is an insidious and particularly damaging type of racial discrimination that relates to notions of safety and security. Racial profiling violates peoples’ rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code). People from many different communities experience racial profiling. However, it is often directed at First Nations, Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous peoples, Muslims, Arabs, West Asians and Black people, and is often influenced by the negative stereotypes that people in these communities face.

Racial profiling is an insidious and particularly damaging type of racial discrimination that relates to notions of safety and security. Racial profiling violates peoples’ rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code). People from many different communities experience racial profiling. However, it is often directed at First Nations, Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous peoples, Muslims, Arabs, West Asians and Black people, and is often influenced by the negative stereotypes that people in these communities face.

Racial profiling is an insidious and particularly damaging type of racial discrimination that relates to notions of safety and security. Racial profiling violates people’s rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code). People from many different communities experience racial profiling. It is often directed at First Nations, Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous peoples, as well as people in racialized communities. It is often influenced by the distinctly negative stereotypes that people in these communities face.

Racial profiling is an insidious and particularly damaging type of racial discrimination that relates to notions of safety and security. Racial profiling violates people’s rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code). People from many different communities experience racial profiling. However, it is often directed at First Nations, Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous peoples, Muslims, Arabs, West Asians and Black people, and is often influenced by the negative stereotypes that people in these communities face.

April 19, 2017 - Dear Minister Naqvi, we are writing today to ask you to work with your federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) counterparts to develop a national, whole-of-government action plan to address the systemic issues that have led to the over-representation of Black and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (Indigenous) people, and those with mental health and developmental disabilities in the criminal justice system (national action plan).

Toronto – As a result of a legal settlement between the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), Toronto Police Service (TPS) and Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB), officers who die from mental health injuries – not just physical ones – sustained in the line of duty will have equal opportunity to have their names included on the Toronto Police Service’s Memorial Wall.

November 11, 2015 - the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) filed an Application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) alleging discrimination in employment based on disability because of the Toronto Police Service’s (TPS) failure to include on its Memorial Wall officers who end their lives as a result of a mental health disability incurred in the line of duty. On April 18, 2017 a settlement was reached with the following terms...

May 3, 2017 - During the consultation, we heard many perspectives and experiences. We heard concerns about racialized and Indigenous peoples being subjected to unwarranted surveillance, investigation and other forms of scrutiny, punitive actions and heavy-handed treatment. We also tried to explore other, less well-understood forms of racial profiling, which may be systemic in nature. This report presents what we learned about institutional policies, practices, prediction and assessment tools, and decision-making processes, which may seem neutral but may nonetheless amount to systemic racial profiling. 

Toronto – The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has long been concerned with systemic discrimination in policing, which is a lived reality for many Ontarians. The result is mistrust that undermines effective policing and ultimately public safety.

April 3, 2017 - The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) welcomes the introduction of Bill 89, Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act, 2017. The Bill responds to human rights concerns raised by the OHRC about various aspects of Ontario’s child welfare system,[1] including the overrepresentation of Indigenous and racialized children and youth in Ontario’s child welfare system.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission has released a Policy statement on religious accommodation in schools. 

March 2017 - Education providers are responsible for many things, including delivering a curriculum, managing the various other aspects of educational services, ensuring student safety, fostering pluralistic environments that respect human rights, and managing tension and conflict as they arise in the school setting. Schools ought to be a place for healthy discussions about acceptance and where a diversity of views can co-exist. Educators should communicate messages about difference in a fair and respectful manner and be sensitive to the views of everyone protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code. Students, staff and parents should realize that they cannot reasonably expect their own views and beliefs to be respected if they are not willing to respect the views and beliefs of others.

March 30, 2017 - Dear Mayor Lawrance, thank you for meeting with us on February 15th. It was a pleasure meeting you and discussing the serious work of reconciliation being undertaken by you and the City of Sioux Lookout.

March 30, 2017 -  Dear Mayor Canfield, thank you for taking the time to meet with us on February 15 in Kenora.  As you know, we met with various members of the local Indigenous community at the Ne-Chee Friendship Centre, visited the Kenora Jail and met with Treaty 3 Grand Chief Francis Kavanaugh.  During these visits we heard about challenges faced by Indigenous people related to education, child welfare, policing, corrections, and housing.  

To coincide with International Women’s Day, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has released a new report that outlines commitments made by many of Ontario’s largest and most well-known restaurant chains to eliminate discriminatory dress codes for restaurant staff. Not on the Menu: Inquiry report on sexual and gender-based dress codes in Ontario’s restaurants outlines findings from an inquiry into dress codes at certain restaurants operating across Ontario.

February 28, 2017 - Dear Minister Lalonde, I am writing today to provide you with a summary of what we learned. There are some issues that appear unique to the Kenora Jail that raise human rights concerns and warrant further consideration and action on the part of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (MCSCS).  I look forward to discussing these issues further at our upcoming meeting scheduled for early March.

Some of the positive and most common changes restaurant companies made to their dress code and related policies were: