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Creed

Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, discrimination because of creed is against the law. Everyone should have access to the same opportunities and benefits, and be treated with equal dignity and respect, regardless of their creed.

The Code does not define creed, but the courts and tribunals have often referred to religious beliefs and practices. Creed may also include non-religious belief systems that, like religion, substantially influence a person’s identity, worldview and way of life. People who follow a creed, and people who do not, have the right to live in a society that respects pluralism and human rights and the right to follow different creeds.

Relevant policies: 

  1. January 29 a day to remember the tragic consequences of hate

    January 29, 2018

    One year ago today – January 29, 2017 – Canadians learned of the mass murder of six people, and the wounding of many others at a Centre culturel islamique de Québec in Quebec City. I was riveted by my tiny screen as the events were reported in real time on social media late into the night – a bystander watching from behind a glass window powerless to do anything.

  2. Joint submission to Ontario’s consultation on the 2020 budget: Necessary investments in Ontario’s correctional system

    January 21, 2020

     

    Introduction

    This joint submission identifies concrete investments that should be earmarked in Ontario’s 2020 budget to protect the health and safety of vulnerable and marginalized Ontarians incarcerated in provincial institutions and the brave men and women working inside them.

  3. Khalsa Sikhs can wear kirpan in Toronto courthouses

    May 15, 2012

    Toronto – Sikhs who wish to enter a Toronto courthouse wearing a kirpan (stylized representation of a sword) now face fewer barriers according to a settlement reached with the Toronto Police Service, Toronto Police Services Board, and the Ministry of the Attorney General. The Toronto Police Service (“TPS”) agreed to revise its procedures to ensure that practicing members of the Sikh faith will be allowed to wear kirpans in public areas of courthouses, subject to an individualized risk assessment.

  4. Leadership needed to fight racism

    July 25, 2017

    A few months ago, I visited Thunder Bay and had the opportunity to speak with members of the Indigenous community. Community members told me about their concerns related to policing and child welfare, trafficking of Indigenous women and girls, and everyday racism in almost every facet of their lives including employment, housing, healthcare and retail. Most strikingly, people talked about being “garbaged” – literally having garbage thrown at them while walking down the street, all because of their Indigenous ancestry. I brought these concerns to the leaders that I met later in the day, including the Mayor and police.

  5. Letter to Chief Paul Cook, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) President

    August 1, 2014

    Chief Paul Cook
    President, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police

    Dear Chief Cook,

    On behalf of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), I would like to congratulate the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) for its updated version of the LEARN Guideline for Police Record Checks with a clearer presumption against disclosure of non-conviction records.

  6. Letter to Ontario government ministers on the OHRC’s Policy statement on human rights in COVID-19 recovery planning

    November 9, 2021

    On November 9, 2021, the OHRC released its Policy statement on human rights in COVID-19 recovery planning. The OHRC has shared this statement with ministers across all relevant sectors, as we believe it will help guide their ministry’s pandemic recovery efforts.

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