Disability

1. Discussion paper: Human rights issues in insurance

   October 1999 - The objective of the Paper is twofold: to promote dialogue on protecting human rights in the insurance industry and to examine alternatives to current practices by obtaining input from experts, regulators and consumers. Access to insurance in our society raises significant issues about distributive justice and fairness in the public sphere, issues that have received scant attention in Canada and in Ontario where rate setting has traditionally been viewed as a private matter.

2. Drug and alcohol testing – Frequently asked questions

   1. Why isn’t it an obvious violation of human rights to do mandatory collection of an employee’s fluids or breath that could reveal a disability?

3. Eliminating discrimination to advance the human rights of women and transgender people

   From: OHRC policy position on sexualized and gender-specific dress codes

   March 8, 2016 - Through its public education, policy development, outreach and litigation functions, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) continues to work with community partners to challenge gender inequality and promote and advance the human rights of women and trans people in Ontario. Here is some of the work the OHRC has done in the past year:  

4. Frederick Moore on behalf of Jeffrey P. Moore v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia as represented by the Ministry of Education, et al.

   Factum of the interveners the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission and the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

5. Human rights and mental health research and policy consultation paper

   January 2011 - We are developing a human rights and mental health policy that will focus on rights and responsibilities under the Code related to employment, rental housing and services. To guide us in these steps, we are holding public consultations across Ontario in the winter and spring of 2011. This Consultation paper focuses on the major areas we are asking for input on. We will release a report after the consultation to identify the themes and issues that emerge.

6. Human rights commissions and economic and social rights

   2001 - This paper is one of several initiatives by the Ontario Human Rights Commission to explore ways in which human rights commissions can become more involved in protecting and promoting economic and social rights and in implementing international treaties to which Canada is a party. The challenge for human rights commissions is to find ways to maximize the potential of their mandates to promote international standards, including those contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

7. Human Rights settlement reached with Ministry of Education on Safe Schools

   The Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Ontario Ministry of Education have finalized a settlement of a human rights complaint initiated by the Commission against the Ministry and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) in July 2005. A settlement was reached separately with the TDSB in November 2005.

8. Human rights, disability and accessibility issues regarding visual fire alarms for people who are deaf and hard of hearing

   With the recent passage of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005, accessibility issues are now governed by complementary aspects of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the AODA, the Ontario Building Code and, in the case of existing buildings, the Ontario Fire Code.

9. MacConnell v. Ontario (Community and Social Services) Special Diets case – judicial review allowed

   September 2014 - The Divisional Court has allowed an application for judicial review, heard on September 16, brought by the applicants and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), of a decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) denying special diet benefits to Joanne MacConnell.

10. OHRC initiatives related to disability and education 1999 – 2019

    2019

    Letter to Minister of Education re: Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) – school board policies on service animals

    Letter

    The OHRC responded to the Ministry of Education’s consultation on its draft PPM for school board policies on service animals in schools. The OHRC recommended revisions such as recognizing that the duty to accommodate disability also includes individual needs not related to learning needs.

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